The jets released their bombs far behind Alpha Company's position and you could hear a dull metallic click-clank as the bombs were jettisoned from their wing pods. The Go Mon had specially trained sniper teams using mounted scopes on their weapons. The Go Mon probably suffered as many, if not more, casualties as the Manchus on August 30, 1967 at the Battle of the Horseshoe. The AK-47 rounds and B-40 rockets were hitting all around Bravo Company's defensive position. Up to this point, he had not fired his weapon because of trying to take care of casualties that did not make it off the LZ. A Cambarra jet with a gunship on his right side was heading straight for the Bravo Company's perimeter with a medic-vac chopper underneath them. The communists, who had hoped for a popular uprising in support of their actions, instead met heavy resistance. Doc Zogg and many others survived because of the sacrifice and bravery of others. 1st Lt. Joe Wilson------------------Bravo Company Executive Officer This caused Nick Summerfield some distress-feeling that he with the radio and Captain Lewman with his shiny silver bars would be just a little too conspicuous if the lead started flying. It was getting late in the day and although Bravo Company could have resumed the flanking counterattack, Lt. The VC still managed to shoot up the chopper bad enough to the point of almost bringing it crashing down. He was told to drop them lower and even lower still. Lt. Beedy had to gather the casualties from all over the LZ and put them in a central location. There the Creek Indians, led by Menawa and other chiefs, were defeated by the American … The Weapons Squad with its 60mm mortar then made a mad dash toward the wood line dike where about 30 Alpha Company guys had taken cover. There were 15 to 20 living and dead to be recovered. It was to hold their fire until the landing zone was full of choppers unloading the bulk of Alpha Company's first lift, and then firing at the choppers and their disembarking infantrymen simultaneously. It was estimated that before all three lifts were completed, 90% of the Black Widows' helicopters had sustained damages from enemy gunfire. His first thoughts were, "God! For fear of being killed by friendly fire, they made the decision to pull back because they were now in the line of fire of Alpha Company exchanging gunfire with the enemy positions deep inside of the woods. The Manchu company commanders were told that this was going to be a short 2-to-4 hour operation to do a Bomb Damage Assessment (BDA) and to count the number of dead VC. This scattering of green soldiers was a devastating event for many of Delta Company's men. Save 36 Acres of Hallowed Ground at Two Virginia Taverns, Combined Federal Campaign and State Charitable Campaigns, Watch Exclusive Videos on our YouTube Channel. Bob said, "I couldn't tell what everyone was shooting at. Restivo and several members of his crew had been wounded, and pilots were needed to fly it. Their area of operations was from the Ho Bo Woods to the Iron Triangle. The Black Hawks entered the Horseshoe from the northeast and proceeded toward the southwest, making a 45-degree turn toward their assigned landing zone. Willie went up, over the dike, and away from the protection it offered. The initial approach to Alpha's LZ was nothing out of the ordinary. A chopper with a re-supply of ammo came in and kicked out ammo boxes into the muddy rice paddy field near Delta's position. There was now movement of others trapped on the LZ as they began to go over the dikes to link up with the rest of Alpha Company near the tree line. VC control of the Iron Triangle permitted their forces to dominate key transportation routes in the surrounding area, as well as controlling and supporting their operations. As Captain Baker was trying to free himself from the mud, he looked up and saw the chopper turning around with its tail rotor blades skipping across the water like a stone. It has been said that Military Intelligence is a contradiction in terms; this was certainly the case on August 30, 1967. The Battle of Horseshoe Bend was fought on March 27, 1814, during the War of 1812. Buzz could see pieces of a chopper to the right of him flying off as the incoming bullet rounds were hitting it, and then its door gunner being hit and slumping over his M-60 machine gun-firing wildly in the direction of Buzz's helicopter and wounding his chopper pilot in the neck. The Manchus were not sure if any snipers stayed behind and were still around, so the darkness of night did not give us any rest or comfort. The first 20 Black Hawk slicks entered the Horseshoe at approximately 8:00 AM in a "Trail" formation, with Alpha Company as the lead element of the three infantry companies being deployed. Mike Smith (for finding documents from the National Archives-and of course, Willie Gin and Dick Detra again for their recollections of that day as well. Finally, the net cleared for a few brief seconds and he made contact just in time to abort the second gun ship's attack, as it flew into striking position and rolled off and away from Bravo Company. Some of them veered off to the left of the leading slicks that were still hovering above the ground dropping off their troops. In fact, many of Alpha Company's men ducked under the water when they saw the bombs being released