When the 5th ARVN Ranger Group
was given the tactical area of responsibility for Saigon in the latter part of
1967, the communists were able to infiltrate and smuggle literally thousands of
troops and supplies into the city in anticipation for the Tet
Offensive. Many of the weapons caches were buried in the city's graveyards,
complete with mock burials. Because of
this, the U.S. Embassy was nearly overrun along with a large portion of the
civilian areas inside the city itself.
One area that became a communist
stronghold during the first few days of the offensive was the “Cholon” or Chinese section of Saigon. This section was a
densely packed civilian area, with row upon row of shack-like houses that
formed a literal maze of alley ways and side streets, that offered the Viet
Cong soldiers in the city adequate cover and concealment.
Early in the morning hours of 31
January, the 6th VC NLF Battalion, along with other mixed Viet Cong units, had
seized and taken control of the Phu Tho Racetrack in the center of the Cholon
section. The racetrack would prove to be a very strategic location for whoever
occupied it as it was at the hub of five major roads, which led into the heart
of the city. It also served as a
rallying point for VC/NVA troops unfamiliar with their urban surroundings. The
racetrack was also a large, covered area constructed of reinforced concrete
that was suitable for a command post and temporary field hospital. Communist
possession of the racetrack would deny the Americans and ARVN’s
the use of a large, vital landing zone in the area and was easily within 82mm
mortar range of Tan San Nhout Airbase.
In the weeks preceding the Tet Offensive, the “Cottonbalers"
of the 3/7th Infantry, 199th LIB had been operating in the marshes south of
Saigon near Binh Chanh and
the Fishnet Factory, as they had done since December of 1966. According to MACV
HQ, should anything pop up in Saigon during the expected offensive, the Cottonbalers would be the first American emergency reaction
force into the city.
(The 7th Infantry Regiment is one
of the oldest Infantry units in the United States Army. Officially organized in
1789, the regiment fought in the War of 1812 and earned their nickname while
fighting against the British, under General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New
Orleans in 1815. The men of the unit distinguished themselves at this battle
when they mowed down the British regulars in front of their position from
behind breast works made of stacked cotton bales. The 7th Infantry had also
assaulted Telegraph Hill at the Battle of Cerro Gordo in the Mexican War and
were themselves mowed down in front of the stone wall at Fredericksburg by
Confederate sharpshooters in the Civil War. Further campaigns were earned in
the Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, Philippine Insurrection, both World Wars
and intense combat in Korea. In Vietnam,
the 3rd Battalion of the 7th Infantry operated in some of the harshest and most
in-hospitable terrain in the Brigade Area of Operations. From late 1966 until late 1969, the battalion
had operated almost exclusively in the Pineapple Region).
The night before the Tet attacks started, LTC John K. Gibler,
the commanding officer of 3/7, pulled in all the line companies from the field
in anticipation for Tet. At 0800 the next day, Col. Gibler and A/3/7 received an urgent call to proceed to
Saigon as quickly as possible as the VC/NVA had taken control of several parts
in the city. (Over a month before, the
men of A/3/7 had also participated in the Dec. 7, 1967 fight near FSB Nashua,
sustaining heavy losses in killed and wounded).
Captain Antonio V. Smaldone, a three-tour veteran of Vietnam and undoubtedly
one of the best company commander's in-country, 3/7 then commanded Alpha
Company, at that time. In a previous
tour with the 1st Infantry Division, Smaldone was
picked as the best company commander in the entire 1st Division and had
appeared in Stars and Stripes magazine.
Early on the morning of 1
February, the men of Alpha Company wearily boarded deuce-and-a-half trucks and
sped north on Highway 4 for the hour-long ride to the capital. In the lead of
the convoy was a platoon of eight APC’s from D/17th Cav., which were commanded by 1Lt. Richard W. Harper.
“As the tracks and infantrymen
continued to drive to their objective, enemy dead from the on-going battle were
piled high in the street and had to be moved before the lead track could
continue.” There were also numerous, khaki-clad bodies of American officers
from the Air Force and Army lining the street who were caught unaware of the
attacks by the VC forces as they were traveling to their duty stations at Tan
Son Nhout Airbase.
Several blocks from the
racetrack, as the Redcatcher mechanized column
proceeded with great haste, heavy automatic weapons and RPG fire from the
rooftops and alleyways of Cholon stitched the entire
troop. The infantrymen of 3/7 leaped out of the trucks and immediately deployed
forward and sought cover among the houses, vehicles, shanty’s, trash and debris on the Plantation
Road, while D/17 opened up on the area with M-60’s, .50 caliber and 106mm
recoilless rifles.
Because of the unrelenting and
intense enemy fire, the armored column took a side street and proceeded north
towards the racetrack. Less than one block from their destination, and after
taking fire the whole way, a carefully aimed RPG round careened down the street
and hit the lead APC, instantly killing Lt. Harper and his driver.