Siege of Dak Seang information
Location = Dak Pek SF Camp
Location = Plateau Gi SF Camp

From date 700401 to 700412


Primary service involved, US Army
Kontum Province, II Corps, South Vietnam
Location, Dak Seang
Description: Then SF SFC Wade, in his book Assault on Dak Pek, provided a second hand account of the NVA attack on Dak Seang. What follows is an edited version of his account. At first light, the NVA 28th Infantry augmented by artillery started a daylight attack on Dak Seang. The initial bombardment was with mortars and RRs which destroyed several buildings and part of the camp's commo. The first NVA assault was beaten back when they got to the wire. Luckily not all of the camp's commo was out. The C-detachment at Pleiku sent in reinforcements right away by airlifting a company from Plateau Gi outside the wire but they got surrounded before they could move into the camp. This force spent the entire night pinned down and almost got overrun themselves. The reinforcements moved into the camp on the 2d after the USAF naped a path for them. The NVA were not discouraged and made two more daylight assault that day. There were reports that the NVA were dug in about 30 meters from the perimeter wire. B-52s were used on suspected enemy base locations. The 4th Inf Div had built an FSB equipped with 155s on the large mountain near the camp. When they withdrew, the NVA occupied the site and were directing their fire support from it. After several nap sorties on the site, the plan was to insert part of a SOG Hatchet force to secure an LZ to be used for a Mike Force. According to Wade's account, a Jolly Green Giant carried the Hatchet force troops and followed the last nap strike. Just as it flared to land, it was hit by an RPG-7 and blew up killing all on board. //Editor's Note: The VHPA KIA and HELICOPTER databases do not show any losses that correlate to this account. There only non-Army helicopter loss in early April was a Jolly Green Giant on the 15th in Kontum Province while attempting to rescue the crew of a downed Army Huey.// Returned to the siege of Dak Seang, Wade's account states that emergency medevac and resupply missions were flown into the camp and that the American wounded were replaced with members from other SF teams. A Mike Force was inserted some distance from the camp as a means of flanking the NVA, but the NVA sent a force to engage it. The NVA did not seem to be intimidated by the air support as they continue to send infantry and sappers against the camp even during the day. After a few days, the pressure on the camp lessened as the NVA seemed to turn their attention to the surrounded Mike Force. When Dak Pek was attacked on the 12th, Wade does not provide any more details about the action around Dak Seang.

The source for this information was Assault on Dak Pek by Leigh Wade


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