Attack on Dak Pek information
for A-242 SF DET
Location = Plei Mrong SF Camp
CIDG

For date 700413


A-242 SF DET was a US Army unit
CIDG was a Vietnamese Army unit
Primary service involved, US Army
Kontum Province, II Corps, South Vietnam
Location, Dak Pek
Description: SFC Wade's narrative continues: As the sun came up that morning, a thin layer of smoke from the flares, rockets, mortars, and small-arms fire still hung in the air. The USAF Spectre gunship called and said he'd see us later, and within minutes of his departure, the FAC was again orbiting overhead, telling us to get ready for the first flight of Phantoms. By that second day of the battle, I was becoming aware of the particularly foul odors in the air around Dak Pek. The powdered CS was still detectable and every time a chopper came in, the rotor wash blew the stuff back up in the air and recirculated it. Another factor that led to the stench was the smoke I mentioned earlier, which came not only from expended munitions but from the numerous fire that still smoldered at Dak Pek and at many of the strategic hamlets in the valley. The worst smell, however, was coming from the hundreds of quickly decomposing bodies that littered the area. The enemy was usually very good about recovering its dead, but had been unable to get to the ones in the immediate vicinity of our perimeter or the ones hanging in our wire. The bodies of the enemy we'd killed inside the perimeter had simply been hauled as far off to one side as possible and stacked in piles. We had not been able to do anything about our own dead either, except lay them in rows and cover them the best we could. Our dead Montagnards would eventually be buried there in the valley, which was their home. Dead Vietnamese or Yards not from Dak Pek had to be flown out for burial elsewhere. Their sad carcasses lay rotting and bloating beneath the tropical sun for many days before things quieted down enough to fly them out. The enemy gunners and rocketeers intensified bombardment of the camp as soon as it got light enough for them to see it. We directed a few air attacks against the telltale clouds of smoke left by the rocket exhausts, but that appeared to have no effect. We decided that the rockets were probably laid-in on our cap in advance, from camouflaged positions, and then set to go off later using a timer. That would give the enemy gunners time to get out of the launch area before we could return fire. The mortars and RRs were much harder to detect and were undoubtedly fired from well-dug-in and fortified positions. A lot of the indirect fire came from the surrounding high ground, where the enemy could look directly down into the camp. Early that morning, I received a coded 'For American Info Only' message from the B-team that said we would be receiving reinforcements sometime that day, exact ETA to follow later. The enemy on 203 hill were very inactive that morning and we suspected they had managed to retreat from the position during the night. We put together another assault force, again using the survivors of 203 Company as the lead element, and launched a second attack. They formed up in the trenches right at the base of the saddle and there wasn't a peep from the enemy positions. Instead of evacuating, the NVA had managed to reinforce and resupply. They hit the attackers with some RPGs and maybe even an RR. The troops broke and ran for cover with the Americans right behind them. The poor Yards in 203 Company were starting to get that ten-thousand-mile stare. After a particularly heavy barrage of incoming rockets and mortars that morning, things quieted down around 1100. A combat patrol of 30 led by an SF office was launched from the American hill to sweep around just outside the perimeter wire. They poked around the still-smoldering remains of the supply building and found numerous charred bodies. Next they proceeded to the mostly ruined school building and found more bodies that had to be searched. About this time the NVA spotted the patrol and placed it under mortar and small-arms fire. The patrol finished a hurried circuit of the perimeter. From the materials they brought back, they determined that the NVA K-80 Sapper Battalion had conducted from the successful attack supported by troops from the 26th NVA Regt. In later weeks they learned that the 66th NVA Regt had overrun the strategic hamlets in the valley and that the 40th NVA Arty Regt was responsible for the 122s and 140s. The USAF continued to pound the 203 hill but only a direct hit on the well-built bunkers proved effective. Napalm had some effects and was called in a lot. With only five minutes notice, a flight of Sky Raiders and gunships escorted the Hueys carrying the 1st Mike Force Recon Company augmented by the Strike Force from Camp Plei Mrong. Without any hesitation, the Hueys landed all at once on the runway in combat assault mode. The well-trained Mike Force took one a few casualties during this CA. These troops were placed in the trench line at the end of the saddle for the 203 hill. Darkness fell and Spectre appeared overhead.

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


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Date posted on this site: 05/13/2023