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The military mission of the Brigade consisted mostly of Search-and-Destroy and Cordon operations, some of which were undertaken jointly with the 3rd. Marine Division and 1st. Air Cavalry. The 5/4th. Artillery set up its main fire-support base at C-2, northwest of Cam Lô and south of Côn Thien. The first firefight of the Red Devil Brigade against the North Vietnamese Army [NVA] took place starting 11 August 1968, in the area known as "Leatherneck Square" - The Marines had already taught the enemy a lesson in these parts during the Têt, 1968 celebrations - [bounded by Côn Thien {also known as LZ Alpha 4, and named for a no-longer existing village near Thôn Huong Thanh - later that area would be known as Kentucky a fairly high hill that also had been used by the French}, Cam Lô {resettled from its original site}, Dông Hà and Gio Linh], when it overran the enemy bunker complex with the assistance of Alpha Company of the 1st. Battalion, 77th. Armor Regiment, and in which the enemy took well over 50 casualties. The enemy retreated in complete disarray. "Monday 12 August 1968: Alpha Company, 1/77th Armor was the first unit of the Red Brigade to be sent into combat, leaving its spa in Wunder Beach, moving basically Westward to Cam Lô, then North to Côn Thien. Two of our guys have already died here, one by drowning and one to fatal illness. Our first combat casualty was PFC William [Billy] Kent from Charley Company, 1/61st. Infantry - a 20-year old kid who was killed by a trap off the main trail right at the outset of an ambush northwest of Côn Thien. The 1/61st. Infantry is hanging out at Côn Thien, a village completely destroyed last year, I think, which we call Firebase Alpha 4. It's just a balded hill, made of red clay, and occupied mostly by rats and land-mines of all kinds. I will try to keep track of our casualties, seems to be easier than trying to figure out who's still alive. We carried out this {as well as some of our subsequent} operation jointly with the First Marine Regiment {3rd. Division} against NVA forces. The enemy was routed and 80 of them were killed. Tuesday 20 August 1968: I think the entire Battalion is involved in this encounter with the NVA. SGT Steven Martinez, a 21 year-old from Alpha Company 1/11th. Infantry, was killed by a land mine. Wednesday 21 August 1968: We're getting an education from the marines [it's nice to have them fighting on your side because you tend to live longer that way -- although we will fight over a beer with them], and are more careful about covering our bright red diamond patches with black laundry ink. Heretofore, the bright red diamond was proudly displayed on our shoulder, and we could quickly identify members of our unit, but so could the enemy, sometimes from far away. Another Marine tip, cover the muzzle of the M-16 with plastic wrap to keep dust and moisture out of the barrel and maybe it won't jam so much. Apparently they have experienced a lot of trouble, and many of them prefer to use the AK-47. So, many of us now have plastic wrapped on the muzzle of our delicate weapon. It just melts away with the first round fired and kind of gunks up the flash suppressor. Friday 23 August 1968: PFC Chester Mc Clelland, a 24-year old {an elderly fellow in the midst of these youngsters, but the same age as I am} from Delta Company 1/77th. Armor was killed by mortar fire, when the NVA attempted to counter-attack. He was just a driver. Saturday 24 August 1968: Excerpt from page 8 of the Annual Historical Supplement 1968, 1st. Battalion, 11th. Infantry, APO San Francisco 96477 - The Pioneer Battalion "The First Team" copy received from Sidney Collins on 13 November 2000 and authored by Emil N. Tepsitch, Command Sergeant Major, Unit Historical NCO. "On 24 August 1968, a fever of expectancy encompassed the Pioneer ranks as the order was received to deploy to the Demilitarized Zone of Vietnam and occupy the forward fire base location near Con Thien (YD 115702). Designated in military parlance as A-4, the fire base became the focal point of what was to become an illustrious segment of an already distinguished combat history." 25 August 1968: Excerpt from the Annual Historical Supplement 1968, 1st. Battalion, 11th. Infantry, APO San Francisco 96477 - The Pioneer Battalion "The First Team" copy received from Sidney Collins on 13 November 2000 and authored by Emil N. Tepsitch, Command Sergeant Major, Unit Historical NCO: "A two-pronged battalion move was conducted on 25 August 1968 as the main force consisting of Companies B, C, D and E occupied A-4 and Company A was airlifted into another fire base designated as A-3 (YD 173723), the Eastern anchor of what could be termed (in traditional warfare) as the front line trace. The battalion CP [Command Post] was sited at A-4 and an entirely new type of environment greeted the Pioneers as they took up residence below ground in heavily sandbagged bunkers with typical Pioneer humor and ingenuity the interiors of "Prairie Dog Village" were suddenly decorated with an assortment of provocative pin-up pictures and humerous slogans, though questionable in taste, most certainly lent color to an otherwise dismal abode." 