LZ ENGLISH - "One of the Finest Units in the History of the American Fighting Man," in the words of General William Westmoreland, has been awarded the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm for Exemplary Battlefield Achievements against enemies of the Republic of Vietnam.
   The 173d Airborne Brigade, the first US Army ground Combat Unit to be deployed to the Republic of Vietnam, received the distinction on October 25 in ceremonies at the Brigade headquarters near Bong Son, RVN.
   The award was presented by Major General Ngo Dzu, Commander of II Corps & MR2 on behalf of the Republic of Vietnam, to Brigadier General ER Ochs, 173d Commanding General. In accepting the honor, Gen Ochs said the "173d came to Vietnam with the ideals of freedom and self-determination." He made it plain that the 173d would not have achieved such a high degree of success in its five years of bitter fighting if it had not been for the combined support of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.
   Since arriving in Vietnam in May, 1965, the 173d Airborne Brigade has participated in 15 major operations. Consistently, they have been a principal force in reducing communist terrorism of the Vietnamese populace by providing secure hamlets and villages previously under North Vietnamese control.
   Upon reaching Vietnam in 1965, the 173d secured the area of Bien Hoa Province, establishing their Base Camp at Bien Hoa Airfield. Through the period of May 1965 to September 1967, the 173d Airborne Brigade conducted operations and revolutionary development programs in the III Corp Tactical Zone Area. They succeeded in reducing the local Viet Cong and NVA strongholds in this region by seeking out and defeating the enemy entrenched in his sanctuaries.
   In February 1967, the 2d Battalion of the 173d conducted the only US Airborne Assault of the conflict into War Zone C, near the Cambodian border. Sweeping the area in "Operation Junction City," the 173d killed 266 enemy and destroyed an important Viet Cong progaganda office. During September 1967, the "Sky Soldiers" moved to the II Corp Military Region in response to an intensified NVA buildup in the area. Their mission was to seek out and destroy NVA forces threatening the South Vietnamese control of the Central Highlands.
   In one of the longest and most fierce battles of the Vietnam conflict elements of the 173d captured Hill 875 near Dak To, on Thanksgiving Day 1967. After 20 days of almost continuous fighting around Dak To, the "Sky Soldiers" clashed with an entrenched NVA Regiment, killing 800 in the ensuing battle.
   Late in 1967, the 173d Airborne Brigade entered a new phase of operations. Replacing elements of the 4th Inf Div, the "Sky Soldiers" moved into the heavily populated areas of Binh Dinh Province around the town of Bong Son. The long term mission was to destroy the Viet Cong Infrastructure through combat operations and revolutionary development programs. Operations COCHISE, BOLLING and WALKER, proved highly successful as Viet Cong and NVA control of the area was soon broken by the 173d.
   In April of 1969 the 173d focused its attention on a new program, the mission of supporting pacification in Northern Binh Dinh Province. In this program, still under way, Platoon and smaller sized elements of the 173d work side by side with Regional and Popular Forces to eliminate the Viet Cong threat and secure the surrounding hamlet areas. The thousands of villagers that are now returning to their homes from the relative security of the cities attest to the success of the mission.

3d Bn Recon Rattles VCI Chain of Command

   LZ UPLIFT - Paratroopers of the 173d Airborne Brigade caught up with eight long sought enemy, who had killed LTC John J Clark on June 2, 1970 while he was Commanding 3d Bn, 503d Inf.
   Acting on volunteered information from a Vietnamese villager, the men from Recon Team 3 of E Co, 3d Bn, 503d Inf, set up an ambush east of Fire Base Orange, in eastern Hoai An District on October 10. The informer had been correct. At five minutes to noon a party of five VC walked into the trap. Although they were heavily armed with captured American weapons, four Reds were killed and one captured. Claymore mines triggered the ambush. Along with the single surviving VC the Paratroopers recaptured three 45 pistols, two M-79 launchers, two M-16 rifles, and an old M-2 carbine.
   The five Communists were the second highest ranking VC in Binh Dinh Province, a VC Company Commander, two VC Platoon Leaders and a VC Master Sergeant. One VC also had in his possession a citation describing his actions in killing Lt Col Clark. The VC big-wigs were on their way to a policy meeting, where they were to discuss problems on how to regain control of the Vietnamese villagers in the valley.
   The surviving VC, who was detained, turned out to be a communications liaison. He revealed the identity of the other VC. He also stated that they had left a Platoon of troops about 200 meters from the spot where they were ambushed. Not wanting any of the same they had melted into the jungle.

