CHAPTER 12

Fall and Winter Operations

_Dry Weather Fighting--Monsoon and Flood Relief Operations--Changes and Improvements--Action as the Year Ends_

_Dry Weather Fighting_

The military situation in I Corps remained essentially unchanged as HMM-162 began its assignment with SHUFLY. Hot, dry weather, with its promise of near perfect flying conditions and spirited fighting, continued over the mountainous northern provinces.

After a series of orientation briefings and familiarization flights, Lieutenant Colonel Curtis’ squadron initiated support operations in the closing days of June. HMM-162’s first real taste of action came on the last day of the month when six UH-34Ds, escorted by two armed U.S. Army UH-1Bs, attempted to resupply ARVN troops operating in the hills nine miles west of Tam Ky. While trying to locate a Communist position which was firing on the resupply aircraft, one of the gunships was hit and crashed in flames. Two transport helicopters landed immediately to rescue the crew. The Marines pulled three of the four injured men from the wreckage before being driven away from the scene by approaching guerrillas. During takeoff, one UH-34D was struck by ground fire but was able to continue its flight to Da Nang. The wounded copilot of the downed Army aircraft died while enroute to the dispensary, but the injured pilot survived and later was evacuated to the Nha Trang Field Hospital. The heat from the still-smoldering aircraft hulk prevented a second attempt to extricate the body of the fourth soldier later in the day. It was finally recovered on 1 July.

The squadron’s first critical troop lift came within days of its initial action when the task element was called upon to helilift urgently needed reinforcements to the Nam Dong CIDG camp which had come under heavy Communist attack. Situated in south central Thua Thien Province at a point where two prominent mountain valleys converge, Nam Dong held special strategic appeal to both sides engaged in the struggle for South Vietnam. It sat astride natural infiltration routes from Laos into the lowlands around Da Nang and Phu Bai and also protected some 5,000 Montagnard tribesmen who occupied a string of villages along the valley floor. The camp and the villages were defended by only a handful of U.S. Special Forces personnel and three CIDG companies, none of which could muster more than 90 men. Its status as a thorn in the enemy’s side, its relative isolation, and its proximity to Communist base areas along the Laotian border, combined to make the outpost a particularly lucrative target for the Viet Cong.

Nam Dong’s hour of crisis came shortly after midnight on 7 July when the Communists launched a large-scale ground assault against the barbed wire-enclosed main camp. Shortly after 0400, with his position holding out against heavy mortar and machine gun fire, Captain Roger H. Donlon, the Special Forces officer in charge, radioed for assistance. Two hours later, six Marine helicopters, loaded with U.S. Special Forces and South Vietnamese personnel, launched from Da Nang for the beleaguered little fortress. Colonel Merchant, flying an O-1B, led the transport helicopters to the objective area while two U.S. Army UH-1B gunships provided escort. Meanwhile, two other HMM-162 helicopters launched for An Diem carrying U.S. Special Forces officers with instructions to assemble a company-sized reaction force for commitment to Nam Dong.

Intense enemy mortar and ground fire at Nam Dong initially prevented the six UH-34Ds from landing the reinforcements, whereupon Colonel Merchant and the flight returned to Da Nang for fuel. At the airfield the task element commander briefed VNAF A-1H Skyraider pilots and the crew of a Marine O-1B on the battlefield situation. He took off again at 0910, this time to act as TACA in an Air Force U-10. Meanwhile, a U.S. Army CV-2 Caribou (a twin-engine, fixed-wing light transport) had managed to airdrop small arms ammunition to Donlon and the embattled defenders. Following this emergency resupply, air strikes were conducted on the hills to the south and west of the outpost, causing enemy ground fire to diminish somewhat. At 0945, a flight of 18 Marine helicopters, led by Lieutenant Colonel Curtis and escorted by four UH-1B gunships and two VNAF Skyraiders, began landing a 93-man relief force which had been collected earlier from Da Nang and An Diem. Evacuation of the dead and wounded began immediately. At 1545, a flight of 10 UH-34Ds lifted 9,500 pounds of ammunition, medical supplies, radios, and miscellaneous equipment to Nam Dong. Six passengers, five wounded Vietnamese, and eight more bodies were evacuated to Da Nang on the return trip. By then, the battle was finished. Two Americans, one Australian advisor, and 55 South Vietnamese had been killed. Captain Donlon, who earned the first Medal of Honor awarded for action in Vietnam, and 64 other defenders had been wounded. The Viet Cong, who had failed to eliminate the Nam Dong outpost, left 62 bodies on the battlefield.[12-A]

