Ambush Squelched
July 2, 1969
by Tony Swindell
11th BDE Information Office
July 2, 1969
by Tony Swindell
11th BDE Information Office
View of the Rice Bowl from FSB Debbie
Story Published in the Americal Division "Southern Cross" Newpaper July 30, 1969
LZ BRONCO—Enemy soldiers of the 2nd Regt., 3rd NVA Div. are discovering ambushes directed against 11th Inf. Bde. units comes at a very high price. Twenty-two NVA died when their recent ambush against A Co.. 3rd Bn.. 1st Inf. and APCs from E Trp., 1st Cay. was crushed with combined firepower from air strikes, artillery, gunships. and heavy machinegun fire.
Hide In Stream
A Co. and the APCs were on a coordinated sweeping mission west of fire support base Debbie when they were hit by intense fire from a stream bed at the edge of a woodline.
The lead APC moving up a stream bed nearby hit a mine and then took three RPG hits, pinning down cavalrymen. Answering the call for help, four more APCs rushed to the scene while air strikes pounded the Communist fortifications.
"It was a well-prepared ambush," noted PFC Bill Mead (Oto, Iowa), "because we put 150 rounds of M-79 fire into the area before we entered. They didn't move a muscle or give themselves away at all."
In describing the initial contact, 1LT Terry Ehrich (Cherokee, Iowa), stated, "I don't know how many of them there were, but they had my 24 men and seven tracks pinned down. We had fire coming in from all directions."
Flush NVA
Following raids from Marine Phantom jets and gunships of the Army's 123rd Avn. Bn., the men of A Co. and the APCs pushed forward to root out the remaining enemy troops. As they advanced toward the woodline the bodies of 14 enemy soldiers were found.
The enemy fire, not as intense or as concentrated as before, was crushed by continuing gunship and APC fire as the soldiers overran the enemy positions. Found among the enemy dead were three AK-47s and three RPG launchers with five rounds of ammo.
The infantrymen made another sweep of the same area the next morning and found the bodies of eight more enemy soldiers, five killed by airstrikes and three by small arms. (11th 10)
Hide In Stream
A Co. and the APCs were on a coordinated sweeping mission west of fire support base Debbie when they were hit by intense fire from a stream bed at the edge of a woodline.
The lead APC moving up a stream bed nearby hit a mine and then took three RPG hits, pinning down cavalrymen. Answering the call for help, four more APCs rushed to the scene while air strikes pounded the Communist fortifications.
"It was a well-prepared ambush," noted PFC Bill Mead (Oto, Iowa), "because we put 150 rounds of M-79 fire into the area before we entered. They didn't move a muscle or give themselves away at all."
In describing the initial contact, 1LT Terry Ehrich (Cherokee, Iowa), stated, "I don't know how many of them there were, but they had my 24 men and seven tracks pinned down. We had fire coming in from all directions."
Flush NVA
Following raids from Marine Phantom jets and gunships of the Army's 123rd Avn. Bn., the men of A Co. and the APCs pushed forward to root out the remaining enemy troops. As they advanced toward the woodline the bodies of 14 enemy soldiers were found.
The enemy fire, not as intense or as concentrated as before, was crushed by continuing gunship and APC fire as the soldiers overran the enemy positions. Found among the enemy dead were three AK-47s and three RPG launchers with five rounds of ammo.
The infantrymen made another sweep of the same area the next morning and found the bodies of eight more enemy soldiers, five killed by airstrikes and three by small arms. (11th 10)