Battle of A Shau Special Forces Camp information
for HMM-363
For date 660309
HMM-363 was a US Marine Corps unit
Thua Thien Province, I Corps, South Vietnam
Location, A Shau SF Camp
Description: The NVA 95th Regiment attacked the A Shau SF camp at 0300 with a mortar barage and company sized probes. The NVA took good advantage of the heavy ground fog, 100-foot cloud ceiling, the mountains on both sides, and the fact that the camp could not be supported by friendly artillery. The NVA had positioned anti-aircraft weapons to protect their attacking forces and their supporting fire weapons. They shot down an Air Force AC-47 "Puff the Magic Dragon" but an Air Force helicopter rescued three of the crewmen. Two HMM-363 UH-34s attempted to land at the camp to evacuate the wounded. The first was shot down and the second picked up the crew. HMM-163 at Phu Bai was alerted to insert a CIDG company that was flown in from Da Nang but the weather and darkness cancelled this mission.
The source for this information was Rand, USMC 1966 P 58+
Additional information is available on CD-ROM.
Please send additions or corrections to: Gary Roush Email address: webmaster@vhpa.org
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Date posted on this site:
05/13/2023