I then learned that the battalion headquarters had been hit earlier by a mortar round. Colonel Tyler provided encouragement and said he was working on it. He had been hit in one leg attempting to get to some of our wounded. Operation Hump: the first major battle of the Vietnam War. General Westmoreland talked with each of my soldiers. Dynamite did the job but created a hell of a mess that had to be cleared. We didnt know the situation between our position and the battalion base. This would be a spinal fusion operation. At an 8th of November display set up in the lobby of Deadwood Mountain Grand to honor 173d Airborne Brigade Operation Hump, Hill 65 survivors, Niles Harris, Michael Lovelace and Sonny Bartow point to their respective places within this picture that captures the day they were deployed to Vietnam on May 5, 1965. Moving rapidly, at approximately 0925 hours, Lt. Thurston reported enemy movement forward of the third platoon on the far side of the creek just short of hill 65. I then estimated that we could be up against as many as three Viet Cong battalions. In 1947, Admiral Richard E. Byrd led 4,000 military troops from the U.S., Britain and Australia in an invasion of Antarctica called "Operation Highjump", and at least one follow-up expedition. I made sure everyone knew we had the General with us, we would move slowly and we would not be taking any chances. We got a lot of questions on being ambushed and fallen into a Viet Cong trap. General Williamson took those head-on as nonsense. operation hump, the first major battle between the u.s. army and the viet cong and north vietnamese forces, took place november 5-9, 1965, in south vietnam's war zone d. known as "the hump," it would change the nature of the war, escalating it from a hit-and-run guerrilla conflict to a bloody contest between communist main force units and Coma (No Response, Total Assistance) After a severe brain injury, your loved one may remain in a coma for some time. My next, and last, conversation with Lt. Thurston had the makings of a disaster. Black Hills Pioneer. Operation Highjump: The diary of a young sailor. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. They needed an opening twice as large if they were to get on the ground. I could not recall a case where they chose to go home. It was getting dark and not only could we not hear the battlefield with the aircraft hovering above us, we now could not see to our front. Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. Finally, General Williamson radioed he was coming in. When were able to host community events on any level, it is special for us, but hosting this Veterans Day event every year is extra special, even more so this year because were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 173d Airborne and our buddy Niles Harris, said Marc Oswald, co-owner of the Grand. Low 24F. The company closed on the new company base at approximately 0715 hours. General Westmoreland would never know he was the inspector on this one. Leaders seemed to appear everywhere knowing what was about to happen. More importantly, I wanted our wounded to know they were uppermost in our minds and we wanted them back as quickly as possible. By now we had received over 900 artillery rounds in support of our fight on the hill. Accompanying the General was Colonel Tyler and General Williamson. I thought this to be the safest place on the battlefield. Use the 'Report' link on The position was no sooner establish then it was hit by yet another terrible assault. Now we knew the Dust Off would be coming in. It was deadly quiet even with the suffering of our wounded. SSgt Wear said he knew where Lt. Thurston had fallen and he was willing to lead a recovery effort. Approximately thirty five air strikes supported this effort. We had yet to find seventeen missing from C Company. It was my belief that at this time in the war one would only find enemy fifty caliber machine guns at the regimental level. Once I accepted .the reality and reported to Colonel Tyler, my headquarters and I became very angry. We had caught the enemy from the rear. Forty-eight American soldiers lost their lives that day, many more wounded, and 403 dead PLAF troops. They succeeded and were willing to continue to try and save more as it began to get dark. The Trail of Honor has hosted many veterans who have been Medal of Honor Recipients, Ex-POWs, Navy Cross Recipient and surviving members of previous wars such as the, Tuskegee Airman WWII and Pearl Harbor WWII. The General stood firm. Bartow said that Hill 65 sticks in his mind all the time. The search operation began with the 1/RAR (Royal Australian Regiment) deployed south of the Dong Nai River and paratroopers of the lst Battalion (Airborne), 503D Infantry being lifted by helicopters from the snake pit around noon to conduct a helicopter assault on a LZ northwest of the Dong Nai and Song Be Rivers. Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. I realized we werent going to get any outside help, no one was coming to us. This paper would have more than met that request. We'd love to hear eyewitness "In . They came and left as fast as we could load them. I alerted all three platoons of the situation and cautioned them to move slowly as planned. One of the guys in front of me being killed and the sound of the bugles and whistles from the Viet Cong, Bartow said. 1942 raid of Allied shipping by the Imperial Japanese Navy The operation marked the birth of Air Commandos as part of the U.S. military. The Hump: The First Major Battle of the Vietnam War, Jefferson, North Carolina. Shortly after 0815 hours I took three actions; first, ordering all platoons to halt their movements and to hold their current positions; second, to get prepared to move in the direction of the firing; and third, notified the battalion we had stopped our search pending any instructions to continue, return to the battalion base or to move in the general direction of hill 65. It was all about staying low that day.. The US-Australian objective was to drive out Viet Cong (VC) unit who had taken up positions on several key hills in War Zone D in an area about 17.5 miles (28.2 km) north of Bien Hoa. Kris Kristofferson does an introduction and while I still have yet to hear the song, Kristoffersons contribution is quite nice . He asked if we needed anything. He further informed me that the situation was not clear on hill 65, and that while speed was of the essence, I was not to take any undo risks. After some brief exchange we moved out and at approximately 1625 hours an improvised squad of the third platoon, made up mostly of non-commissioned officers, lead by SSgt Wear, recovered the remains of their fallen leader. one Medal of honor being awarded to Combat medic of the 173rd. Comparing the two books' episodes of combat shows how platoon-level tactics barely changed during the two years after Operation HUMP and the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley fighting supposedly altered . Finally, Specialist 4th Class Jerry W. Langston took over the radio, making one more effort to report. [1] My early assessment was that we had a mess on our hands and must initially try to secure a position on the hill. It was unreal, like something out of films from the civil war. With the action just completed my new estimate was twice that previously reported. I then visited the other wounded. The 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, deployed south of the Dong Nai River while the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry, conducted a helicopter assault on a LZ northwest . Partly cloudy skies. We couldnt walk and carry them out except at great risk to them. Saturday, together in Deadwood for the first time ever, they recalled a few of their most vivid memories and impressions left from the life-changing event, as the fourth annual Deadwoods Veterans Salute sponsored by the Deadwood Business Club and held at Deadwood Mountain Grand, honored their service and sacrifices, along with all area veterans. The result of the battle was heavy losses on both sides. A radio operator was holding the company radio and keying the hand mike for him. The artillery fire temporarily turned the tide by buying us much needed time to locate all elements of C Company with the exception of seventeen paratroopers. It was time to say enough even to one tough paratrooper. Some of those wounded he had dragged out of the firing. Later, some would claim I lead the effort. Later some of my troops would say I blew that question. Operation Hump, the first major battle between the U.S. Army and the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces, took place November 5-9, 1965, in South Vietnam's War Zone D. Known as "The Hump," it would change the nature of the war, escalating it from a hit-and-run guerrilla conflict to a bloody contes. Operation HUMP is considered the first major battle of significance in the Vietnam War by most historian-types. The sad result was troops feeling sorry for themselves, second guessing each other and even blaming each other for some of their casualties. This memoir of an Operation Hump survivor begins with the sequence of events leading up to the battle, from the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Forty-eight American soldiers lost their lives that day. Poll closes at Noon Friday and the winner will be announced in Saturday's print edition. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, came the sounds of three bugles. He cleared the trees and we began to breathe again. our medics were pushed to their limits but accomplished the seemingly impossible. In a January 18 meeting with World War II veterans and Leningrad siege survivors, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia had launched its "special military operation" in Ukraine to stop the war that went on there since 2014. I marveled at those pilots. As their lead platoon left the battalion base it was hit hard by an enemy force. Little did I know he had decided to do it on his own. As we were honoring our dead the ist Air Cavalry Division would lay claim to that record as they fought North Vietnam regulars from November 14 to 19 in a battle for the Ia Drang Valley. The enemy came at us shoulder-to-shoulder. We went back to work, blew out more trees. Retired Army Colonel Sonny Tucker, was there leading the 173rd Airborne Brigade. The worst was yet to come. On day four of the search (Monday, November 8, 1965) Colonel Tyler, ordered his rifle companies to continue the search of the area some 35 miles northeast of Saigon and about 15 miles north of our Bien Hoa base camp. That historic division deserved better! On November 8th 1965, the 173rd Airborne Brigade on "Operation Hump", war zone "D" in Vietnam, were ambushed by over 1200 VC. Colonel Tyler acknowledged my response and ordered me to wait out. None of the positions were occupied and a number of the enemy lay dead close to the positions. I doubted that I would ever forget that message. We now had formed a crescent around the hill that extended from the southeast to the northwest. Especially with the kids. He had slipped and not been hit. The VC are estimated to have sustained 1200+ casualties in this battle, including over 400, dead. Cutting a hole in the jungle, our third task, turned out to be a lot tougher than we had imagined. The company had recently been issued the PRC 25 radio and had insufficient radios to operate below the company level, thus all platoons were on the company frequency. We would not locate those remaining seventeen until the following day. Big Kenny began by offering a toast to the 173d and the survivors for their 50th anniversary of deployment to Vietnam. Having reported the establishment of our base at approximately _117319, I ordered Clair to begin moving in the direction of the trail in the vicinity of _110328. A weekly newsletter to let you know what's going on in the Hills currently. You have permission to edit this article. That came as a surprise as we had not experienced any mortar fire on the hill. We held our breath. Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. I knew we would lose more wounded through the night. The answer to the first task came quickly. I am totally blown away by its nature and force. Geared to the Interests of Veterans and Non-Veteran Patriots. Its 100 percent done by volunteers and I appreciate all the time everybodys put in.. He was still recovering in a ward with one of our great leaders, Platoon Sergeant Adam A. Bernosky of the first platoon. This is the second year Ive chaired the event. The firing was intense from the north; and I had no idea what was between us and the firing. Gen. Williamson, Capt. It is such a great honor to have these gentlemen and ladies educate us on their experiences during combat. While they were severe, we had found many more than twenty-one effective paratroopers at the top of the hill with which to make a fight. Add to basket. Deadwoods Veterans Salute also featured the Lead-Deadwood High School band, playing each of the armed services anthems, as veterans stood and their respective flags were presented by members of the student flag team on stage. We moved slowly, well spread out, followed by C Company. Battle On Hill 65 (ORIGINAL HERE)(Operation HUMP 5 to 9 November 1965)by: Lowell D. Bittrich. Moving initially with the first platoon my headquarters element crossed the creek and began climbing hill 65. The remainder of the second platoon attempted to come to their rescue. B Company was to move approximately two kilometers north northeast, fan-out its three platoons and search an additional one-thousand meters in a northerly direction. Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. It was a painful decision but I called them off. It seemed everyone from the battalion and brigade staffs wanted to help us get ready for the Generals visit. The civic-military dictatorship of Argentina existed from 1976 to 1983 by the military juntas under Operation Condor. When Caleb Reynolds was evacuated for medical reason during Survivor 32: Koah Rong, Jeff Probst told EW: "As for our medical department, I could write for hours and still not say enough good . With the recovery of Lt. Thurston, we had accounted for all members of my command. From-the first and third platoons I talked with several of my soldiers recalling only PFC Manual Garza, SSG Wallace A. 11 Having learned that Captain Tucker had joined and committed his remaining platoon to the fight, I told my platoon leaders we would most likely be going directly to the assistance of C Company and if that were the case we must be prepared to move on a moments notice. Threats of harming another Our six-hour drill originated from an earlier experience where we witnessed another company coming off an operation and a commander allowing his troops to soak up much-too-much beer. Fifty-two years ago today, the 173rd Airborne Brigade was halfway through its year of service in Vietnam. On Friday, November 12, 1965 Brig. The fighting lasted for over 48 hours. The battalion RTO acknowledged my call and ordered me to wait-out. On the company net I informed my platoon leaders that I anticipated we would be moving shortly and if so ordered we would reorganize on the march rather than returning to the company base. Today, were talking to friends.. Hector Membreno. The fires were devastating but the enemy would soon tactically adjust to lower their effect. My artillery team was monitoring that situation to preclude our walking into fires. In that contact A Company lost a platoon leader, Second Lieutenant David L. Ugland, a classmate of Lt. Thurston. 7 min read. Doc Hump (1934) - Mad scientist who . I called Colonel Tyler and asked him to intervene. It was still not good enough. Still thinking about my soldiers in the hospital, being tired and dirty, having not slept, shaved or washed in two days, I had little patience and sent some folks packing. 760 likes. How? Moments later the report was updated with information that contact was lost with their lead platoon. With a lot of effort from the battalion, the Air Force came to our rescue. And third, with all the anxiety amongst Americans on the merits of this War (a situation I attribute solely to our lack of political leadership) I dont wish to provide anyone, any basis to question the valor of our soldiers or their leadership. Soft-close at 4 a.m. and hard-close at 6:15 a.m. on Saturday, November 20 and Sunday . I had to for awhile. While I attempted to get further information as to their situation they were having great difficulty even talking to me. The south side of the hill was not covered and so I ordered my second platoon to extend as far to the south as possible without jeopardizing their current position. 1942 raid of Allied shipping by the Imperial Japanese Navy the operation marked the birth of Air as. 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