26 August 1968: We are in Leatherneck Square, outside Dông Hà, and NVA and VC seem to be popping up out of nowhere and everywhere at once. So, we kill them. Saturday 31 August 1968: It is not a good day to be married in this man's world. Our sister Company, Delta Company, 1/11th., lost SGT Keith Wilson, who was killed by AK-47 fire, and who became the first married man killed in our Brigade. From the same company, CPL Anthony Miller was shot and killed. He's our first black man casualty and he also was married, and had a family, we think. Delta Company had been pinned down by well planned mortar fire. Our sister platoon chased the enemy as Charley Company, 1/11th. Infantry joined up with the 1/77th. Armor to relieve a pinned down squad. We're rather proud, and sort of exhilirated with over 52 kills today. We're getting mean and thirst for vengeance to avenge our dead against the gooks. Ah yes, the enemy has earned a distinguished promotion to a sub-human species. They are now gooks, ripe for extermination. If we don't think of them as human, we are less likely to hesitate about killing them, and too often it is that fraction of time spent in hesitation that gets one killed here. The VC are running from us [Victor Charley on the radio waves, stands for Viêt Cong, and we often called this unseen enemy Charley, or Mr. Charles when he earned our professional respect]." Headquarters were installed at Camp Red Devil {courtesy of the Engineers}, outside and West of Quang Tri City, some 17 kilometers from the DMZ. For the next two months, our Battalion, and indeed the Brigade as a whole, established a reputation for finding and routing the enemy in every single encounter. This was not mentioned in the American civilian press, who probably looked upon our achievements with some dismay as it seemed pre-occupied with trying to headline instances of Communist successes. So to the American public it must have seemed like Communist forces consistently won major victories rather than experiencing transient advances and massive losses. And in the field we were killing them at a frightening pace. Excerpt from the Annual Historical Supplement 1968, 1st. Battalion, 11th. Infantry, APO San Francisco 96477 - The Pioneer Battalion "The First Team" copy received from Sidney Collins on 13 November 2000 and authored by Emil N. Tepsitch, Command Sergeant Major, Unit Historical NCO.[Continued from 25 August segment] "Humor wasn't one-sided however, as the enemy rendered an audible welcome by shelling both fire bases with rockets, mortars, and long range artillery. The total effect resulted in a fierce determination of the Pioneers to personally confront the enemy as soon as possible to express their appreciation for the consideration shown by the enemy greeting committee. This was accomplished in a striking manner on 31 August 1968 as a company size patrol of Company D received sniper fire. The resulting action found the unit in contact with a numerically large enemy force, heavily equipped with automatic weapons. Supported by air strikes, Company D closed with the enemy and by use of fire and maneuver killed fifty-two (52) of the enemy, captured his equipment, and rendered that particular NVA unit totally ineffective for immediate combat. This remarkable action served as the battalion announcement that this designated portion of South Vietnam was Pioneer territory and intruders would be regarded as encroaching upon our right of eminent domain. Plaudits and praise were bestowed upon the Pioneers by all echelons of major commands to include that of the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, General William C. Westmoreland. To mark the occasion, free beer and barbecue was made available to all hands and then it was back into the AO [Area of Operations] to literally look for a fight." Go to Last Month Go to Next Month Go to MJMR's home page Go to the Viêt Nam War Museum Home Page
The military mission of the Brigade consisted mostly of Search-and-Destroy and Cordon operations, some of which were undertaken jointly with the 3rd. Marine Division and 1st. Air Cavalry. The 5/4th. Artillery set up its main fire-support base at C-2, northwest of Cam Lô and south of Côn Thien. The first firefight of the Red Devil Brigade against the North Vietnamese Army [NVA] took place starting 11 August 1968, in the area known as "Leatherneck Square" - The Marines had already taught the enemy a lesson in these parts during the Têt, 1968 celebrations - [bounded by Côn Thien {also known as LZ Alpha 4, and named for a no-longer existing village near Thôn Huong Thanh - later that area would be known as Kentucky a fairly high hill that also had been used by the French}, Cam Lô {resettled from its original site}, Dông Hà and Gio Linh], when it overran the enemy bunker complex with the assistance of Alpha Company of the 1st. Battalion, 77th. Armor Regiment, and in which the enemy took well over 50 casualties. The enemy retreated in complete disarray.