[12-A] For a more detailed account of the battle for Nam Dong, see Donlon, _Outpost of Freedom_.

Four days after the battle for Nam Dong, Colonel Merchant’s tour in Vietnam ended. He returned to Okinawa to assume command of Marine Aircraft Group 16 whereupon Colonel Hardy (“Tex”) Hay, a 1940 graduate of Texas A&M, assumed command of Task Element 79.3.3.6.[12-B]

[12-B] For his role as Task Element Commander, ARVN I Corps Aviation Headquarters Commander, and Senior U.S. Aviation Advisor to I Corps, Colonel Merchant was later awarded the Legion of Merit with Combat “V.” He was also decorated with two Vietnamese Crosses of Valor--one for SURE WIND 202 and the other for the relief of Nam Dong.

Normal flight operations continued during the remainder of July with no major heliborne assaults conducted and no Marine aircraft lost. These operations, however, did not lack excitement. Supporting the Marine and ARVN forces on Tiger Tooth Mountain proved extremely hazardous as the HMM-162 crews soon came to realize. On 11 July, for example, the mountain nearly claimed one of their helicopters when a UH-34D lost power as a result of the extreme altitude while delivering supplies to Advisory Team One. As the aircraft plummeted into the hillside landing zone, its tail pylon struck the vegetation around the edge of the tiny clearing causing some structural damage. Fortunately, the damage was such that the crewmen were able to make emergency repairs while Major Gray’s men provided security around the aircraft. This accomplished, the crew returned their damaged helicopter to Khe Sanh without further incident.

Daily operations continued to produce action for the newly arrived squadron as July wore on. On the 15th a UH-34D was hit by Viet Cong fire while performing a routine resupply mission south of Da Nang. Again, damage was only minor and the aircraft continued its mission. Support for Tiger Tooth Mountain dominated SHUFLY’s operations on the 18th after MACV officials ordered Major Gray’s Advisory Team One withdrawn to safety. Colonel Hay directed HMM-162 to commit all available aircraft in order to complete the withdrawal as rapidly as possible. Good weather and flying expertise helped the helicopter crews transport the entire Marine force (92 men) and over 21,000 pounds of equipment to Khe Sanh before nightfall on the 19th.

In a simultaneous but unrelated development, HMM-162 was called upon to detach four helicopters to Udorn, Thailand, for temporary duty. These aircraft and crews were assigned to assist with search and rescue operations in support of ongoing U.S. aerial reconnaissance efforts in that area.

In early August, the heightened international tensions which accompanied the Gulf of Tonkin crisis prompted General Westmoreland to order all American military installations throughout South Vietnam to brace for possible enemy attacks. Colonel Hay responded to ComUSMACV’s instructions by placing his Marines on high alert status for several weeks. The precautions were relaxed gradually as the crisis eased and the likelihood of a sudden Communist attack diminished.

The pattern of helicopter operations in the northern provinces throughout the remainder of the summer differed little from that which had emerged earlier in the dry season. Medical evacuation and resupply sorties continued to constitute the majority of the task element’s support missions. Generally, medical evacuation missions, many of which were executed while Viet Cong and South Vietnamese forces were engaged in combat, provided the major source of action for Lieutenant Colonel Curtis’ squadron during this period. On 6 August, for example, a UH-34D was hit by enemy fire while its crew was evacuating ARVN casualties from a landing zone along the Song Tra Bon. Two days later, a second Marine helicopter was hit during an attempt to evacuate dead and wounded from the mountains about eight miles west of Tam Ky. The following day, on 9 August, another HMM-162 UH-34D drew fire while evacuating a wounded U.S. advisor from a village on the coastal plain 12 miles southeast of Tam Ky. In all three incidents the aircraft received only minor damage and were able to return safely to Da Nang.

