Airborne battalion and the 3rd airborne brigade headquarters and the 3rd airborne battalion participated in operation lam son 719. This was my second tour in vietnam and was planning on the relative sedate life of a ch47 pilot as i remembered watching them from afar in my first tour. Neal ulevichap lam son 719 was one of the bloodiest battles of the vietnam war. Photos provided by bill whitehurst whitey hmh463 7071.
Qlvnch su bile oruzane snage republike vijetnam, poznatiji kao juzni vijetnam. Qlvnch su bile odgovorne za obranu juznog vijetnama od komunisticke agresije sjevernog vijetnama i njegovih. Lam son 719 was a major operation of the army of the republic of south vietnam, arvn, into laos from 30 jan 24 mar 1971. Lam son was the birthplace of a famous vietnamese patriot who defeated an invading chinese army in 1427. The two battalions developed firebases along route 9 in laos to serve as tripwires for any pavn advance into the zone of the arvn incursion. Our right side doorgunner was david mosier the person wounded. The photo of the ca on the websites front page is not the actual ca from lam son 719 in which this radio transmission was made. Stdrvn macvsog pictures strategic technical directorate. Doan van nu, an arvn paratrooper, and former military attache to taiwan. Lam son 719 at the rockpile and carried the colors of the 11th light infantry brigade 43 into battle.
Grade a extra large widow and penny pincher bertha cool, the sixtyish head of the b. The dolphin slicks were really hanging it out with low airspeed at low altitude. The port of sihanoukville redesignated kompong som no longer was a free port of entry for his supplies and our operation market time on the high seas off the vietnam coastline was effectively interdicting infiltration by seo to continue supporting its war in the south, it appeared that north vietnam would have to rely solely on the ho chi. Custom design any patch, pin, or cap for govt, military, police, fire, clubs, teams lodges, schools any organization. Helicopter units involved in lam son 719 1st bde avn det, 5th inf mech 4 uh1h, 6 oh58 1st bde avn det, 101st abn 2d bde avn det, 101st abn.
We take pride in communicating well with our customers, meeting their needs quickly and efficiently, and protecting the condition of our books during shipping. What makes this account important is that robert d. The lam son 719 invasion of laos in 1971 figures quite prominently in my book. It was a campaign that demonstrated that arvn had great strengths. A superbly crafted, highly suspenseful, and deeply affecting debut novel about one mans loyalty to his country. Originally published in the may 2014 issue of armchair general. This is my first read on lam son 719 based on a recommendation from mike sloniker the vhpa historian. All the following pics show either fsb hotel 1,2 or 3 in support of the south vietnamese marines in laos.
Many lessons learned emerged from the battle that have a direct correlation on how army aviation flies and fights today. Background landscape in 1968, the national front for the liberation of the south nfl, and the north vietnamese army nva, launched several attacks on various south vietnamese cities, including hue and the national capital saigon. This section is to honor and recognize our brothers who fought in country in 1971 and especially those who participated in operation dewey canyon ll. Lam books specializes in visual art catalogues and indigenous publications, as well as books on history, literature, film, theatre, religion and architecture. Juzni vijetnam je bila drzava koja je postojala na juznom dijelu danasnjeg vijetnama od 1955. This shootdown was just west of lz aloui on 5 march 1971. This lz is marked on the loas map on the websites maps page. Cool and lam is the fictional american private detective firm that is the center of a series of detective novels written by erle stanley gardner using the pen name of a. Helicopter units involved in lam son 719 1st bde avn det, 5th inf mech 4 uh1h, 6 oh58. I was an army air traffic controller with 125 atc in vietnam from aug 70 to aug 71. This operation, which was reported around the world, required an experienced and talented commander at higher levels to deal with the confrontation. Operation lam son 719 or 9th route southern laos campaign vietnamese. An eyewitness account of the last major operation the americans fought in vietnam, focusing on the soldiers as individuals and on the previously neglected aspects of the battles that were not reported by the press.
