Battle of A Shau Special Forces camp information
for HMM-163
VMO-2
For date 660312
HMM-163 was a US Marine Corps unit
VMO-2 was a US Marine Corps unit
Thua Thien Province, I Corps, South Vietnam
Location, A Shau SF Camp
Description: This morning, seven UH-34s from HMM-163 and two escorts from VMO-2 flew through extensive ground fire and evacuated 34 more survivors including two Marine crewmen and five Army advisors. LTC House, the HMM-163 CO, later commented that 21 of the 24 UH-34s used by the squadron had to be replaced as a result of these three-days of evacuation operations. When LTC House's interview with CBS correspondent John Laurence was released in America, an investigation was ordered. LTC House had the dubious distinction of receiving a Navy Cross and a letter of reprimand for his part in these operations. Marine helicopter, most from HMM-131, flew 131 sorties and brought back 161 of the 186 survivors, including 10 of the 12 Army advisors who got out. In all 248 of the 434 man A Shau garrison were either missing or dead, including five US SF soldiers.
The source for this information was USMC 1966, P. 63
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