Although the medical evacuation missions generally attracted more Viet Cong attention, many resupply flights also proved hazardous. Small landing zones, high elevations, and bad weather often made even the most routine missions difficult. HMM-162 lost a helicopter as a result of a combination of two of these adverse conditions--extreme elevation and a small landing zone--on 30 August. While resupplying a mountain-top outpost five miles southwest of Nam Dong, the UH-34D struck a tree at the edge of a tiny clearing and crashed. The crew members were uninjured, but the extent of the aircraft’s damage was too great to permit repair. It was stripped of radios, machine guns, machine gun mounts, and other usable parts before being destroyed.

In mid-August the Marines also lost their first observation aircraft since deploying to Vietnam in 1962 when an O-1B crashed after experiencing mechanical failure. The incident occurred on the 15th while the pilot and observer were conducting a reconnaissance of the northwestern corner of Quang Ngai Province. Bad weather delayed rescue attempts for over an hour, but the two injured crewmen were finally recovered by helicopter and flown to the Da Nang dispensary for treatment. The pilot’s injuries were severe enough that he was evacuated to the U.S. field hospital at Nha Trang.

The last major heliborne assault conducted in extreme western I Corps during 1964 was initiated in the first week of September. Eighteen Marine UH-34Ds, four Army UH-1Bs, six VNAF Skyraiders, two Marine O-1Bs, and two U.S. Air Force liaison aircraft were assigned to support a 2d ARVN Division heliborne offensive against Communist infiltration routes in remote southwestern Quang Nam Province. The operation, code named CHINH BIEN, began on the morning of 4 September when 15 HMM-162 helicopters (the other three UH-34Ds participating in the operation were serving as search and rescue aircraft) lifted the first wave of South Vietnamese soldiers from Kham Duc, a government-controlled town located 12 miles from the Laotian border in northwestern Quang Tin Province. Their objective was a landing zone situated 24 miles northwest of the assembly area in Quang Nam Province and only three miles from the Laotian border. No enemy resistance was encountered and the initial assault helilifts were completed shortly after noon. Support for CHINH BIEN continued the next morning. When the helilifts were finally completed shortly before 1000, Marine UH-34Ds had flown 265 sorties for 180.2 flight hours in another effort to place ARVN ground forces in remote areas of I Corps.

_Monsoon and Flood Relief Operations_

Adverse weather began influencing SHUFLY’s operations a few days after CHINH BIEN ended. On 14 September all flights were cancelled by rain and high winds from Typhoon Violet, a severe tropical storm. All aircraft remained grounded until late afternoon of the next day when HMM-162 helicopters conducted an emergency evacuation of storm victims from Tam Ky which had been hard hit by Violet. The typhoon caused some minor damage to SHUFLY’s facilities when electrical power was lost for a few hours. By the morning of the 16th, power was restored and all Marine operations returned to normal.

Within a week, however, a more severe weather disturbance--Typhoon Tilda--struck the coast near Da Nang. On the morning of 21 September, in the face of the approaching storm, Colonel Hay ordered Lieutenant Colonel Curtis to displace his squadron to Nha Trang in central II Corps. Later in the day, the unit’s entire complement of aircraft departed Da Nang on the 325-mile flight to safety. The task element’s C-117D found refuge at Saigon. HMM-162 remained at Nha Trang until the 23d when it returned to I Corps.

[Illustration: _Marine helicopters enroute to an objective overfly the coastal plain south of Da Nang. (Official USMC Photo)._]

Typhoon Tilda caused considerably more damage to the Marine base of operations than had her immediate forerunner. Most of the permanent structures in the compound showed signs of water damage and the electrical power was lost for an entire week, except at the waterpoint and the mess hall where a concerted repair effort restored power promptly. Teletype communications circuits were closed for a full week as a result of damage, and the radio link with the 1st MAW was broken for nearly two hours.