A superbly crafted, highly suspenseful, and deeply affecting debut. Even though enemy armor was under daily attack from the air, fire support base 31 had been lost because of the enemys effective coordination of. Fair erle stanley gardnero ne of the alltime great mismatched teamups in detective fiction and at the time a real blast of fresh air. But two journalist colleaguesthe authors of this bookreturned to laos. From 8 february to 25 march 1971 the 2nd airborne battalion and the 3rd airborne brigade headquarters and the 3rd airborne battalion participated in operation lam son 719. Book your vietnam travel packages or customize your vietnam tours with way to vietnam travel agency. Robert sander has done a truly superb job of telling what really happened in lam son 719. Arvn fought bravely on enemy territory against heavy odds. The planners of lam son 719 had failed to give sufficient consideration to the threat of nva armor, and now this threat had become a reality. The dolphins were assigned the callsign boats for the lam son 719 operation.
Even though enemy armor was under daily attack from the air, fire support base 31 had been lost because of the enemys effective coordination of armor and infantry forces. Cool and lam series 30 primary works 32 total works cool and lam is the fictional american private detective firm that is the center of a series of detective novels written by erle stanley gardner using the pen name of a. After a short stand down at bronco, at 0912 on the morning of february 8, 1971,cs were loaded and a combat assault was in progress with a destination to hell, also known as khe sanh. Military aviation bluestars48th ahc and lam son 719 ran across this documentarypretty well shows what combat helicopter flying in the us. Operation lam son 719 or 9th route southern laos campaign was a limited objective offensive campaign conducted in the southeastern portion of the. Marine division conducted probing attacks to test pavn strength ahead of the launch of general tru. Witchdoctor was the callsign of the 174ths maintenance officer. This elegant serviced apartment is ideal for those in search of a private serviced apartment that is designed to accommodate executives as well as travelers. In fact, on the very first day of the operation we had two slick aircraft shot down. Army helicopter pilot during a littleknown battle of the vietnam war, codenamed operation lam son 719, that took place in early 1971, in which south vietnamese forces, back by u. I was the ce on 252 the day steve diehl flew our bird onto lolo 3 mar 71.
A101 ahb comancheros were one of the aviation units in this operation, along with being the sole 101 st airborne aviation unit supporting the special operations group in i corp. Lam son 719 dewey canyon ll operations alpha company 43 11th light infantry brigade americal division worked the khe sahn area of operation. Cityhouse lam son apartment 8789 lam son st, tan binh. I was the s3 for b159th 101st chinooks for the pre planning and execution of lam son 719. Since the very beginning of the lam son 719 operation, which started on february 8, 1971, the bluestar and joker gunship aircraft of the 48 th ahc were at very high risk every time they crossed the vietnamese border into laos.
The unit participated in most of the significant campaigns of the vietnam war, including the tonkin gulf incident which precipitated american involvement, operation steel tiger, operation tiger hound, the tet offensive, operation commando hunt, the cambodian campaign, operation lam son 719, and the easter offensive. Operation lam son 719 and vietnamization in laos, the tet offensive. The campaign was carried out by the armed forces of the republic of vietnam south vietnam between 8 february and 25 march 1971, during the. The numerical designation of 719 came by combining the year 1971 and the main highway to be used, route 9. The overall situation throughout south vietnam began to improve soon after american troops were committed to the ground war. The story of dewey canyon ii lam son 719, vietnam 1971 nolan, keith william on. Operation lam son 719 was the largest operation into cambodia till then, though there had been previous incursions organized by iii corps and iv corps.
Sander served during the vietnam war as a helicopter pilot assigned to the 101st airborne division, and was part of the air support for the battle itself. Below is thirtyone minute video on lam son 719, providing background and contextual information. The story of dewey canyon iilam son 719, vietnam 1971. Photojournalist larry burrows of life died in helicopter c flickr. The battle of an loc could only be written effectively by a participant, and willbanks was present as an advisor to an arvn unit. This book gives a detailed account of the battle of lam son 719. Lam son 719 south vietnamese special operators had conducted reconnaissance before the illfated operation lam son 719, an independent arvn operation into cambodia. However, it was also a campaign that demonstrated that arvn would still need american support for some time before becoming fully independent.
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