Attack on Dak Pek information
for A-242 SF DET
From date 700416 to 700531
A-242 SF DET was a US Army unit
Primary service involved, US Army
Kontum Province, II Corps, South Vietnam
Location, Dak Pek
Description: SFC Wade's narrative continues: The NVA continued to hit the camp with harassment probes most ever night but pulled most of their larger units out of the valley. They were taking a terrible pounding from the air support and seemed content with blasting the camp with their rockets. Once it became apparent that the battle had turned into a stalemate, the Mike Force was removed.
By the first of May, the heavy enemy ground fire from machine guns and rifles had died down to the point where getting in and out of a helicopter was not nearly as hazardous as before. The birds still flew in over the surrounding, enemy-held mountains at high altitude until directly over the camp. Then they would spiral down to land. To take-off and depart, the reverse procedure was used. Due to the continued enemy bombardment, fixed-wing aircraft still could not land and the camp still received all its heavy resupplies via parachute.
Rather than rebuild the positions on the American hill, positions for them were built on the LLDB hill. Salvaged materials from the American hill were used.
During the first week in May, a new Collins single sideband radio and a 1.5KW generator was sent in for the Americans who now had round-the-clock commo with all headquarters elements. Although they could get an air strike on very short notice, they no longer had continuous air cover. The NVA quickly realized this and dug-in several large mortar positions into the surround mountains. During daylight hours, these positions were bombed but the NVA still fired at the camp most every night.
One day a visiting Colonel noticed everyone was still wearing the same uniforms they'd had since the attack and his helicopter returned with a big bundle of new American fatigues. This was like Christmas at Dak Pek!
By the middle of May, everyone had become accustomed to dodging the occasional incoming. The trick was always to know where the nearest bunker or trench line was located and to spend as little time as possible out in the open. The camp had been cleaned up with all the dead taken care of.
The small amount of water in the camp was only enough for drinking and eating. Bathing required a trip to the river about one hundred meters outside the wire. It took a combat patrol just to get this accomplished and even then only one platoon sized force could go each day.
By the end of May the number of incoming mortar rounds and rockets had slacked off to only one or two times a week, so they declared the siege over.
The source for this information was Assault on Dak Pek by Leigh Wade
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