Southern Cross information
for 198 BDE 23 INF
1/52 INF 23 INF
F/8 CAV
H/17 CAV
For date 700626
198 BDE 23 INF was a US Army unit
1/52 INF 23 INF was a US Army unit
F/8 CAV was a US Army unit
H/17 CAV was a US Army unit
Primary service involved, US Army
Operation GENEVA PARK
Quang Ngai Province, I Corps, South Vietnam
Location, Quang Ngai
Description: The following is an edited version of an article titled "Division Recap Children reveal caches" by the Americal IO.
CHU LAI - In Operation Geneva Park several Vietnamese children lead troopers of H Troop, 17th Cavalry to an impressive cache of 96 mortar rounds, 60 mines, and a variety of other highly explosive ordnance. Elsewhere in Operation Fredrick Hill the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry and the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry, accounted for three-fourths of the brigades 43 enemy killed for the week. In Operation Iron Mountain the 174th AHC killed 34 NVA in a two day action.
As part of Operation Geneva Park, in an action eight miles north of Quang Ngai, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Infantry, received incoming mortar rounds, rifle-propelled grenades and small arms fire when an undetermined number of Viet Cong assaulted their night defensive position early Friday morning. The company repulsed the attack with small arms fire and 81mm mortars. Also on station were gunships from F/8th Cav, which supported the infantrymen in the battle. At first light the company swept the area and found 14 CHICOM grenades, one rifle, two rifle-propelled grenades, and one booby trap. The company also killed one sapper. The following day, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Infantry, spotted four to five enemy soldiers carrying packs moving through the mountains 22 miles west of Quang Ngai. The company unleashed a heavy barrage of small arms fire to kill two. The infantrymen then swept through the area and discovered three burlap packs containing medical supplies, 34 cans of condensed milk, six time fuses and some rice. Working in the same area, Alpha Company, came upon one Viet Cong killed and the capture of several miscellaneous documents. Elsewhere, several Vietnamese children turned over to H Troop, 17th Cavalry, an impressive cache of munitions. The total cache consisted of 96 mortar rounds, 60 mines, two 2.74 inch rockets, two 57mm recoilless rifle rounds, two rifle-propelled grenades, one CHICOM grenade, four artillery rounds and six fuses. H Troop, maneuvering in an area 12 miles northeast of Quang Ngai, destroyed the munitions. Also, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry received three artillery rounds, one mine, one booby trap, one mortar round, and 60 small arms rounds from Vietnamese children in an area 10 miles northeast of Quang Ngai. The 39th Engineer Battalion, working with Alpha Company, received two artillery rounds, one fuse, and two mortar rounds from the children. While maneuvering in an area 22 miles west of Quang Ngai in the early morning, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Infantry, encountered two to three NVA in green uniforms in the thickly vegetated mountainous terrain. The company responded with automatic weapons to kill one and capture one AK-47, two AK-47 magazines, 70 pounds of salt, and several items of miscellaneous field gear. In another action, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry, while maneuvering in an area 14 miles northeast of Quang Ngai, came upon four Viet Cong carrying packs and weapons maneuvering in the low coastal plain. The company engaged the enemy with small arms fire to kill one. Also captured was one pack. In an area 15 miles southeast of Chu Lai, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry, found one .51 caliber ammunition box hidden under some hedges. The box contained two fragmentation grenades, one 60 volt battery, one green NVA uniform, documents, and other miscellaneous items. Elsewhere, incoming mortar rounds, rifle-propelled grenades and CHICOM grenades pounded the night defensive position of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Infantry eight miles north of Quang Ngai. The infantrymen repulsed the sapper attack with a heavy barrage of small arms fire, grenades and 81mm mortars. Gunships were called on station to saturate the outer perimeter as flareships maintained intensive illumination. The infantrymen swept the area later to find several CHICOM grenades and rifle-propelled grenades scattered about the perimeter. In an area 22 miles southwest of Chu Lai, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Infantry, discovered one freshly dug grave. The NVA kill was attributed to the contact the unit had the previous day. Elsewhere, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry, found signs of recent enemy activity in an area 12 miles northeast of Quang Ngai. At the location of the infantrymen found 13 cans of mackerel, four three-pound bags of rice and one butchered calf. Late Wednesday evening, a large cache was discovered when a rallier led Echo Recon, 5th Battalion, 46th Infantry, to the site, 15 miles northwest of Chu Lai. The cache, hidden in a camouflaged hooch, consisted of nine AK-47's, one rifle, one carbine, 31-60mm mortar rounds, five rifle-propelled grenades, five sticks of dynamite, one CHICOM grenade, 18-60mm mortar fuses, three containers of TNT, four 10-pound shaped charges, one fuse setter and two magazines.
The source for this information was 7006_323_scr supplied by Les Hines 12/19/2000
Additional information is available on CD-ROM.
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Last updated
12/24/2000
Date posted on this site:
05/13/2023