Charlie's Hideouts in Suoi Ca Buried Under by Rome Plows

   LZ UPLIFT (RVN)- Continuing with its campaign to decrease the land available for VC/NVA sanctuaries, the Rome plows attached to the 173d Airborne Brigade are bulldozing out trouble spots in the Suoi Ca Valley, an enemy infested area 30 miles north of Qui Nhon.
   The plan followed by the Rome plows is to cut strips out of the vegetation three to five hundred meters wide and several kilometers long. The cleared area will resemble a huge horseshoe, running from the base of one mountain across the valley and to the base of another mountain. This will deny the VC/NVA hiding places in the cleared land. It also hampers the VC infiltration of the civilian settlements. As an added award the land is opened to cultivation by the Vietnamese farmers. The plan, which worked remarkably well in central Tam Quan District, will restrict movement in the Suoi Ca Valley complex, long a hotspot of Red activity.
   The Rome plows are operated and maintained by the Engineers of the 538th Land Clearing Company. Security has been provided by 3d Bn, 503d Inf and the Armor of E Troop, 17th Cavalry. Bravo Company, which was the original supporting element when the Engineers moved into the valley, ambushed the VC that have been sneaking out of the hills to booby-trap the area. The VC are getting desperate to stop the project. This means that they are using desperation tactics and leaving themselves wide open to US tactics.
   The Rome plows have turned up caches of weapons, hidden motorcycles, almost a ton of rice, bunker complexes, tunnels, and hidden graves. Some of the graves were "protected" with CS crystals, a substance that is very irritating to anyone who has come in contact with it. One of the motorcycles hidden near a trail heavily used by VC and VC supporters was discovered when a huge earthmover backed over it. Although the VC wasn't captured, his Honda 50 is now two or three inches thick and pressed out like sheet metal. Sp4 Stephen Emerson of St Louis said, "I really would have liked to been there when Charlie came back. I would have seen him cry."
   C Co, 3d Bn, 503d Inf, are the people currently providing security for the dozer crews. They have watched the big cats walk over land mines, booby-trapped grenades and artillery rounds, and some rugged terrain. Their amazement at what the engineers vehicles can do is openly expressed. "There was this one guy...we call him Turtle 'cause of the flak jacket and helmet he always wears, always on backwards...he'll take that cat anywhere. We sit around waiting for him to roll it. The other day he tackled this tree. It was a giant. After butting against it several times it started to topple. Turtle jumped up on his seat and shook his hands over his head, like the winning prizefighter does. Turtle was still shaking his hands when he hit the ground." The young Paratrooper continued, "Every now and again we'll see one hit a mine. As the smoke clears the driver climbs down, shaking his head to clear his ringing ears. Usually he isn't hurt...those Cats can take a lot of punishment."

   LZ ENGLISH- A Trooper notices a piece or paper laying on the ground as he checks a suspected enemy location. He picks it up and discovers it's a Vietnamese family portrait with some writing on the back. Sticking the photo in his pocket, he continues with the mission. At the next break he turns the photo over to his Platoon Leader who in turn passes it to the Battalion S-2, thus setting into action the smooth running machinery of Military Intelligence.
   The photo upon examination and interpretation contained some pertinent information concerning the unit of the owner and how long he has been gone from his North Vietnamese home. This type of examination and interpretation is conducted by the 173d MI Det, whose primary responsibility is to develop and analyze the information concerning the enemy activity in the northern Binh Dinh Province, is a vital link in conducting successful combat operations by the 173d.
   Major Armando Ibanez, of San Diego Tex, is the Commander of the detachment which was the first unit of its type in Vietnam in 1965. The detachment consists of four operational sections; Imagery Interpretation (II) Counter Intelligence (CI), Interrogators of Prisoners of War (IPW) and Order of Battle (OB).
   The Order of Battle or OB Commander is Cpt William Lipke, from the state of Oregon. The section's main job is to analyze the information and report on VC/NVA locations and trends of their operations. In February, 51 lbs of captured documents were brought in for processing. The section completed the task in less than three days.
   The IPW or interrogators are primarily concerned with the processing of prisoners of war and captured documents. First Lt Arthur D Hurtado, Springfield Mo, is the Officer in charge of the section. Forward IPW teams are located at LZ Uplift and Tam Quan to assist in rapid process and utilization of information of immediate tactical nature. Once the detainees are screened, they are sent to the IPW section here where a highly qualified interrogation team further questions them in an attempt to fully utilize the information revealed by the prisoners. Sp5 Maurice Collins and Sgt Tri Quang, man the Tam Quan IPW branch. A team headed by WO1 Norman Herring, Killeen Tex, is located at Qui Nhon for the purpose of interrogation of wounded PW's who are in the hospital there.
   The Counter Intelligence (Cl) section, commanded by Cpt Leslie Smyth, Mountdair NJ, performs security service, various types of investigations and inspections, and is primarily responsible with defensive counterintelligence.
   Aerial photography is done by Image Interpretation (II) group which evolves around 'readouts' or summaries of all information that can be gathered from a photograph. CW2 Bill Harris from Ft Bragg, NC, is in charge.