"Monday 12 August 1968: Alpha Company, 1/77th Armor was the first unit of the Red Brigade to be sent into combat, leaving its spa in Wunder Beach, moving basically Westward to Cam Lô, then North to Côn Thien. Two of our guys have already died here, one by drowning and one to fatal illness. Our first combat casualty was PFC William [Billy] Kent from Charley Company, 1/61st. Infantry - a 20-year old kid who was killed by a trap off the main trail right at the outset of an ambush northwest of Côn Thien. The 1/61st. Infantry is hanging out at Côn Thien, a village completely destroyed last year, I think, which we call Firebase Alpha 4. It's just a balded hill, made of red clay, and occupied mostly by rats and land-mines of all kinds. I will try to keep track of our casualties, seems to be easier than trying to figure out who's still alive. We carried out this {as well as some of our subsequent} operation jointly with the First Marine Regiment {3rd. Division} against NVA forces. The enemy was routed and 80 of them were killed.
Tuesday 20 August 1968: I think the entire Battalion is involved in this encounter with the NVA. SGT Steven Martinez, a 21 year-old from Alpha Company 1/11th. Infantry, was killed by a land mine.
Wednesday 21 August 1968: We're getting an education from the marines [it's nice to have them fighting on your side because you tend to live longer that way -- although we will fight over a beer with them], and are more careful about covering our bright red diamond patches with black laundry ink. Heretofore, the bright red diamond was proudly displayed on our shoulder, and we could quickly identify members of our unit, but so could the enemy, sometimes from far away. Another Marine tip, cover the muzzle of the M-16 with plastic wrap to keep dust and moisture out of the barrel and maybe it won't jam so much. Apparently they have experienced a lot of trouble, and many of them prefer to use the AK-47. So, many of us now have plastic wrapped on the muzzle of our delicate weapon. It just melts away with the first round fired and kind of gunks up the flash suppressor.
Friday 23 August 1968: PFC Chester Mc Clelland, a 24-year old {an elderly fellow in the midst of these youngsters, but the same age as I am} from Delta Company 1/77th. Armor was killed by mortar fire, when the NVA attempted to counter-attack. He was just a driver.
Saturday 24 August 1968: Excerpt from page 8 of the Annual Historical Supplement 1968, 1st. Battalion, 11th. Infantry, APO San Francisco 96477 - The Pioneer Battalion "The First Team" copy received from Sidney Collins on 13 November 2000 and authored by Emil N. Tepsitch, Command Sergeant Major, Unit Historical NCO. "On 24 August 1968, a fever of expectancy encompassed the Pioneer ranks as the order was received to deploy to the Demilitarized Zone of Vietnam and occupy the forward fire base location near Con Thien (YD 115702). Designated in military parlance as A-4, the fire base became the focal point of what was to become an illustrious segment of an already distinguished combat history."
