HISTORY IN THE MAKING:  3RD SQUADRON 17TH AIR CAVALRY (VIETNAM)

To see Some of your Troops History click on Icon's Below

 

The aviation troops originally used "B" and "C" model UH-1 hueys (some for troop carrying, some as gunships) and the OH-6 loach. Through the course of the war the hueys were replaced with "D" and "H" models, the gunships were replaced by the cobra, and the 6's were supplanted for a while by the OH-58 Kiowa.

A common mission was to have a loach low level through the trees and try to draw fire. When the loach scouts made contact they dropped a willy-pete and called up to their big bad A##  brothers circling high overhead. Don't mess with little brother. These missions were known as "Pink Teams" or "Big Brother/Little Brother Teams." The aviation troops would also do combat insertions of combat troops, known as "Eagle Flights." The huey- gunships and cobras also provided close air support for ground troops. Many a ground troop in Vietnam cheered at the wop-wop sound of the Air Cav screaming in to their aid. Not quite a bugle call, but close enough.

Delta Troop had a similar mission to the other 3/17th troops, gathering intelligence about the AO, but used very different tactics. They were our ground troops and got up close and personal with the enemy. They patrolled or set up listening posts out in the bush or rode the roads of Vietnam in armed "gun-jeeps" attempting to draw fire. Delta Troop often had its troopers scattered throughout the 3/17th AO and assigned to numerous other units who needed their special aero-scout skills. Delta Troop was highly mobile and seldom stayed in any one place long enough to call it home.

Headquarters Troop tried to coordinate and support all of its far-flung troops as best it could. Their slicks often flew overhead of battles providing C&C, or at other times serving as flare ships illuminating the battlefields. HHT also provided the personnel, finance, medical, supply, and other necessary support critical to a combat cavalry squadron.

Any two troops of the 3/17th were rarely ever stationed at the same place at the same time. All of the troops changed their locations at least a couple of times. Some of the main places they stayed were Dian, Phu Loi, Tay Ninh, Cu Chi, and Lai Khe. There were other places. Individual troopers from the squadron, like RTO's, and scout squads from Delta Troop, could be found working for other units throughout the 3/17th's AO.

The 3/17th did its job well in Vietnam. The squadron as a whole earned several unit citations, as did the individual troops in the squadron. Many, many awards for valor were earned by the individual troopers of the 3/17th. Their stories can be found throughout the 3/17th Air Cav websites.

The 3/17th began redeploying in early 1972 as the American involvement in the war wound down. The final remnants left for Schofield Barracks, Hawaii in April of 1972 to join the 25th Infantry Division. Troopers with more than 6 months left on their tour were reassigned to other units throughout Vietnam. Many of our aircraft went on to see more battles when they were adopted by other Army aviation units still in Vietnam.

If you find the history of the 3/17th interesting be sure to visit the various 3/17th web pages where you will find extensive work has been done compiling that history. You'll find personal stories, documents, maps, and links to other resources to help you understand just what the 3/17th did in Vietnam, and maybe a better understanding of what you personally added to that endeavor. 

Thanks to Mark Aaron of  HHQ for this information  above:    http://home.swbell.net/markaaro/hht/history.htm

 

 

News

Nui Ba Den and its importance to the 3rd of the 17th ACR - 12/03/2008

Here"s a fascinating report from Ron Tinnel about Nui Ba Den and its importance to the 3rd of the 17th ACR. Thanks Ron - Nui Ba Den will continue to be on our minds.

1LT Peter Dempsey
(Photo contributed by Ronald Tinnel)

View from Tay Ninh East
(Photo taken in Sep 1968 contributed by Morris Miller)

Here"s a fascinating report from Ron Tinnel about Nui Ba Den and its importance to the 3rd of the 17th ACR. Thanks Ron - Nui Ba Den will continue to be on our minds.

"During the Tet offensive on January 31, 1968, the VC began using Chinese built 122mm rockets to attack U.S. bases. The 3rd Squadron, 17th Air Cavalry (Redhorse) needed a high elevation observation point to spot and destroy VC rocket sites. Nui Ba Den, the Black Virgin Mountain , was God"s gift to Redhorse.

Nui Ba Den stood alone in the middle of nowhere as if it was waiting for someone. At the time we thought it was waiting for Redhorse. Nui Ba Den was located at latitude 11°22"N and longitude 106°10"E, 11km northeast of Tay Ninh, in the Phu Khuong District of Tay Ninh Province, and 106 km from Saigon. (It will always be Saigon, many Nam vets still refuse to call it Ho Chi Minh City .) Nui Ba Den looked like a dormant volcano approximately 3,200 feet high (986 meters). The granite rock mountain was very steeply sloped, covered with enormous boulders, and honeycombed with caves and tunnels. More than half of its 3,200 feet had 45 to 50 degree slopes and the rest of the mountain had slopes of 60 degrees or more. There were many rockslide areas. Wind shears bouncing off of the slopes of the mountain often caused problems for Redhorse choppers during fire support and re-supply drops. Heavy dense fog and unexpected tropical torrential rain storms frequently added to the excitement.

