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January 10th - 12th |
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| 1969 | ||
| Operation | ||
| Cai Nua Campaign | ||
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Bearcat I |  |
Prolog
| This story is dedicated to the twenty-seven men of
the 1st Platoon, Delta Company, 6th Battalion, 31st
Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, Republic of Vietnam, and especially
the six men who lost their lives as well as the eighteen men who were wounded
on 12 January, 1969.
It is also dedicated to those who continue to bear the wounds and the ghosts of war. It is a story of only three of those men: a squad leader, a medic and a radio-telephone operator. All three survived the firefight and, only recently, were able to tell from memory the parts they played and the interactions of the three of them. There were others who were there, as well as support personnel. Each has their own story. Many times in actions such as this, a person is not aware of the actions of others. Remembrances are that of an individual. And the stories may differ from others because of time. This is not a story of the ‘blood and guts’ happenings, although it did happen that night. It is also not a story of heroes, although there were many that night. It is a story as factual as the three men can remember, supported by reports written at the time it happened. Karl Lowe is the historian for the 31st U.S. Infantry Regiment Association and is writing a book “America’s Foreign Legion” in which he hopes to tell a more complete story. He was a captain and commanding officer of Delta Company. Some of this story is taken directly from his draft notes. Sgt. James L. MacMaster Squad Leader, 1st Platoon Delta Company, 6th Battalion 31st U.S. Infantry, 9th Infantry Division |
Republic of Vietnam 9th Infantry Division 6th Battalion 31st Infantry Regiment Delta Company - 1st Platoon 10 - 12 January, 1969 |
Page 1 of 7
| In the late afternoon of Friday, 10
January 1969, sixty-nine men1 of Delta Company were trucked
from Fire Support Base Moore, west of the 9th Division's base camp
located at Dong Tam (which means "united hearts and minds' in
Vietnamese), on a "riverine" mission. The main mission: to
locate a suspected enemy base camp in Kien Thuong Province, near the
village of Cai Nua (see Map #2 ). Delta company, along with Alpha, Bravo,
and Charlie companies (105 men in "C" company) of the 6th
Battalion, 31st Infantry, 9th Division who were also in the area, had
commenced "Operation Cai Nua Campaign - Bearcat I" to provide
security for Cai Nua and the over watch of Highway 4.2 The
general plan was for the companies to make contact with the enemy and
then to bring in artillery and air power to pin the enemy down and to
move or bring in more companies by helicopter or river to cordon off the
area.
Delta Company was divided into three segments, the 1st Platoon (a total of 27 men), the 2nd Platoon (about 24 or 25 men), and Company Headquarters including a few men from the first and second platoons (about 17 or 18 men total). At 1755 hours the three elements of Company D called in their night locations.3 Specialist Four Brian "Doc" Swanhart, a medic attached to the 1st platoon specifically recalls that the 1st platoon had 27 men, including him. Because the 2nd platoon had no medic attached, SP4 Swanhart insisted that every man in that platoon carry an extra battle dressing in their first aid kit. Before the operation was over, they would need it. During the following day of Saturday, 11 January, the 1st platoon of Delta Company reconed the area and were edgy, expecting contact at any time. Throughout the day, sampans loaded with civilians could be seen fleeing the area, reinforcing the men's sense that something was about to happen and that the enemy was definitely in the area. Elements of "A" Company who were assigned to watch Highway 4, held two detainees from earlier in the day4 and had engaged six more VC around 1200 hours.5 The day before (10 Jan 69), A and B companies also fired upon some small groups of VC and picked up a few detainees. "Charlie" was definitely in the area. 1 From Daily Log of 10 Jan 69, Item 9: 1710 hours D Co FATCAT rept 69 paddy strength 2 From Daily Log of 10 Jan 69, Item 18: DAILY OPERATION SUMMARY-Unit commenced opn CAI NUA CAMPAIGN-BEARCAT I, providing security for Cai Nua and overwatch of Hwy between coord XS111489 & XS119458 Co D commenced operation Cai Nua. Unit conducted BM opn in AO TANGELO vic XS087458 3 From Daily Log of 10 Jan 69, Item 10: 36 ele XS087458 (3rd platoon); 56 XS093463 (1st plation); 66 XS087463 (Company Headquarters). 4 From the Daily Log of 11 Jan 69, Item 4: A Co on Hwy, have 2 detainees with them 5 From the Daily Log of 11 Jan 69, Item 6: A56 element engaged 6 VC moving SE about 300 m, they were moving to tree line SW coord 095463, neg results |
Page 2 of 7
| At 1320 hours on 11 January, the
units received a message from Division: "To all Commanders. Under
no circumstances will units deployed in ambush patrols allow men to seek
cover in houses or bunkers in event of mortar or ground attack." 6
Later that evening, this message would be forgotten by a few in Delta
Company.