While the Marines of the MABS-16 sub unit concerned themselves with cleaning up the debris and repairing their damaged facilities, HMM-162’s crews resumed combat support operations. On the afternoon of their return from Nha Trang, a flight of UH-34Ds delivered 19 passengers and 4,000 pounds of cargo to Tien Phuoc, a government-controlled town located seven miles west of Tam Ky. The next day Major General Paul J. Fontana, who as commanding general of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing was responsible for the administrative and logistical support of the task element, arrived at Da Nang for a one day visit to assess the damage and to confer with Colonel Hay. Flood relief missions and clean up activities combined with normal flight operations to consume the remainder of September.

Two changes were made in the composition of the Marine task element in late September and early October. On 29 September, the security force from the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines rotated back to its parent unit on Okinawa. It was replaced by a 78-man element from Company E, 2d Battalion, 9th Marines the same day. Led by Second Lieutenant Anthony A. Monroe, the newly arrived Marines would provide protection for the aviation unit until late November.

The second alteration occurred about a week later when HMM-162 was relieved on-station by the officers and men of a fresh squadron. The rotation of helicopter units was completed on 8 October when Lieutenant Colonel Curtis officially signed over the aircraft and maintenance equipment to the new squadron’s commanding officer. In a three month deployment to the war zone HMM-162’s helicopters had conducted approximately 6,600 sorties for a total of slightly over 4,400 flight hours. Many of these sorties had been missions of mercy flown in the wake of the typhoons which had ravaged Vietnam’s northern provinces. During three months of sustained combat support activities, the squadron had lost two UH-34Ds and one O-1B in operational accidents.[12-1]

The newly arrived squadron, HMM-365, was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Koler, Jr., an experienced Marine officer who had begun his career shortly after World War II as an infantry platoon leader with the 1st Marine Division in China. Under his leadership the squadron began performing resupply missions the same day that the last of HMM-162’s personnel departed Da Nang. On their first day of operations, Koler’s crews airlifted over 25,000 pounds of cargo to various outposts around Da Nang. The following day a flight of 12 HMM-365 helicopters provided transportation for ARVN troops who were being rotated between Kham Duc and A Roe, an isolated outpost in southwestern Quang Nam Province less than seven miles from the Laotian border. On 11 October the newly arrived Marine pilots and crews tasted their first actual combat when eight UH-34Ds drew Viet Cong fire while landing a 112-man Vietnamese unit in the hills 10 miles west-southwest of Tam Ky.

The day after its crews had witnessed their first ground fire, Koler’s squadron lost its first aircraft in Vietnam. The incident occurred in western Quang Nam Province while a UH-34D was attempting to take off from a South Vietnamese landing zone located high in the mountains. The crash, in which the pilot was slightly injured, resulted from a loss of power due to the high altitude. After the crew was evacuated, a maintenance team salvaged the usable parts and destroyed the aircraft.

In mid-October Colonel Hay summarized the situation in I Corps for his superiors at the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. The task element commander was particularly concerned about a new phase of Viet Cong activity which he saw developing in the coastal lowlands of the northern provinces. Although there were few visible signs of either combat or enemy movement to confirm the trend, intelligence sources indicated that Viet Cong main force battalions in I Corps had increased in number from nine to 11 in the past several months. During this same period, the number of local force Viet Cong companies in the area had jumped by 50 percent to a total of 17. These growth patterns, Colonel Hay noted, enabled the Communists to tighten their grip on the civilian populace. Likewise, they were responsible for increased enemy harassment of lines of communications in I Corps and posed a particular threat to Da Nang.[12-2]

Colonel Hay’s tour as task element commander ended on 17 October. After a brief change of command ceremony during which he expressed his appreciation to his subordinates for their assistance, Hay departed for Okinawa to assume command of MAG-16. His replacement at Da Nang, Colonel John H. King, Jr., an officer who had seen his first action as a fighter pilot during World War II, was well prepared to direct the task element’s operations. A recent graduate of the National War College, King had commanded the first operational Marine transport helicopter unit, Marine Helicopter Squadron 161, during the Korean War.

