Army Reporter information
for 2/28 INF 1 INF
For date 681111
2/28 INF 1 INF was a US Army unit
Primary service involved, US Army
Tay Ninh Province, III Corps, South Vietnam
Location, Katum
Description: The following is an edited version of an article titled "1st Div troops rout enemy near Katum" dated 11 Nov 1968.
Members of the 2/28th Inf backed by barrages of division artillery fire and helicopter gunship rocket and minigun fire, killed 80 NVA during five hours of fierce fighting in the marshy area surrounding a NDP. The following morning the soldiers found 23 additional bodies in a sweep of the area, located 11 miles east of Katum in Tay Ninh Province. Action began at 7:30 in the evening when C/2/28th Inf, commanded by CPT Richard L. Rogers, began firing mortars into suspected enemy positions. Co. C then directed artillery to the positions of the enemy, estimated at company size. The artillery set off 128 secondary explosions as the rounds plowed into the enemy base camp area. Shortly after 6 AM the 1st Div's night position, nicknamed "Julie," began receiving heavy mortar, RPG and small arms fire from the western side. After a 20 minute barrage, the NVA began conducting ground probes into the perimeter. The probes were launched from numerous trenches and bunkers which enemy forces had dug around the position earlier in the evening. During the attack numerous enemy soldiers, using Bangalore torpedoes, tried to wreck the barbed wire perimeter. With each thrust they were repulsed. At one time an enemy soldier got into the perimeter and was killed in hand-to-hand combat by PFC Bill Johnson, a medic for Co.C, who was administering aid to a wounded soldier. During the morning the soldiers swept out from their positions. Twenty-six bodies were found tangled in the wire.
The source for this information was 6811AR.AVN supplied by Les Hines
Additional information is available on CD-ROM.
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Date posted on this site:
05/13/2023