Battle of FSB Crook information
for 3/22 INF
E/3/22 INF
25 INF DIV
187 AHC
From date 690605 to 690607
3/22 INF was a US Army unit
E/3/22 INF was a US Army unit
25 INF DIV was a US Army unit
187 AHC was a US Army unit
Primary service involved, US Army
Tay Ninh Province, III Corps, South Vietnam
Location, FSB Crook
Description: FSB Crook was located northwest of Tay Ninh city about four miles from the Cambodian border in a flat but forested area. It was manned by elements of the 3/22d Inf, 25th Inf Div. All approaches were covered by sensor devices made available from the DMZ barrier as well as radar mounted on the observation tower. These detected large movement in the tree line around the base. Artillery was fired and things quieted down until 0300 when the base began taking a heavy concentration of rocket and mortar fire. The 272d NVA Regt charged the base from the south and east. The defenders answered with their howitzers and machine-guns plus heavy supporting fires. The 16 NVA who managed to breach the outer wire were killed by claymores and rifle fire. The majority of the NVA defiantly remained on the field to fire RPGs and rifles. These were attacked by USAF AC-47 and AC-119 aircraft plus helicopter gunships and jets. Night one of this battle was over.
The following was taken from the 22nd Infantry Society website.
The Battle of FSB Crook, 'They Were All Heroes' FSB CROOK, 7 June 69.
During two nights of deadly close-in fighting, Bravo Company of the 3d Battalion, 22d Infantry, turned back two NVA regiments. In two separate back-to-back ground attacks Thursday and Friday nights on FSB Crook, eight and a half miles northwest of Tay Ninh City the outnumbered Regulars held firm and killed off the charging NVA.
Both battles saw the NVA forces soundly defeated. The enemy initially tried to breach the perimeter with sappers but failed. At no time was the Regulars’ bunker line penetrated. Supporting fires for Crook were supplied by Cobra gunships, tactical air strikes, spookie, shadow (C-119 gunship) and a host of artillery batteries. Alpha Battery of the 7th Battalion, 11th Artillery, fired point blank into the on-rushing enemy as rocket and mortar fire slammed into Crook. "Throughout the attacks my men performed remarkably. Even during the height of the in-coming rounds, they got out of their bunkers and fired the guns. They knew they had to do it, so they stayed low and we came out like bandits, taking very few casualties," said the battery commander, CPT Dick Neal of San Antonio, TX.
As Bravo Company left the perimeter to sweep the area the following morning they were greeted by hand grenade-throwing NVA who tossed the grenades out of well camouflaged spider holes. Bravo returned to its perimeter and had spookie hose down the area with its deadly mini-gun. Alpha Company was dropped off four kilometers north of Crook by the 187th AHC to spoil the enemy’s rapid retreat. Following a trail of commo wire they met head-on with the NVA regiment’s headquarters. 1LT William Ervin of Richmond, VA, called for tactical air strikes as he maneuvered his men against the enemy. Darkness forced Alpha to return to FSB Washington before enemy casualties were known.
The second night of fighting seemed to be an instant replay of the previous night’s action. The only difference was that a fresh NVA regiment hit from the opposite side. As mortars, rockets and RPG’s slashed into the FSB, 1LT Curtis McFarland of Midland, TX, readied his platoon. Again the sappers were stopped before they breached the perimeter. On both nights MAJ Joseph Hacia of Wethersfield, CT, ran the entire show. He gained the prospective of the situation by rapidly moving between his tactical operations center, tower and bunker line. "I’m really impressed with the men of Bravo Company," said Hacia, the battalion’s XO. "They performed to perfection and fought just as if they were at a turkey shoot. The real key to our success was early warning. Our electronic devices had them zeroed in several hours before they actually reached the perimeter. We knew they were coming and we were ready for them. The men on the bunker line knew exactly what to do and caught the sappers before they had a chance to do any damage."
SP4 Thomas Belan of Pittsburgh was one of the first to spot the sappers as they attempted to crawl under the wire on the southwest side of the perimeter. Belan literally burned up the barrel on his machine gun. The quick-thinking of SFC Donald Neal of Columbus, GA, proved to be fatal for the unsuspecting sappers. Neal grabbed two grenade launchers and several bandoleers of ammo before heading for Belan’s position. Together they popped out the grenades and sent the sappers heading back for the nearby woodline.
"They were all heroes," said CPT Larry B. Thomas of Camp Hill, PA, Thomas directed his Bravo Company while running back and forth on the bunker line determining where the areas of greatest threat were. "The men knew what to do before I had a chance to direct them. They performed beyond expectations, and I’m proud of every one of them."
A last-ditch effort was made from the northeast section where the initial attack was fairly light. Machinegunner SP4 Richard C. Morroquine of Floresville, TX, made an immediate assessment of the situation and turned back the on-rushing enemy with his M-60. The desperate NVA answered his volley with a wave of rocket-propelled grenades. But Bravo had constructed their fortifications well. Many bunkers and fighting positions received direct hits and withstood them. "I saw them coming," said Morroquine. "This place was lit up like the Fourth of July and we could spot out targets as they came out of the woodline." Twelve enemy soldiers were riddled with machine gun bullets in front of Morroquine’s position, and several blood trails led off to the woodline. Battalion Commander LTC Robert Carmichael of Columbus, GA, had nothing but praise for his Regulars. "Everybody reacted to perfection to defeat the enemy force. we had one hell of a battle on our hands, and it directly involved the entire battalion. Our support elements provided everything we needed as fast as it could possibly be done.
"Alpha, Charlie and Delta companies all got into the action at Crook by sweeping the surrounding woodlines after the battle. Even our recon platoon was out there clearing away the bodies and counting the captured weapons. I’m proud of every man in the unit and especially proud of those men in Bravo Company who pushed back two NVA regiments in two nights." After two nights of fierce fighting, the number of enemy killed on the battle- marked terrain around Crook reached 400. One GI died in the action and eight were wounded.
Reprinted from the Tropic Lightning News, June 16, 1969
A Special Thanks to John Otte, B/3-22, 67-68
Echo Company, 3/22 4.2" mortar platoon was also at FSB Crook in June 1969. We fired everything we had, HE, Willy Pete, and Illumination those three nights. However, we are never mentioned in any account of the fight. If possible, please acknowledge the contribution of the 4.2" mortar platoon. From: Dave at FAMWEISS@aol.com
Hotlinks: http://www.22ndinfantry.org/vietnam.htm
The source for this information was Rise & Fall P:301; 22nd Infantry Society website
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
02/26/2010
Date posted on this site:
05/13/2023