HMM-365’s operations continued throughout the remainder of October with only a few significant actions reported. One of these was an abortive medical evacuation mission attempted on 26 October during which the squadron suffered its first combat casualties. The incident, in which both the copilot and crew chief were wounded by Viet Cong small arms fire, occurred while the helicopter was approaching a poorly protected landing zone 10 miles southwest of Tam Ky. The pilot managed to return the damaged helicopter to Tam Ky and land safely, whereupon the seriously wounded copilot was evacuated to Nha Trang and the crew chief was administered first aid.

In early November, at the height of the monsoon season, Typhoon Iris struck the Annamese coast. The tropical storm, whose full force was felt on 4 November, was followed by nearly a week of continuous rain, wind, and fog. The conditions caused flight operations to be suspended except for emergency medical evacuations. When the operations resumed on the 10th, the Marine Corps birthday, the Leatherneck crews concentrated on rescuing Vietnamese civilians from the inundated coastal plains. Between 1700 and 1900 on their first day of the flood relief operation, Lieutenant Colonel Koler’s Marines rescued 144 flood victims. These rescues, many of which were accomplished by hoisting the Vietnamese from precarious positions in trees or on roof tops were complicated by sporadic Viet Cong harassing fire. Many of the stranded civilians were evacuated to the Da Nang airfield. Following emergency medical treatment administered by Navy doctors and hospitalmen, the civilians were given shelter in the task unit hangar. Lieutenant Robert P. Heim, the Navy chaplain assigned to SHUFLY at the time, later praised the Marines who shared their birthday cake with the homeless Vietnamese that night.[12-3] The next day, although poor visibility continued to hamper flights, the Marines helilifted 1,136 more flood victims to safety. Again the guerrillas harassed the rescue attempts with small arms fire, this time hitting three of the participating aircraft.

The humanitarian operation continued until 16 November, when another typhoon--Kate--threatened to make matters even worse. The weather on the storm’s periphery forced the cancellation of many Marine flights but the center of the disturbance passed about 200 miles south of Da Nang. The flooding which resulted from the two back-to-back storms, however, demanded a rescue effort beyond the capabilities of the Marine and VNAF helicopter units located in I Corps. Accordingly, the Special Landing Force (SLF) of the U.S. Seventh Fleet joined the operations on 17 November. Lieutenant Colonel Curtis’ HMM-162, the helicopter element of the SLF, returned to its former operations area and spent six days rescuing flood victims. The Marines evacuated the most seriously injured to the USS _Princeton_ where they received emergency treatment before being returned to civilian hospitals. When the SLF departed Vietnamese waters on 23 November, HMM-162’s helicopters had flown over 600 hours and completed 1,020 sorties in support of the disaster relief operations. Unfortunately, one UH-34D was lost at sea in an operational accident on 21 November while participating in these operations. Two crewmen, Corporal Richard D. Slack, Jr. and Lance Corporal David Nipper, died in the crash.[12-4]

With the SLF’s departure, the Marine task element and the VNAF 217th Squadron reassumed the full burden of rescue operations until they were finally terminated on 10 December. During this period HMM-365 was forced to divide its flights judiciously between combat support and missions of mercy.[12-C]

[12-C] The magnitude of the damage inflicted upon the inhabitants of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, and Quang Tin Provinces by the November storms is borne out by the following statistics. In these three provinces over 50,600 houses were destroyed while 4,870 civilians were reported either dead or missing. Another 12,240 Vietnamese were forced to seek refuge at government centers in the wake of the flood. (CTU 79.3.5 ComdD, 17Oct64–14Jan65.)

