1st Bn 8th Cav (1968-69)
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1st Air Cavalry Division
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| ....Updated 12 Feb 2005 ....THIS HOME PAGE FOR
DELTA COMPANY 1968-1969 HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED SINCE THERE ARE SO MANY
MEMBERS FROM THAT UNIT AND TIME FRAME.
THE SPONSOR IS JERRY
FREASE, at "frease@aol.com". SEND HIM ANY ROSTERS, EVENTS,
INCIDENTS, AND PHOTOS. JERRY NEEDS YOUR HELP.
KNOWN
MEMBERS ON INTERNET:
JAMES BEARD
WILSON BUTLER
BILL
COLE
ED "DOC" COPPS
LAWRENCE CROCKETT
JEFF
CROSTON
WARREN DAVID
JERRY FITZGERALD
JERRY FREASE
DONAL
GIBSON
GEORGE GOSWICK
JERRY HAKALA
PHIL HAMM
BILLY JACK
HENNEY
BERNIE HOLTHAUS
BILL HUNT
ALEX HOLODILOFF
RAY
METSCHLER
JOHN MCCULLOUGH
WALTER NICHOLS
ED
RODELA
SHELTON "SPIDERMAN" PACKER
PAUL SADOWSKI
GLENN
SHEATHELM
HAROLD JESSE SMITH
RANDY SWEATT
WILLIAM
TELL
JIM WISE
BILLY VANDRE
JOHN W. PFEIFFER,
GARY H.
HANKIN
ART DRAGO
RALPH SHERMAN
FRANK VAVREK, (COMPANY
COMMANDER, JUL-DEC 68
JERRY WALK
BENNIE ZUNIGA
TOM
PAULOVITZ
NELSON DEMILLE,2ND Plat Ldr and Executive Officer for
Delta 1/8, 1968. Nationally known author, a dozen best sellers, 1
movie out "General's Daughter", more pending. (Not on the
Internet)
ANDREW BERGER, 3 Mar 67 - 3 Mar
68
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A SHORT HISTORY OF
1968:
OPERATION PERSHING, the last large operation in
1967, came to a close with outstanding results on 21 January 1968.
The totals for the operation (division wide) included 5,000 killed,
nearly 2,500 captured and over 1,000 weapons confiscated. The
battalion moved with the 1st Brigade to continue operations in I
Corps at the beginning of 1968, as this was to turn out to be a
memorable one for the battalion and the 1st Cavalry Division as a
whole. Moving into Quang Tri, the battalion protected the brigade's
fire bases during the enemy TET Offensive. The defense of the city
itself ran from 31 January to 6 February. At the end of his time,
the 8th Cavalry had defeated the enemy and begun pursuit operations.
Operating on the shores of the Gulf of Tonkin, Companies A and B
engaged an estimated battalion of enemy soldiers and killed 19 while
capturing valuable enemy arms. April 5, marked the beginning of
OPERATION PEGASUS; the battalion and other 1st Cavalry elements came
to the relief of the Marines at beleaguered Khe Sanh. After
successful operations, the battalion moved on to their biggest
operation for the year. The Ashau Valley was the first objective of
OPERATION DELAWARE. Located in a strategic position guarding the
passes to Laos and the Ho Chi Minh Trail, all units found large
caches of enemy equipment including crew served weapons, Soviet
trucks, rockets and rice. In many respects, this operation in an
enemy stronghold would reflect the battalion's activities in
Cambodia a year and a half later.
Later in the year, the
battalion began to conduct joint operations with ARVN soldiers and
the local forces. This was another sign of progress as the 1st
Cavalry Division already had initiated the Vietnamization program
long before it became a national concern. Cordon and search
operations utilized local Regional and Popular Forces in order to
deny the enemy the vital rice which he so desperately needed. The
Summer months and early Fall were spent securing Highway 1 and
conducting operations within their own AO, the battalion had been
operating in an area designated as base area 101 by the Viet Cong
and continued to engage small enemy units, the classical way to
fight guerrilla war. The last big battle fought by the battalion in
I Corps was at Quang Tri City on 22 August.
A new phase was
begun in October. The entire battalion moved along with the division
to III Corps where the mission was to interdict infiltration routes
and destroy enemy forces. Primary emphasis was on stopping
infiltration from Cambodia through the "Angel's Wing" and the
"Parrots Beak" two staging areas in South Vietnam. Maximum
coordination was made with the US Navy as the battalion went
"watermobile". This emphasized a maximum use of sea and air power to
cover a large area of operations. Joint operations were launched
along the maze of waterways to eliminate enemy traffic, neutralize
bases and seek out caches. As a mini-armada of battalion troops in
armed Navy ships moved up stream, they would turn to shore at
irregular intervals and deploy troops to search the area long the
waterway. 1968 closed with the NavCav operations, indicating the
ability of the battalion to coordinate both with allied ARVN and
other branches of the US Armed Forces. It was a memorable year for
the battalion, truly emphasizing mobility from the dusty reaches of
Khe Sanh in I Corps to the waterways of the lower III
Corps.
A SHORT HISTORY OF 1969:
In the new year
the battalion rose to the challenge of new mission as they continued
to work in "NavCav" and interdiction missions. On 20 January 1969,
the battalion moved into IV Corps for a short period, thus marking
the unit's activity in all fours corps zones. Working with the 11th
Armored Cavalry Regiment, the battalion then continued operations in
III Corps. On 21 March 1969, LZ White was partially overrun. Sp4
Donald R. Johnston of Co D was manning a bunker on the perimeter when
a satchel charge was thrown into the bunker, By diving on the
charge, and absorbing the blast, SP4 Johnston saved the lives of six
of his comrades. His actions resulted in the award of the
Congressional Medal of Honor, the third man so honored for the
battalion in Vietnam. Moving to LZ Rock, the battalion began to
operate in the vicinity of the Don Nai River. A series of operations
in late May and June uncovered large supply caches and ammunition
with 2 June marking the high spot. A battle on the river banks, with
Companies A and B involved, resulting in 54 enemy killed. Co A was
let in this engagement by Captain Walter J. Marm, winner of the
Congressional Medal of Honor in the 1965 Ia Drang valley battle. In
September a move was made reminiscent of the old cavalry days. The
entire battalion, minus the battalion rear, moved from the Quang Loi
region to the Bu Dop CIDG Special Forces camp on the Cambodian
Border. The move involved 1,200 men and was completed in 48 hours.
Leaving FSB Jerry, FSB Ellen was established to interdict enemy
movement of supplies along one of the major trails, the Serges
Jungle Trail. On 4 November, the FSB beat back the enemy attack and
cost the enemy severe casualties. The year was concluded with
operations against enemy forces in the area around FSB Ellen.
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| As the battalion had
moved more deeply into the III Corps sanctuaries of the enemy, the
nature of the adversary had changed. In the earlier years, trooper
had been accustomed to fighting Viet Cong guerrillas in more
populated areas along the coast. This had given way by 1969 to
fighting North Vietnamese regular units who were rushed back to the
Cambodian border away from the populated centers of the coast. These
were trying times for the soldiers as the triple canopy jungle had
to be regularly canvassed to root out the enemy bunker complexes.
The job was made more difficulty by the ability of the enemy to slip
into Cambodia with impunity and obtain resupply and rest, since
allied forces respect Cambodian neutrality. On 2 December, Co B
engaged such an enemy forces in a large bunker complex. For his
heroic actions, 2LT Robert P. Leisy was recommended posthumously.
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