Southern Cross information
for 196 BDE 23 INF

For date 700619


196 BDE 23 INF was a US Army unit
Primary service involved, US Army
Quang Tin Province, I Corps, South Vietnam
Location, Hiep Duc
Description: The following is an edited version of an article titled "Hiep Duc rebuilds, twice in nine months" by SSG Tim Palmer AMERICAL IO. HIEP DUC - For the second time in less than nine months the villagers of Hiep Duc are faced with the problem of starting all over again. On April 30th, coincident with a ground attack on nearby LZ Siberia and various other confrontations between Allied Forces and NVA troops throughout the Hiep Duc valley, three of the seven villages making up Hiep Duc were occupied by NVA Forces. Official estimates placed the damage due to burning, explosion, etc. at 20 per cent destruction in each of the three areas affected. Ten civilians were killed in the clash. The invaders wanted to prove that they could, at any time wrest the scenically beautiful valley from the hands of the local Regional and Popular Forces stationed at outposts nearby, and further show that even the strength of the Division's 196th Brigade located on nearby LZ West, was not enough to deny them their whim. They were mistaken! Although gaining entrance to the village before local forces had time to react, the quick actions of the RF and PF soldiers limited greatly the effectiveness of the occupation. The ten civilians killed included one village chief and one hamlet chief. Also, hundreds of homes were destroyed in the wake of the invasion and subsequent occupation. Whether the civilians were killed while resisting or merely assassinated for political reasons has not yet been determined. LTC Mebane Stafford, Province Senior advisor for the area including Hiep Duc, stated, "The NVA failed with their overall mission, but the people of Hiep Duc paid a big price nonetheless." The tactical plan used to retake Hiep Duc from the communists relied mainly on the utilization of ARVN troops linked with the Regional and Popular Forces. "The insertion of U.S. troops into the villages themselves was avoided," said Colonel Stafford, "as we wanted to make sure no villagers were mistaken for the enemy. We felt we could keep friendly casualties down to a minimum if we restricted our forces inside the ARVN, PF, and RF forces, leaving the Americans free to engage the various other enemy elements in the outlying areas." Colonel Stafford was careful to point out that at no time were bombings, artillery or mortar used to support the house-to-house fighting which finally resulted in the ouster of the communists. "We wouldn't displace 6,000 people by firing on the villages, " he reported. Today Hiep Duc is rebuilding - again. The houses are going back up, and the people are reorganizing. Many are rebuilding for the second or third time, happier to stay where they are than to leave the beauty of their home. Photo Caption: A Vietnamese mother carries tin roofing material supplies by the Army to begin rebuilding her family home in Hiep Duc. The home was destroyed during the recent occupation of the village by NVA Forces.

The source for this information was 7006_322_scr supplied by Les Hines 12/17/2000


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Last updated 12/24/2000

Date posted on this site: 05/13/2023