In Daring Rescue

Air Cav 'Legs It'

   LZ ENGLISH- Braving exploding ordnance and deadly small arms fire, two flyers from C Trp, 7/17th Air Cav pulled a badly wounded buddy from the burning wreckage of his downed observation helicopter recently. The Air Cavalry outfit was making a visual check of bomb damage in an area 8 kilometers west of FSB Two Bits when they observed the strike area was swarming with North Vietnamese regulars.
   The Pilots of the circling Cobra Gunships saw a stream of tracers slam into the LOH and detonate some of the craft's ordnance. The initial concussion nearly threw the Observer out of the ship. The damaged helicopter crashed in an abandoned rice paddy and began burning. The Pilot of the downed craft, WO1 William C Hesse, Ojai Ca, quickly worked himself clear of the wreckage. He began taking fire from a nearby treeline, as another LOH plunged down to effect a rescue.
   WO1 Gregory Hengles, Pilot/Observer on the bird, leaped out and ran to aid Hesse. As the C & C bird touched down, it too came under intense small arms fire. Leaping from his ship the Crew Chief, 19 year old Sp5 Van Jones, a native of Virginia Beach Va, sprinted 30 meters to assist Hesse and Hengles in removing the badly injured observer from the hot and twisted metal of the exploding wreck.
   Moving from their orbits 1500 feet above the scene of the action, the Cobra Gunships slashed at the woodline and surrounding area with their rockets and minigun fire. To those on the ground, the attack became a 'barroom brawl'. The Yellow Scarf gunnies delivered so much fire on target that the communists broke and ran for cover. Under the suppressing fire of the Gunships, Hesse, Hengles and Jones carried the critically injured Aviator to the waiting rescue ship and out to safety.
   A Reaction Force from D Co, 2d Bn, 503d Inf, swept the area and confirmed six kills and much damage from what was called "the most devastating strike I've ever seen" by Cpt Lou Hennies, Commander of 'Charlie Troop' and Pilot of the rescue ship. The 173d Airborne Brigade Reaction Force took in 26 detainees in the immediate vicinity of the strike area. It was a tough day for the NVA.

   LZ ENGLISH- So you got a short-timer calendar! Try being 53 months, or 1,610 days, or 38,640 hours in 'Nam. A former high school football hero has done it. A record? Probably not. But, the former fullback has possibly seen more fighting and dying than any other man in the 173d Airborne Brigade.
   Staff Sgt Robert Durand, 26-year-old Salmon Idaho, native, was one of the first replacements for the 173d in November 1965 at Bien Hoa, during the time when the Brigade earned a reputation as the toughest unit in Vietnam. Durand took part in the Battles of Bien Hoa Air Base, the Mekong Delta, and War Zone D. It was during Operation Silver City, the Brigade's first combat action, when Durand, a Rifleman with 2nd Bn, 503d Inf, fought 48 hours against the main force VC Regiment which lost 400 men north of the Dong Nai River. Here, Durand was wounded in the left hand. Earlier in February 1966, he received chest wounds in a Company sweep through Phy Loi near Bien Hoa.
   Durand, a son of a pharmacist, felt so strongly about our cause in Vietnam that he extended for six months during his first term. After being sent to the States he requested re-assignment to 'Nam, and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. He recalls well the battles in which he participated. Especially vivid in his memory are the I Corps Battles of Phy Bai, Hue and A Shau Valley. Durand, a Fireteam Leader, received a wound in his posterior during the A Shau Valley action which lasted four days and totaled 300 enemy kills. Prior to the Screaming Eagles move to the I Corps, he was wounded in the knee at Song Be.
   The small town native never got discouraged, even during the Tet offensive of 1968 when half of his Platoon was killed by enemy B40 rockets. There were only ten people left in his Platoon and he was chosen to be the Platoon Leader.
   June 6 this year Durand returned to 'Nam once more as an instructor. He was assigned to the 173d's Jungle School for five months, and taught airmobile operations and safety, communications and security, tactics and patrolling.
   He received high recommendation for his present job as Psyop/Civic Action supervisor with the Brigade S-5 section. Staff Sgt Durand's Army career would be incomplete without a list of his awards and decorations. The Army much like civilian places of employment, gives recognition and thanks of a job well done. He has received four Purple Hearts, two Bronze Star Medals and the Vietnamese Commendation medal.
   Before entering the Army he was a mechanic and a part-time civil service worker. At Salmon High School, he played two years varsity football. "I like the Army the way I liked football," Durand said. "It has made a better man out of me, even if it has meant a few hard knocks."