and coming in their direction. The silenced bunker now enabled Captain Baker to bring up Lt. Craig Greaves' platoon and move it up into the little finger of a stream to try to roll up the VC's flank. Doc had been badly shaken by this near miss but after Willie told him he was not wounded, he quickly got moving again to help with the wounded. The Battle of Horseshoe Bend was fought March 27, 1814, during the Creek War (1813-1814). Colonel John Williams led the assault accompanied by a young Sam Houston, the future patriarch of Texas. Lt. Itow was breathing hard, straining for air. Before leaving, Dunphy gave instructions to someone as to how to care for Doc Zogg's wound, to periodically release and gently re-apply pressure on the bandage covering it. As a result of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, Korea was split into two with separat… The concussion from the explosions seemed to push you down into the water. The Battle of Horseshoe Bend, also referred to as the Battle of Pecatonica and the Battle of Bloody Lake, was fought on June 16, 1832 in present-day Wisconsin at an oxbow lake known as "Horseshoe Bend", which was formed by a change in course of the Pecatonica River. It was unknown at the time, but this area of the Iron Triangle contained a vast underground tunnel complex running in a north-to-south direction. The Army of the Republic of South Vietnam (ARVN) 7th Infantry were therefore ordered to destroy them with superior American weapons and training.On 2 January 1963, US helicopters dropped the ARVN near the village, but it was a disaster. As Bravo Company approached the LZ, Captain Baker asked the door gunner if Alpha While Whisky Company remained at the Horseshoe, Victor 2 Company took part in Operation Coburg in Bien Hoa province. It was now late morning and approaching midday; all three Manchu companies were still pinned down on their landing zone and our casualties were mounting up. Larry jumped out of the chopper and took cover behind a dike just as a Chicom grenade exploded on top of it. I watched with tears in my eyes.". As Alpha and Bravo Company had already learned, if you showed any part of yourself over the top of a dike you were immediately shot by a sniper. The only way to get to the wounded was to crawl alligator style below the incoming fire. WO Mark O. Hayes (Black Widow 14, chopper pilot), who was in the lead element of helicopters made the remark going in on the initial approach, "The LZ appears to have been prepped with everything short of an Arc Light (B-52 bombers)�. After a few brief moments of hearing "LZ cold, "LZ cold" there was a deafening roar of gunfire, rockets and people screaming coming over the net. Lt. Jerry Nations-------------------Bravo Company 1st Platoon Leader Within seconds the radio waves were alive with numerous calls of "LZ Hot! At the first hour of daylight, everyone was striping naked-and began the painful process of pulling, burning and scraping leeches off each other, which left bleeding wounds and sores. There were small groups of Alpha Company's men struggling through knee-high water toward the chopper. …with a smashing victory at Tohopeka (Horseshoe Bend) on the Tallapoosa River. Lt. McNeal and "Doc" Daniel Zogg (medic) were among the first WIA's (Wounded in Action) who didn't make it off the LZ before being hit. These precious seconds barely gave Alpha Company's men enough time to find cover. Within a Gold and enamel horseshoe 1 1/4 inches (3.18 cm) overall, showing seven nail holes, heels upward and the opening between the heels closed with a Blue ribbon bearing the words “GARRY OWEN” in Yellow letters, the crest of the coat of arms of the Regiment (on a wreath Or and Azure a dexter arm embowed vested Azure the hand in a buckskin gauntlet Proper grasping an old style United States Army saber Argent hilted Or). Immediately a burst of enemy fire came from an aperture in the bunker. Historically, the Iron Triangle was a 60 square mile area, bounded by the Saigon River to the South, the Tri Tinh River to the east, and to the north by a line running west from the town of Ben Cat to Ben Suc-as well as taking in the Thanh Dien Forest Reserve to the north. As Doc Dunphy moved forward, he gave his M-16 to Terry Craft and shed his web gear, steel pot, and flak jacket. Delta Company (commanded by Captain Rosenthal) was scattered in small groups all over their LZ, where the choppers had dropped them off in an attempt to avoid the enemy's concentrated gunfire on their tight lift formation. The size and ferocity of the attack surprised the Americans and South Vietnamese but they regrouped and fought back. In the morning Jackson launched a two-pronged attack on Tehopeka. As they pursued, the Go Mon pulled back into their positions in depth. Bravo Company was bouncing up and down on the ground from the enormous explosion of 750-pound bombs being dropped close by. However, this massive barrage of fire support gave Bravo Company a window of opportunity to move off the LZ to drier ground covered with high grass. This makes sense in a morbid sort of way. Dick Detra (a door gunner) was on Chalk-10, the last of ten choppers in Delta Company's lift. Once all units were positioned for JUNCTION CITY, they formed a giant horseshoe around the target area. Sgt. Lt. 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