Page 91 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

actually entered the building and seized the weapon were killed. The
two survivors were identified as First Lieutenant Pharn and private
First Class Minh. As soon as Lt. Pharn had learned of the presence
of the heavy rnachinegun atop the tall building and had received the
order to seize it,he and his handful of rnen tried to penetrate the rnas-
sive building by clirnbing up waterspouts in order to catch the enerny
by surprise, Pharn and his rnen kil1ed the Cornrnunists in a rapid
exchange of gunfire, Losing the rnachinegun, enerny troops withdrew
frorn the area.
Subsequent developrnents in this general area proved that
Lt. An was correct in ordering the capture of the rnachinegun at any
cost. At the tirne the Cornrnunists began infi.ltrating this part of the
city,they had assurned that governrnent reinforcernent would be brought
to the race track by helicopters. Their trernendous efforts to bring
the heavy weapon to the top floor o{ the Golden Willow Building was
understandable in the light of their intention to use it against the troop-
carrying choppers when these should arrive.

As predicted, barely two hours after the heavy rnachinegun
was seized, a sizeable reinforcernent group was dispatched to the
nearby race track aboard huge Chinook helicopters. The choppers
followed one another to this potentially rnost vulnerable target area.
Military cornrnanders later refused to speculate what rnight have happen
i{ the ideally located heavy rnachinegun had not been captured by Lt. An
and his rnen.

The Phu-Tho Battle lasted nearly two days resulting in
98 Cornrnunists dead and two prisoners, Governrnent troops also cap-
tured one heavy rnachinegun, four 8.40 individual rocket launchers
and four other crew-served weapons as well as destroying another two
rnachineguns,
After norrnalcy was restored in this area,the Ranger
battalion dispatched one of its cornpanies to reinforce governrnent
troops on the Hang Xanh front 1ine. This was done because during the
night of the third Cay of the Year of the Monkey Cornrnunist in{iltrators
again appeared in the area o{ Binh Hoa after being dislodged frorn Go
Vap. In the area of Hang-Xanh itself the 3Oth Ranger Battalion was
involved in a series of srnal1 actions agai.nst a group of stray Viet Cong
infiltrators, Overall the battalion was rrrore involved with relief work
than with cornbat, following its victories two days earlier.

-95-