operation report information
for MAG-36
VMO-6

For date 660715


MAG-36 was a US Marine Corps unit
VMO-6 was a US Marine Corps unit
Primary service involved, US Marine Corps
Operation KANSAS
South Vietnam
Description: During operation KANSAS, USMC SSG Jimmie L. Howard lead an 18-man recon team inserted on the 13th near a hill named Nui Vu. They had an excellant observation position on this hill and directed several air and artillery missions on the enemy. Near midnight on the 15th, they could hear the NVA troop massing at the bottom of their hill and used artillery but knew they would be attacked. By 0200 they were under attack from three sides and by 0300 VMO-6 gunship and Marine jets supported by Marine and Air Force flare ships were working the sides of their hill. Every man in the recon-team was wounded at least once and six died. Before dawn the Marines resorted in throwing rocks at the NVA to have them think they were grenades. Early in the morning of the 16th, MAG-36 UH-34s escorted by VMO-6 gunships inserted a Marine company near the base of the hill. One UH-1E was shot down and the pilot, MAJ Willaim J. Goodsell, who was the squadron CO, was killed. The company linked up with the recon team now armed with NVA AK-47s and found 42 NVA KIA with 19 weapons. This rescue company suffered two KIA and two WIA. SSG Howard won the Medal of Honor for this action.

The source for this information was USMC 1966 H, P. 132-133


Additional information is available on CD-ROM.

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Date posted on this site: 05/13/2023