The 1st platoon setup in the afternoon and would, unfortunately, stay in the same position that evening. From across the river, a small boat with an elderly man and little boy stopped at their location. The elderly man had a recent 'wound' and asked if we had a medic who could look after the wound. The medic took care of the wound. Some believe he was also checking out the positions of the cp (command post) and others. When they left, they went across the river and disappeared into the bushes. At 1920 hours, D Company called in their night locations.7 (See Map #1 ) Around 1930 hours that evening after setting up in their night position, the 1st platoon leader, (Lt. Daniel L. Weber, Montana), the platoon sergeant (SSG Herschel Jones, Mississippi), one of the RTOs (PFC Gary W. Spears, Indiana) and the tiger scout (Nguyen van Hai) went out on a short recon near the 1st platoon's night defensive position. They encountered a three-man enemy observation team and killed at least two, one of whom appeared to be an officer.8 The platoon's tiger scout knew one of the enemy and realized what they were up against - over two hundred VC. The tiger scout informed the platoon leader and platoon sergeant, but apparently neither would listen to him. Upon returning to the night defensive position, the tiger scout informed a squad leader (Sgt. James L. MacMaster, Minnesota) of the situation. Sgt. MacMaster, based on his experience working with the tiger scout over the last few months, discussed this with the platoon leader and suggested they quietly move their night defensive position. The lieutenant refused the suggestion afraid that, moving their position during the dark hours would attract attention. He did, however, put the platoon on a 50/50 alert allowing half the men to sleep while the other half remained on guard. The 1st platoon tucked in for the night in a 180-degree perimeter along a river near a village that had been abandoned earlier in the day. (See Map #2 ) The platoon leader, a new arrival who had just graduated from ROTC the previous summer was inexperienced. The platoon was never checked during the next few hours. Some could be seen smoking. And marijuana use was just becoming in use in the battalion. Shortly after 2 a.m.9, the medic Brian Swanhart awoke to the sound of a loud explosion nearby followed by the staccato chatter of multiple AK-47s spewing a steady stream of green tracers over his head. Men were already calling for a medic. The first casualty was a new man who was killed instantly. One man after another got hit in the 1st platoon. For the couple of hours, casualties mounted steadily as the enemy repeatedly tried to breach the platoon's perimeter. 6 From the Daily Log of 11 Jan 69, Item 7. 7 From the Daily Log of 11 Jan 69, Item 8: 1920 hours. D Co night locations: 56 ( 1st platoon ) - XS088473; 66 (Company headquarters) - XS082468; 36 ( 3rd platoon ) XS093460 8 From the Daily Log of 11 Jan 69, Item 9 2000 hours: D Co engaged two VC coor XS088473, resulted in 2 VC KIA, they were dressed in black PJ's 9 From the Daily Log of 12 Jan 69, Item 2: D Co in contact (56 & 66) vic XS088473 / XS082468 |
Page 3 of 7
| PFC Gary Spears was also awakened by
the explosions and gunfire. "I went to find my radio which was
being used on guard for situation reports. I came across Lawton Keener
(the other RTO) who was badly wounded in the chest area and died shortly
thereafter. I found my radio, which was badly damaged and wouldn't work.
It was at this time I was wounded from an explosion from behind and
received shrapnel in the back."