_Changes and Improvements_

While some of Lieutenant Colonel Koler’s men were employed in evacuating the flood-stricken Vietnamese, others were modifying three of the squadron’s helicopters to carry a new weapons system which had been developed specifically for use on the UH-34D. The TK-1, an externally mounted combination of M-60 machine guns and 2.75-inch rocket launchers, was first used on 19 November in support of a Tiger Flight mission conducted just south of the Song Thu Bon about 17 miles from Da Nang. Two armed UH-34Ds expended 90 rockets and 500 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition on enemy positions during prelanding strikes. The effectiveness of the new system could not be determined after this particular strike, but an estimated 10–15 Viet Cong were killed in a similar action by the armed UH-34Ds the next day. The transport aircraft armed with the TK-1 would continue to escort troop carrying helicopters regularly throughout the remainder of the year. At best, however, the TK-1 was of only marginal value. The inherent limitations of the UH-34D, which possessed neither the maneuverability nor the speed to conduct truly effective attacks, reduced the overall value of the system. Because of these limitations the Marines seldom relied solely on the UH-34D for fire suppression during assault missions. The system would eventually be phased out in 1965 with the arrival of Marine jet attack squadrons in Vietnam.

[Illustration:

MAJOR MARINE HELICOPTER OPERATIONS SECOND HALF 1964 ]

Two improvements, one in the physical facilities available to the task element and the other in the size and composition of its security detachment, were made shortly after the Marines began using the UH-34Ds in the gunship role. On 25 November, HMM-365 moved its aircraft and maintenance equipment across the airfield into a newly constructed hangar just west of the strip. The second change took place the next day when the security force from the 2d Battalion, 9th Marines was replaced by Company L, 3d Battalion, 9th Marines, reinforced with engineers, 81mm mortar teams, and counter-mortar radar personnel. This adjustment came in response to the reports of the growing Viet Cong threat to Da Nang. Designated the Security Detachment, Marine Unit Vietnam, the 255-man organization was under the command of Major William F. Alsop, the battalion’s executive officer. Captain John Sheridan, the company commander, retained tactical control of the infantry unit.

Although responsibility for the overall defense of the Da Nang airstrip still resided with the ARVN, the enlarged security detachment greatly strengthened the Marine defenses within the installation. Major Alsop divided his reinforced rifle company into two groups--one to protect the living compound and the other to defend the flight line and the new hangar. Around the living compound the engineers constructed a complex of machine gun positions, mortar pits, and ammunition bunkers. A barricade was also erected at a gate near the Marine compound which previously had been open and manned only by Vietnamese sentries. Strong defensive positions were also constructed around the task element’s new hangar and flight line. This network included fox holes, barbed wire, and cleared fields of fire. As an added precaution, Company L maintained a reaction force at the living compound. This force was prepared to board trucks and rush to reinforce the critical defenses around the aircraft and maintenance facilities in the event of an enemy ground attack.[12-5]

Despite the stronger defenses and the presence of the larger Marine infantry force, several security-related problems were still unsolved. One which remained outside of Colonel King’s influence was the laxity of the ARVN sentries around the outer perimeter who sometimes allowed Vietnamese civilians to wander into the installation. Another was that a small village close to the Marine compound, but outside the perimeter fence, still harbored an occasional sniper. The task element commander had lodged repeated complaints about both situations with the appropriate South Vietnamese authorities but no action had been taken to eliminate them. In spite of these minor sources of irritation, the recent changes in its defenses greatly enhanced the task element’s ability to protect itself against Communist ground attacks.