Kit Carson Scouts Effective At Psyops

   LZ ENGLISH- Briefings are given by the Psychological Operations (Psy-Op) Officer 173d Abn Bde, to newly recruited Kit Carson Scouts on the Brigade Psy-Op Team. 1st Lt Terry Modglin, of St Louis, conducts these briefings with the Scouts in an effort to increase their valued effort with the team. The briefing is the beginning of a three week training program for the Scout. It is given to let the Scout, a Hoi Chanh, understand the who, what, and why of the Psy-Op program and how he's to perform his duty.
   Every Psy-Op mission has a two-fold aim. The first is to bring in "Charlie." The team attempts to lower the enemy's morale. They tell the people about the strength and benefits of the GVN, while extracting information from the villagers. The second aim is implied. This aim is to convince our own forces of the effectiveness and importance of psychological operations.
   On future missions, the Scout may use a bullhorn, a back-pack speaker, a helicopter speaker, or he may be standing face to face with the local people. But on all occasions, the Scout is speaking for the GVN. Long hours of training are spent preparing him for these public presentations. There are five target audiences to whom Psy-Op appeals for the 173d in support of pacification operations in the four northern districts of Binh Dinh Province. These are (1) NVA, (2) VC, (3) local Vietnamese people, (4) leaders of the Vietnamese Government, and (5) American troops.
   The Kit Carson Scout attempts to get the NVA to rally while also trying to lower their morale, and split the NVA from the VC and their families in addition to demoralizing their spirit and making them less effective fighters. Speaking to the people, Scouts work with armed Propaganda Teams, the Vietnamese Information Service, VN District S-5's and S-2's. Together, these people are going to hamlets and villages trying to convince the people that their best interests for a strong future are with the GVN. They also explain that the VCI must be neutralized and that everyone should cooperate and actively support the GVN.
   The combined psychological operations missions of US and GVN personnel demonstrates the good relations between the US and its allies in Viet Nam. American troops, by their deeds and actions with the people, reinforce or destroy the credibility of our Psy-Op Program.
   Kit Carson Scout, Dang Sang, a former VC hamlet chief, has worked with the 173d Psy-Op Team for seven months. Four years with the 1st Air Cav and the 173d has made Sang famous for speaking to local Vietnamese and trying to convince them that their relatives with the enemy should surrender. Within the last seven months he has helped the Chieu Hoi Program bring in 257 Hoi Chanhs in the four northern districts of Binh Dinh Province. Approximately 50 of these Hoi Chanhs rallied to the 173d Paratroopers. Most of the Hoi Chanhs however, turned themselves into the PF soldiers or hamlet chiefs because they can talk to each other easily.
   Many Hoi Chanhs and Kit Carson Scouts, like Dang Sang, communicate directly with old VC and NVA friends and convince them to "Chieu Hoi". Kit Carson Scout Sang was useful in getting one of his old friends to rally in June. Since then, another 'old friend' asked Sang to come over some night to describe rallying. Sang, who is a marked target for assassination by the VC, realized the discussion might be halted by an ambush. Instead of going to the VC's family, he wrote a letter to the man asking him to rally. Late September in Tam Quan District, Kit Carson Scout Nguyen Van Viet wrote a letter to the wife of one Viet Cong urging her to help her husband rally. The VC rallied a few days later.
   From their first briefing in the Psy-Op program to actually rallying Hoi Chanhs, KCS's have proven their worth to the psychological operations effort of the 173d in conjunction with the GVN.