25 August 1968: Excerpt from the Annual Historical Supplement 1968, 1st. Battalion, 11th. Infantry, APO San Francisco 96477 - The Pioneer Battalion "The First Team" copy received from Sidney Collins on 13 November 2000 and authored by Emil N. Tepsitch, Command Sergeant Major, Unit Historical NCO: "A two-pronged battalion move was conducted on 25 August 1968 as the main force consisting of Companies B, C, D and E occupied A-4 and Company A was airlifted into another fire base designated as A-3 (YD 173723), the Eastern anchor of what could be termed (in traditional warfare) as the front line trace. The battalion CP [Command Post] was sited at A-4 and an entirely new type of environment greeted the Pioneers as they took up residence below ground in heavily sandbagged bunkers with typical Pioneer humor and ingenuity the interiors of "Prairie Dog Village" were suddenly decorated with an assortment of provocative pin-up pictures and humerous slogans, though questionable in taste, most certainly lent color to an otherwise dismal abode."
26 August 1968: We are in Leatherneck Square, outside Dông Hà, and NVA and VC seem to be popping up out of nowhere and everywhere at once. So, we kill them.
Saturday 31 August 1968: It is not a good day to be married in this man's world. Our sister Company, Delta Company, 1/11th., lost SGT Keith Wilson, who was killed by AK-47 fire, and who became the first married man killed in our Brigade. From the same company, CPL Anthony Miller was shot and killed. He's our first black man casualty and he also was married, and had a family, we think. Delta Company had been pinned down by well planned mortar fire. Our sister platoon chased the enemy as Charley Company, 1/11th. Infantry joined up with the 1/77th. Armor to relieve a pinned down squad. We're rather proud, and sort of exhilirated with over 52 kills today. We're getting mean and thirst for vengeance to avenge our dead against the gooks. Ah yes, the enemy has earned a distinguished promotion to a sub-human species. They are now gooks, ripe for extermination. If we don't think of them as human, we are less likely to hesitate about killing them, and too often it is that fraction of time spent in hesitation that gets one killed here. The VC are running from us [Victor Charley on the radio waves, stands for Viêt Cong, and we often called this unseen enemy Charley, or Mr. Charles when he earned our professional respect]."
Headquarters were installed at Camp Red Devil {courtesy of the Engineers}, outside and West of Quang Tri City, some 17 kilometers from the DMZ. For the next two months, our Battalion, and indeed the Brigade as a whole, established a reputation for finding and routing the enemy in every single encounter. This was not mentioned in the American civilian press, who probably looked upon our achievements with some dismay as it seemed pre-occupied with trying to headline instances of Communist successes. So to the American public it must have seemed like Communist forces consistently won major victories rather than experiencing transient advances and massive losses. And in the field we were killing them at a frightening pace.
Excerpt from the Annual Historical Supplement 1968, 1st. Battalion, 11th. Infantry, APO San Francisco 96477 - The Pioneer Battalion "The First Team" copy received from Sidney Collins on 13 November 2000 and authored by Emil N. Tepsitch, Command Sergeant Major, Unit Historical NCO.[Continued from 25 August segment]
"Humor wasn't one-sided however, as the enemy rendered an audible welcome by shelling both fire bases with rockets, mortars, and long range artillery. The total effect resulted in a fierce determination of the Pioneers to personally confront the enemy as soon as possible to express their appreciation for the consideration shown by the enemy greeting committee.
This was accomplished in a striking manner on 31 August 1968 as a company size patrol of Company D received sniper fire. The resulting action found the unit in contact with a numerically large enemy force, heavily equipped with automatic weapons. Supported by air strikes, Company D closed with the enemy and by use of fire and maneuver killed fifty-two (52) of the enemy, captured his equipment, and rendered that particular NVA unit totally ineffective for immediate combat. This remarkable action served as the battalion announcement that this designated portion of South Vietnam was Pioneer territory and intruders would be regarded as encroaching upon our right of eminent domain.
Plaudits and praise were bestowed upon the Pioneers by all echelons of major commands to include that of the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, General William C. Westmoreland. To mark the occasion, free beer and barbecue was made available to all hands and then it was back into the AO [Area of Operations] to literally look for a fight."
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