Page 77 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

costs. They knocked down one of the towers with their B.40 individual
rocket launchers, killing seven o{ the defenders and wounding the
rernaining five, Isolated, the troops in the other outpost withdrew rrorn
the advancing enerny.

At 0520 hours the intruders a.rvanced toward the end of
the airstrip where they could see dozens o{ airplanes of al1 types parked
a bare 600 yards away.At that very rnornent two M.8 tanks appeared
followed by a cornposite collection of vehicles bringing a stil1 rnore
varied collecti.on of soldiers. This group included staff o{{icers of the
33rd Air lVing and paratroopers frorn two reinforcernent cornpanies
which were dispatched that rnorning for the protection of Yice President
Nguyen Cao Ky.

The very firstfriendly rounds hit the Cornrnunists when
they were 400 yards {rorn the airstrip. The intruders hastili/ tried to
seek cover but found none in this open fie1d. At that rnornent the two
tanks irnrnediately rnade a pincer rnovernent, leaving the {rontal attack
to the cornbined Air Force-Airborne cornbined group. The Cornrnunists,
unable to resist the rnounting pressure, withdrew to the towers they
had just destroyed, A single friendly assault wave resulted in the
capture o{ one of the OF' s.

It was soon learned that aI1 l62 intruders were killed.
They are now buried in a rnass grave Air Force bulldozers had to dig
for thern at the southern end of the Tan Son Nhut airstrip.

Lieutenant Colonel Luu Kirn Cuong, cornrnander of the
33rd took personal control of this counterattack. Although
"{ing,
Cuong was wounded in the 1eg at the very beginning of the operation,
he was continuously present at the side of his cornrades-in-arrns.
Besides Colonel Cuong rnany other airrnen distinguished thernselves,
especially Lieutenant Tran Ngoc Chan and sorne ll servicernen who
spearheaded the reoccupation of the two OF's. Major Phung Van Chieu,
who was wounded near the eyes, and Lieutenant Tran Van Loc, who was
hit three tirnes while using the rnachinegun on top of a tank, also were
arnong the heroes of the day.

Had the 33 rd Air Wing cornrnand reacted sorne ten rninutes
later than they did,the Cornrnunists rnight have .invaded the parking lot
and its nerve center.

About a quarter of an hour earlier two cornpanies of the
Eighth Airborne Battalion had been dispatched to the Vinatexco factory

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