Lucky Star is Lucky Safe

   LZ ENGLISH - The 6lst Aviation Company (Assault Helicopter) was designated the "Lucky Star" from its outset. It has lived up to its self-styled nickname. Since being assigned to support the 173d Airborne Brigade in March of 1968, the "Lucky Starblazers" have kept intact a long standing record. They have never lost a ship or crew member as a result of hostile action.
   It's no wonder. A typical gunship of the "Lucky Starblazers" packs enough firepower in its arsenal of weapons to support its own pacification program. Armed with "intent to bring bodily harm," a single Huey-type Assault Helicopter carries 14 seven-pound rockets, two mini-guns, 6,000 rounds of mini-gun ammunition and two M-60 machine guns with a thousand rounds of ammunition each. The mini-guns alone can. devastate an area the size of a football field in three seconds, pouring out 4,000 rounds per minute.
   If this isn't enough to alarm Charlie just a 'tee-tee' - there's more in the offering. It's called the "Hog Frog." In addition to having the typical storehouse of artillery aboard, it also is equipped with a 40 millimeter grenade launcher - capable of firing up to 240 bursting rounds per minute. The 'Hog Frog' is primarily utilized in open-terrain and light scrub areas where shrapnel is most devastating, according to Captain Michael Kenney, Platoon leader for the Starblazers. "For dense jungle," said Penney, "we prefer the mini-gun for its greater penetrating power."
   The primary mission of the 61st Aviation Company is support of the 173d to include Log Missions (re-supply), Fire Support, DustOff cover, Long Range Patrols, MedEvacs, Troop movements (insertions and extractions) and Charley-Charley's (command and control missions). In addition to six gunships which are in '24 hour readiness', Lucky Star also maintains 22 H-model Slicks, employed mainly for Charley-Charley's, Combat Assaults and log missions. Approximately 70 Commissioned and Warrant Officers assigned to Lucky Star put in around 2,500 hours of flying time a month on missions in support of the Sky Soldiers.

   LZ ENGLISH- Sgt Major William Allen, Special Troops Battalion Sergeant Major, considers his present job the most interesting and "the real challenge" of this career. The top enlisted man of the 1,200 man Special Troops Battalion believes there is drug abuse in every unit to an extent."We have had our problems," he said. "But, most of our problems came from the States." There is a good way to correct the problem of drug abuse, he believes. "If they are working and training they don't have time for pot."
   Sgt Maj Allen, who grew up in Corpus Christi Tex, is an Army veteran of 26 years. In comparing the old troopers with the ones of today, he believes those of today are smarter than of yesteryear - education wise. "Other than that, people are people," he said. "Basically the troopers of today and those of yesteryear are the same. I don't believe there is any difference. The age variation has to be taken into consideration. During World War II there was a mixture of the age groups. There were people between 18 and 33 who were drafted into the service. Even in the Korean War there were many National Guard and Reserve units with older age groups, while in Vietnam the average trooper's age is l9". Sgt Maj Allen realizes his job covers all activities of the Battalion, and feels his primary responsibility is the welfare of the enlisted men in Special Troops.
   He came to Vietnam to serve his first tour with 2nd Bn, 8th Cavalry, 1st Air Cavalry Division, in 1966-67, here at LZ English. The second tour he was with 2nd Bn, 5th Cavalry, 1st Air Cavalry, at Tay Ninh, April to October, 1969. Sgt Maj Allen joined the 173d Airborne in March this year. His awards and decorations include the Silver Star, three Bronze Star Medals with "V" Device, three Bronze Star Medals for meritorious service, two Army Commendation Medals, the Air Medal, the Purple Heart with Cluster, Combat Infantry Badge (2nd award), and Master Parachutist Badge.
   Another challenge during his Army career? - Being a First Sergeant. He believes the First Sergeant has the most difficult job. Sgt Maj Allen, makes his home in Fayetteville, N.C. where his wife, Kristine, lives. They have a daughter, Mrs. Richard Reynolds, of Winston-Salem, NC. He plans to retire upon the completion of 30 years of active duty in the Army.