Southern Cross information
for 4 ARVN REG
174 AHC
176 AHC
For date 700703
4 ARVN REG was a Vietnamese Army unit
174 AHC was a US Army unit
176 AHC was a US Army unit
Primary service involved, US Army
Quang Ngai Province, I Corps, South Vietnam
Location, Nghia Hanh
Description: The following is an edited version of an article titled "NVA loses 135 in Nghia Hanh attack" by SP4 Peter R. Sorensen (11th INF BDE IO).
FSB BRONCO - A recent enemy drive against Nghia Hanh, CIDG Camp, has cost the NVA 135 dead. The emplacement, five miles southwest of Quang Ngai City, was the object of a regimental-size offensive which if successful, would have left Quang Ngai City open to attack. The enemy move was to coincide with a similar attack upon Hiep Duc to the north. The 174th and 176th AHCs and the 4th ARVN Regiment combined to stop the NVA and dictate a bloody retreat back into the mountains. Prior knowledge of the enemy's intentions, through military intelligence, could do little to stem the fury and force of the NVA mortar and ground attacks. "When we got on station it was hard to tell who was in possession of Nghia Hanh. Soldiers of the 4th ARVN Regiment who were air-lifted in earlier, were in heavy contact," stated WO Jarvis D. Gambrell, Port Arthur, Texas of the 174th, "We came under heavy enemy ground fire...three or four .51 caliber machine guns and some .30 calibers. Heavy ground fighting by the 4th ARVN Regiment and inspired flying by the gunships, neutralized the enemy action against Nghia Hanh. The NVA were forced to assume a defensive stance. NVA elements attempted to flee south to their sanctuary in Song Ve River Valley; they were fixed and destroyed by gunships and reaction forces of ARVN infantrymen delivered by "Dolphin" utility ships of the 174th AHC. The coup de grace" was dealt the enemy offensive on the western ridge of the Song Ve River Valley corridor. 2LT John I. O'Sullivan Brooklyn, N.Y., 174th gunship pilot, described the action: "The gunship pilots are familiar with the western and eastern mountain chains which rise up from the Song Ve. A 'Shark' gunship passed over the western ridge and noticed that it wasn't as 'bald' or as open as usual. From the base at the southern side-to the top-to the base at the northern side was a row of bushes that weren't there normally. A second pass of the area revealed an AK-47 attached to one of the limbs. What the pilot identified was a camouflaged, 800 yard relief column of enemy soldiers headed for Nghia Hanh." MAJ Fredrick G. Blackburn, Kansas City, Mo., commander of the 174th AHC, flying the Air Mission Control ship cleared the grid and turned the gunships loose on the trail. LTC Le Ba Khieu, commander of the 4th ARVN Regiment, realizing the enemy situation organized a reaction force which was combat assaulted at last light right on tope of the now smoldering trail. Commented WO Gambrell, "The 4th ARVN Regiment is an outstanding unit. We like working for them, because we know they are busting for us. They got in there and were all over the NVA." On the command level, MAJ Blackburn had these words of praise, "The cooperation between the 4th ARVN Regiment and the 174th AHC has always been excellent. Colonel Khien is an outstanding military leader. During this operation he was highly flexible in his decisions which were calculated a step ahead of the enemy situation." The South Vietnamese element while sweeping the battlefield credited the 174th AHC with the destruction of a command post. The 4th ARVN Regiment has confirmed that 135 NVA died in their attempt to raze Nghia Hanh. Seventeen kills were credited to the 176th AHC and 38 to the "Shark gunships of the 174th AHC. A grim postscript to the action occurred a day and a half later when an American force in the Song Ve River Valley detained an NVA who identified himself as a regimental cook. He reported that he was ordered to wait in the valley for the element's return from the Nghia Hanh mission-thus far, no one had returned.
1) An 11th Brigade grenadier makes his way through a soggy rice field. The man, a member of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry, was part of a company sweep in the flatlands near Highway One.
2) Cannoneers stand clear as their 155mm howitzer recoils with brute force, filling the cloudless afternoon sky with thunder. The men of Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 82nd Artillery are supporting Division operations south of Quang Ngai City. (Photo by PFC Robert J. Smith)
Comments: MAJ Blackburn, Fredrick G.; CO 174 AHC; ;
WO Gambrell, Jarvis D.; 174 AHC pilot; ;
2LT O'Sullivan, John I.; 174 AHC pilot; ;
The source for this information was 7007_324_scr supplied by Les Hines 12/23/2000
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Last updated
12/23/2000
Date posted on this site:
05/13/2023