Sgt. MacMaster, who was at the center of the half-circle was also awakened and immediately realized that the platoon was under attack by a large force equipped with AK-47s, 51 cal. machineguns (at least two), and RPGs10. Even though already wounded in the left knee, he checked the left side of the perimeter on the other side of a ditch. Both the platoon leader and the platoon sergeant (1st platoon), who occupied a hooch/bunker at the 360-degree point of the perimeter, were already wounded. They were hit immediately, as well as one of the other positions, by a well targeted RPG round. Their RTO (PFC Lawton A. Keener of Highlands, NC) was already dead from a RPG round [Keener was located in the NE position along the river] and SSG Jones had already lost a leg. The platoon leader, however, was only slightly wounded in the arm according to the medic. They used the bunker during the rest of the firefight ignoring the orders from earlier in the day. Nothing was heard from either of them till the firefight was over. Nearby, the 2nd platoon was having similar problems. Unfortunately, the 2nd platoon did not have a medic. And the Company Headquarters group was supposedly too far away to render any assistance to the hard-hit platoons. After less than an hour of fighting and knowing his platoon could not continue to hold, the 2nd platoon leader ordered his men to prepare to withdraw. After gathering the wounded, the 2nd platoon broke contact.11 Machine gunners SP4 James P. Barrios (Lemoore, California) and SP4 Calvin Robinson (Johnston, South Carolina) had unleashed a steady stream of fire at the enemy to keep them pinned down and fought till they were both killed. For their exemplary courage and the sacrifice of their lives to save others, SP4 Barrios and SP4 Robinson each received the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously. Before the night was over, a total of three men from the 2nd platoon were killed and five were wounded.12 The 1st platoon medic, SP4 Brian Swanhart,
recalls: "Quite frankly, I was convinced we were going to be wiped
out. The VC almost broke our perimeter twice and I was spending as much
time as a rifleman as I was a medic. In fact, I was beginning to worry I
would run out of ammo and I started with nine magazines (180 rounds).
This was the only time I fired my M-16 during a firefight and I was very
glad it worked. The real heroes of this engagement were Sergeant James
MacMaster and the platoon machine gunner, whose name I can't remember [PFC
Whitaker] [the other machine gunner was ordered to give his weapon to HQ
group who were setup in an ARVN compound]. Sgt. Mac, a squad leader,
took over the radio from the platoon leader who didn't seem to have a
grip on what was going on. It was Mac who eventually got the gunships
in. When they called him, asking where we needed supporting fire he said
to put it virtually on top of us because that's where the VC were at the
time. Without that we would have been done for. Bear in mind, while
doing this he literally had his butt blown off by an RPG and was wounded
elsewhere as well. He is without a doubt the most courageous man I have
ever met." 10 From the Daily Log of 12 Jan 69, Item 3: 0235 D Co reports getting hit by 30+ VC with RPG's and machine gun fire. [Editor's Note: As reported by Company CO…1st platoon members estimated 200+] 11 From the Daily Log, 12 Jan 69 Item 4, 0310 hours: D Co 66 has broken contact, 56 ele still in contact. 12 From the Daily Log, 12 Jan 69, Item 5, 0345 hours: Dustoff for D Co 66 ele has 2 urgent (US) |
Page 4 of 7
| For the 1st platoon, the battle
seesawed back and forth for over two hours, each time swinging more in
the enemy's favor. There was little cover. And no artillery support or
helicopter gunships were around at the beginning due to lack of
leadership. It was literally every man for himself.
