Battle of Nhi Binh information
for 199 LIB
30 ARVN RANGER BN
4/12 INF
From date 670807 to 670813
199 LIB was a US Army unit
30 ARVN RANGER BN was a Vietnamese Army unit
4/12 INF was a US Army unit
Operation FAIRFAX
South Vietnam
Location, Saigon
Description: This afternoon E/4/12th Inf, 199th LIB, during operation FAIRFAX, make a joint air assault of Nhi Binh with an ARVN company. The LZ was covered by a VC company of the 2d Local Force Bn concealed in bunkers. 17 helicopters were damaged and 2 destroyed. Reinforcement were inserted and linked up before dark. It would be another 6 days before the 40 man VC unit was cleared.
I was with E/4/12th Inf on the second lift that day. Our CO, CPT Don Mabry, was killed that day. While the description indicates this was an "air assault," I distinctly remember that we were being transported to set up a base so we could operate ambushes, etc., for several days and that we were not conducting the usual "air assault" with LZ preps by artillery, gunships, etc. prior to landing. Maybe this point is merely academic. The helicopter companies did an outstanding job with us that day. We were sincerely thankful for their good work. Submitted by Gary P. Breshears, July 1999.
The source for this information was Rise & Fall P:135
Rise & Fall = The Rise and Fall of an American Army: U.S. Ground Forces in Vietnam, 1963 - 1973 by Shelby Stanton.
Additional information is available on CD-ROM.
Please send additions or corrections to: Gary Roush Email address: webmaster@vhpa.org
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Last updated
10/28/1999
Date posted on this site:
05/13/2023