_Action as the Year Ends_

While Company L was developing defensive positions at the airbase, HMM-365’s crews continued to provide support for both flood relief and military operations throughout I Corps. On 7 December, 17 Marine helicopters and eight Army UH-1B transports were called upon to help trap a Viet Cong force known to be hiding in a village less than five miles west of Da Nang. Code named DA NANG SIX, the operation began at daybreak when the American helicopters lifted 240 men of the 11th ARVN Ranger Battalion into the objective area. Two UH-1B gunships teamed with two armed UH-34Ds to suppress ground fire that erupted as the first wave of transport aircraft began their approach to the landing zone. One Army gunship sustained minor damage when hit three times during the exchange of fire. After the enemy had been silenced, the landing proceeded without incident and the Vietnamese rangers quickly secured their objective. In the process, nine Viet Cong were killed and four others captured along with nine rifles and one automatic weapon. Successful though it was, the action on the outskirts of Da Nang confirmed previous reports that the Communists were tightening their grip on Quang Nam Province.[12-6]

Another indication of the enemy’s growing strength in I Corps came only two days later when a large Viet Cong force overran an ARVN outpost four and a half miles southwest of Tam Ky. I Corps Headquarters quickly drew up plans for a multi-company search of the area even though the Communists had withdrawn from the badly damaged government position shortly after their final assault. At 0845, 18 Marine UH-34Ds (three armed) and four Army UH-1Bs (two armed) helilifted a 208-man Tiger Force from Da Nang to Tam Ky where it had orders to stage with other units for the operation. While the U.S. helicopters were in the process of transporting the Vietnamese troops to Tam Ky, an aerial observer sighted a large formation of Viet Cong moving southwest from the scene of the previous night’s battle. The observer immediately brought air strikes and artillery fire to bear on the enemy, blocking his escape.

Firepower contained the enemy throughout the morning while the infantry units at Tam Ky prepared to exploit the situation with a heliborne assault. The helilift was launched at 1345. Enroute to a landing zone, located six miles southwest of Tam Ky, the helicopter formation passed over the smoldering ruins of the ARVN outpost where ammunition stockpiles were still exploding. Once at the objective, the armed helicopters began delivering suppressive fire into the surrounding hedge rows and treelines as the troop carrying aircraft approached the landing zone. Still, after nearly six hours of air and artillery strikes, the Communist force was able to oppose the landing with intense small arms fire. No helicopters were hit during the landing, however, and the assault force managed to secure the landing zone. This accomplished, two companies from the 11th ARVN Ranger Battalion were helilifted into the position without incident. After the final troop lifts, the Marine transport helicopters began evacuating casualties from the outpost where eight Vietnamese soldiers and one American advisor had died and 20 ARVN and an Australian advisor had been wounded. The government’s response to the enemy-initiated action, including air and artillery strikes, accounted for 70 Viet Cong killed and 39 weapons captured. While reflecting a moderate success, these statistics were little compensation for the knowledge that the Communists could destroy a well-fortified position within five miles of a provincial capital.[12-7]

Weather caused many Marine flights to be delayed and some to be cancelled during the closing month of 1964. But the interruptions were not frequent enough to prevent the task element from fulfilling its support commitments. The only type of support operation actually curtailed due to the monsoons was the preplanned heliborne assault into the mountains. Brief periods of favorable weather usually enabled the Marine crews to accomplish resupply and medical evacuation missions even into the most remote areas of I Corps, although delays of such flights were not uncommon.

Lieutenant Colonel Koler’s HMM-365 was past the midpoint of its assignment in Vietnam as 1964 drew to a close. Through 31 December the unit’s helicopters had already flown over 6,700 sorties for a total of nearly 4,700 hours of flight time. Since its arrival in early October, Koler’s squadron had distinguished itself not only by providing support to military units throughout I Corps but by its extensive participation in the flood relief operations of November and December. During the 30-day period after 10 November, HMM-365 had contributed a substantial percentage of its flights to the prolonged effort to rescue and evacuate Vietnamese civilians from flooded areas.[12-8]

FMFPac changed the designation of the task element on the final day of 1964. From that date until mid-March of the following year the Marine helicopter squadron and its supporting elements in Vietnam would be known officially as Task Unit 79.3.5, Marine Unit Vietnam. This change, however, did not alter the existing command relationships. ComUSMACV continued to exercise operational control over the Marine task unit while the Commanding General, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing retained responsibility for its administrative and logistic support.