Sgt. MacMaster reports, "Soon after this all started, I was informed by the medic of the status of the platoon leader and platoon sergeant being wounded and one of the RTOs (Keener) dead, as well as a few others wounded. We were really getting it from all sides. I was amazed we weren't getting any assistance in the form of artillery, as that's what the operation plans provided. Now I knew why." Sgt. MacMaster immediately took command when he was informed that the platoon leader and platoon sergeant were unable to function. To this day, he doesn't remember when the other RTO (PFC Gary Spears) appeared by his side. PFC Gary Spears states that: "Somehow I found Sgt. MacMaster. I call it a stroke of luck. On other occasions I found him to be the 'go to person' for leadership. The platoon leaders went to him for his experience out in the field on a number of occasions. Taking charge, Sgt. MacMaster ordered me to get the other radio from the CP. I found the radio and took it back to his position. Unfortunately, the antenna was missing, so I went back to my radio to retrieve an antenna. It was at this time I came across the medic who was wounded also. The medic asked me to tie a tourniquet on the left leg of Sgt. Rolle. I then went back to Sgt. MacMaster." Sgt. MacMaster first contacted the acting company commander and told him of the situation. As he remembers it, "I told the CO about the platoon leader and platoon sergeant and that I had taken command; and, that we were to the point of almost getting overrun by a large enemy force estimated at over two hundred, using AK-47s, RPGs and a couple of .51 cal. machine guns. I next wanted to know the status of the other units (2nd platoon and HQ company) and the possibility of assistance from them. Third, I needed artillery and I needed it now. I don't quite remember the CO's comments, but (1) he wasn't happy that I had taken command; (2) that I was definitely overestimating the size of the enemy force; (3) that the 1st platoon would not be getting ground assistance till probably daylight; and (4) that there definitely would not be any artillery assistance, because we were too close to a village and…." PFC Spears confirms this and states that when he got back "…Sgt. MacMaster immediately got in contact with the CO, which wasn't a very good conversation. It didn't seem the CO was going to give us much assistance or support." Sgt. MacMaster never got to check the positions again. He was wounded again, this time quite seriously in his right thigh and was unable to move. Sometime during the firefight, the medic SP4 Swanhart checked on PFC Spears and Sgt. MacMaster and tended to their wounds. Sgt. MacMaster was well aware of the courageous actions of the medic and to this day, admires what the medic did that night. Sgt. MacMaster reports, "Even though I was busy myself, I was aware of our medic moving around tending to the wounded and also of our machine gunner [PFC Whitaker] who seemed to be everywhere." As to the machine gunner [PFC Whitaker] with the 1st platoon, the medic continued, "The machine gunner was everywhere. Without this M-60 support we could not have protected our perimeter. It seemed wherever a threat appeared, he showed up soon after. I couldn't believe he actually survived, considering the enemy were doing everything they could to knock out this gun. I believe he actually silenced one or two of their machine guns while exchanging fire with them." |
Page 5 of 7
| Sgt. MacMaster continued, "My
RTO (PFC Spears) stayed with me. I'm not sure if he was as scared as I
was and I think we were both glad we had someone else with us. We were
so busy, we didn't have much time to be scared. I hadn't much of a
chance to work with him, because he just joined us a couple of months
previously, but he was there and did everything I asked of him. After
initially talking to the company commander, I realized we [1st platoon]
were basically on our own." After not getting any help from our
other company units, they tried battalion, brigade and division
frequencies, as well as a couple of others. They finally got 'one of the
big guys' who was in his chopper in the area. We were able to fill him
in and received assistance. Soon, we heard 'Hunter-Delta-Five-Four, this
is Boomerang Three-Niner'." PFC Spears continues: "We were
under heavy fire and taking many casualties. A cobra pilot came on one
of the frequencies offering support. We ended up changing radio
frequencies with the pilot because the CO kept interfering with their
transmission."