Nui Ba Den was a historical and beautiful site covering an area of more than 24 square km. Based on Vietnamese legend, Nui Ba Den was not waiting for Redhorse. As one legend goes, Ba Den was to marry a soldier, but on her wedding day her fiancé went to war and never returned. Ba Den waited, grieved and cried herself to death and when she died she became the mountain. A Buddhist pagoda shrine was built on the summit in memory of her faithfulness and devotion. After her death, the Nguyen Dynasty ordered a mould of her to be cast in black bronze, which started the legend of the Black Virgin Mountain and Nui Ba Den became a Vietnamese Buddhist holy place.

Before Redhorse arrived there was a radio communication station and a Special Forces camp on the summit of the mountain and a rock quarry at the bottom of the mountain. The Vietnamese mountain people who had made their homes on the summit had already been evacuated. All of their buildings had already been torn down, including a small Buddhist shrine. The mountain people were not happy about having to leave their homes. There was a large round rain pool, shaped like a giant cone, on the east end of the lower part of the summit which served as a water supply for the Vietnamese mountain people when they lived there. The water was not safe to drink so Redhorse brought in drinking water for Redhorse troopers by chopper.

The plains around the base of the mountain were very flat for as far as the eye could see. Banana trees covered the lower slopes. Past the lower slopes bamboo and banyan trees were scattered here and there among the enormous granite boulders. While Redhorse was at Tay Ninh, Redhorse frequently fought with the VC for control over the sides of the mountain. Our troopers stationed on the summit were not permitted to go down the mountain along the slopes because the mountain had been heavily booby trapped starting approximately a hundred meters from the summit. This was done by the Special Forces to serve as a first line of defense against attack. One of the favorite tricks of the VC was to booby trap the U.S. booby traps, especially our fragmentation grenades. Our troopers had to be very careful about moving a booby trap once it had been set. If you saw a grenade on the ground, and you were smart, you never picked it up, you had it blown in place.

Nui Ba Den was a VC headquarters used to plan attacks on Tay Ninh City and Tay Ninh Province . Until Redhorse arrived it was a safe place for the VC traveling the Ho Chi Minh trail to regroup after entering Vietnam from Cambodia . It did not take long for Redhorse to figure out the VC were hidden inside the mountain in caves. By cleverly using the caves, the VC had control of everything on the slopes of the mountain. The VC knew they owned the land surrounding the mountain during the night, and they seemed to accept that Redhorse owned the land surrounding the mountain during the day.

From the Redhorse Tay Ninh Base Camp we used to enjoy watching bombers working the slopes of Nui Ba Den. Many nights, we could see green tracers coming out of the mountain toward our choppers and red tracers fired from our choppers back into the mountain. At night it looked like we were fighting the mountain instead of the VC.

During heavy engagements, the Redhorse communications command net used during enemy contact became heavily congested. Redhorse had to have communications; therefore, the Redhorse Headquarters Troop manned a signal site, on top of Nui Ba Den.

On the night of 5/13/68, Nui Ba Den was attacked and over run by the VC. Including Redhorse troopers, there was a total of approximately 100 Americans of various units on Nui Ba Den that night. Our troopers reported there were approximately 30 members of the Special Forces, soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division, and at least one Korean. The enemy attacked with RPGs, rockets, mortars, and sappers. The VC broke through the perimeter and severely damaged the Redhorse radio relay equipment. That night our troopers heard the VC laughing and moving around in the compound, firing their AK-47s and shooting the survivors. The killing continued until about dawn when Redhorse choppers arrived to assess the damage and search for survivors. Copper-colored AK-47 shell casings were found everywhere. Large piles of AK-47 shell casings were along the trails and next to the pagoda.

A warrior is only as great as the warrior's greatest enemy. The VC were the greatest light infantry the world has ever known. The initial reports disclosed the VC attack resulted in 1 U.S. MIA, 22 U.S. WIA, 19 U.S. KIA and 25 confirmed VC KIA. Based on eyewitness testimony we had killed more than 25 VC; however, the VC carried away their dead after the engagement and it was difficult to get an accurate body count. The VC decision to attack was probably based on revenge for the beating we gave them during the Tet Offensive of January 31,1968.

At least one Redhorse Headquarters Troop trooper was recommended for the Silver Star for bravery and valor during this engagement. The Redhorse trooper was trapped with a SFC from another unit in the pagoda on the summit. During the VC attack, the two of them maintained radio communications all night with Redhorse gun ships saving many U.S. lives and preventing the VC from doing more damage than they did. The Redhorse trooper and the SFC transmitted situation reports every five minutes until their radio antenna on the back of the pagoda was blown up by the VC just before dawn.

Nui Ba Den was closed as a U.S. base in 1973. It is now designated as a Socialist Republic of Viet Nam historic cultural site. Buddhist temples have been constructed on the mountain's slopes and visitors can now ride a gondola cable car up to the summit from a park at the base of the mountain.

Nui Ba Den will always be on my mind."

Contributed by:

eMail: Captain Ronald Herman Tinnel