The 'Boomerangs' along with the 'Bounty Hunters' were the 191st Assault Helicopter Company working the 9th Division operation area around Dong Tam. "I can remember talking to 'Boomerang Three-Niner' for what seemed to be the longest time," continued Sgt. MacMaster. "That flight brought in their rockets and firepower with pinpoint accuracy which enabled the 1st platoon to maintain our perimeter. Twice we were almost overrun." It's hard to remember all that goes on in a firefight, what happened when and who said what, especially after so many years. These are memories from their perspective. And surprisingly, all three [ a squad leader, a medic and an RTO] seem to agree as to timing and sequence of events. The other elements of Delta Company (2nd platoon and Headquarters), as well as the other companies in the Operation have their own stories to tell. Company B, for example, during the time of this firefight had their own encounter.13 "The firefight seemed to be touch-and-go
for us in the 1st platoon," continued Sgt. MacMaster. "Doc
[the medic] was all over the place taking care of the wounded and the
dying, as well as using his own M-16 against the VC. The gunships kept
rotating, thanks to 'the big guy' who gave us the support we needed. I
can remember specifically telling Boomerang Three-Niner 'When we get out
of here, I owe you guys a case of beer.' At one point, I again ordered
the RTO (PFC Spears) to get back to the cp [command post] and obtain the
strobe light, so we could mark our exact position. Unfailingly, he did,
even though we were still under intense enemy fire. When he returned and
the next flight of gunships came, he activated the strobe light and
tossed it on the other side of our perimeter to mark our location. The
firepower was accurate and efficient and seemed to break the enemys'
back. It was time to call in the medevacs.14" PFC Spears
states: "I went to find our platoon leader who had a strobe light.
He was still at the CP in the hooch where he had set up for the night. I
got the strobe light and got back to Sgt. Mac. We were both badly
wounded again as soon as I got back, but if it had not been for Sgt.
MacMaster's experience and leadership, I don't think none of us would
have come home." 13 From the Daily Log, 12 Jan 69, Item 6: 0345 hours: B Co spotted 1 sampan moving down river, took under fire w/M79, sunk sampan, contents UNK at this time. 14 From the Daily Log, 12 Jan 69 Item 7, 0400 hours D56 ele has 20 casualties at this time. |
Page 6 of 7
| Sgt. MacMaster continues, "I
can remember 'Doc' coming over to check on me and the RTO. Sometime
during the firefight, we had backed ourselves into the river to attempt
to make a lower profile. However, a RPG round hit us and did lots of
damage. Doc didn't say much, but did what he could. At that point I was
wondering if we would make it back." PFC Spears' leg was badly
damaged and Sgt. MacMaster took the brunt of a RPG round in his rear
end. The medic, SP4 Swanhart was also badly wounded during the
firefight.15
As daybreak neared, two more AH-1G Cobra
gunships from the 187th Aviation Company, call signs Crusader 36 and
Crusader 37, arrived to provide some very welcome support. Soon after,
the enemy broke final contact and medevac helicopters started arriving
to take out the wounded. This presented a new problem because so many
men were being evacuated that there would not be enough firepower if the
VC resumed their attack. SP4 Brian Swanhart remembers, "Sgt. Mac was even calling in the medevac choppers. Many others were seriously wounded when the platoon leader approached me wondering when he was going to be on a medevac. And all he had was a slight wound on his arm." Sgt. MacMaster had this to say about the medic, "Of the twenty-seven men in the 1st platoon, only six were killed. Eighteen were wounded.16 Many more would not have made it if it wasn't for our medic."17 Finally, before dawn, four men from the Hq unit were lifted in to assist the 1st Platoon. Better late then never.18 Two of the men were the other machine gunner and ammo bearer [Melendez and Chavez] from the 1st platoon who had watched the onslaught from the Hq position. Not surprisingly, the reports and Daily Logs [footnotes] do not always agree with what is remembered in the heat of battle. But a Daily Log entry indicates that 300 VC (261st VC Battalion) were seen later in the day in the same area.19 (See Map #1 ) Comments by two of the men who came in to assist the 1st platoon indicated there were over eighty enemy hand grenades unexploded in the perimeter. And 80 enemy dead were found two days later. 15 From the Daily Log, 12 Jan 69, Item 8 0530 Dustoff complete for D Co - 22 WIA, 2 KIA dusted off 16 Wounded - Report of Casualties Resulting From Hostile Action Vietnam, 28 January, 1969: PFC E-3 Gary W. Spears; PFC E-3 John M. Pilkinton; PFC E-3 Randy L. Whitaker; SP E-4 Arnaldo A. Gasco; SP E-4 Brian Swanhart; SGT E-5 Peter F. West; SGT E-5 James L. MacMaster; SGT E-5 Larry T. Poss; SGT E-5 Neil A. Schmidt; 2LT Daniel L. Webber; and 1LT Peter Barrett 17 SP4 Brian Swanhart was awarded the Silver Star for his exceptional valorous action and extraordinary heroism. 18 From the Daily Log, 12 Jan 69, Item 9, 0810 hours:
At 0800 sweeping area of contact, D56 in area of contact found 3 Aks, 3
VC bodies, 1 RPG (loaded), 1 Chi Com grenade. D66 found 2 ChiCom
claymores and a number of blood trails going south. 19 From the Daily Log, 12 Jan 69, Item 19, 1605 hours: RF reports at coor XS067498 to XS068504, 300 VC of the 261 VC Bn. |
Page 7 of 7
| Several days later in the 36th Evac
Hospital recovering from his wounds, SP4 Brian Swanhart read of his
company's action in the Stars and Stripes, " 'January 12, elements
of 6th-31st Infantry engaged in night action. US casualties reported as
light.' If 90% casualties can be called 'light', it's hard to imagine
what it takes for casualties to be reported as 'heavy' ".
Sgt. MacMaster remembers the flight back to Dong Tam, the 9th Division basecamp. "At one point just after taking off in the medevac, I yelled at someone to get off my leg. I thought he was stepping on it. I was told I was just in pain because there was a lot of damage to both legs and my rear end. Shortly after we were taken into the field hospital, I remember looking up and seeing that ugly face of 1SG Godfrey F. Hidalgo…with tears in his eyes. He was human after all. I was then sent to (I believe) the 93rd Evac Hospital up in Long Binh where they worked on me for a number of hours. When I woke up, I was paralyzed from the waist down." Fortunately, he was told it was only temporary. "Shortly after I came out of surgery and finally came out of it," he continued, "Some general and his aide were talking to me as to what happened. And I told them. I also remember recommending commendations for the medic, machine gunner and RTO as I had to 1SG Hidalgo initially. A number of people came to see me as to what happened. Apparently it was quite the firefight and quite the ' fuckup' as operations go." Sgt. MacMaster continues, "There were 'funny' times even then. One of the first nights I woke up screaming, thinking I was still in combat, hearing the 'sounds of war'. I was right, after I woke fully; people were watching the TV and the popular show 'Combat' was on. All of us in the hospital ward laughed at that one." "Like others, I was feeling sorry for
myself, wondering if I would ever walk again. One day, I had the worst
pain in my back and, to make a long story short, I was no longer
paralyzed. A day or two later, Jimmy Stewart and his wife Gloria came to
visit us and they spent about 20 minutes talking to me. Was that a shot
in the arm. I eventually made it home." On February 3rd, Sgt. MacMaster was flown back to the states and was sent to Fitzimmons General Hospital, Denver, Colorado. On February 14th, he was able to attend his brother’s wedding in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He finally left the service in March of 1969 with an 80% disability. He also developed other health problems with his heart and he has diabetes. He continues to have problems today and still needs a cane. He retired in 2003 from the US Dept. of Agriculture in Washington, DC, and now lives back in Minnesota. Doc Swanhart, the medic recovered from his wounds, but still has problems and plans to retire in 2007 and move to Albuquerque, NM. And the RTO, Gary Spears continued to have leg problems, including his leg being reset 30 years later. He retired in the fall of 2005. Unfortunately, he contracted acute myelogenous leukemia and was in-and-out of remission, passing on 21 June, 2006 at the age of 56. In August of 2002, Jim MacMaster, Brian Swanhart, and Gary Spears finally met after 33 years. It was at a reunion for the 31st U.S. Infantry Regiment Association along with a couple of others from the 1st Platoon, Delta Company, 6th Battalion, 31st US Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. No longer the Republic of Vietnam, but the ‘good, old USA’. It seemed just like yesterday. You don’t forget incidents and friends like that! |
INFORMATION ON THOSE WHO TOOK PART
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1st Platoon Position (27 men: 6 killed and 18 wounded)
1 returned to company 2 died 1997 |
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Men from HQ flown in before dawn to assist 1st Platoon
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2nd Platoon Position
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