[frisco-kid]

As far as I know, it was never really pacified.



9JUN66

NW of Dak To was a Special Forces camp at a place called Toumorong. It was being besieged by the 24th NVA Regiment. Two battalions [1/327 & 2/502] of the 101st Airborne Division were sent to support them. This was Operation Hawthorne.

C company of the 2/502, commanded by Captain William Carpenter, was inserted on the morning of 9JUN66 to be a blocking force for the 327, which was sweeping in their direction. As Charlie Company was moving up a small hill, the forward platoon radioed Carpenter telling him that they could hear voices down in a small streambed. The platoon leader asked Carpenter if he wanted them to set up the blocking force or go get Charlie. He decided to engage Charlie. Well, it turned to shit for them real quick. They had bit the tail of the 24th NVA Regiment. C company was immediately swarmed and almost overrun. They were spread out and had Charlie right on top of them. They were taking quite a few casualties. At the height of the battle, Carpenter made the decision to call in an airstrike on their position. The nearest planes to them were carrying napalm. The airstrike made the NVA disengage and bought Charlie Company some time. They were able to gather the wounded and setup a better defense perimeter. They kept the NVA at bay until part of the 327 and B company of the 502nd could come re-enforce them.

This battle made the tv news and newspapers back in the States. I remember hearing about it and thinking to myself "Watch me wind up in THAT unit." I landed in Nam on 30JUN66 and sent to the 101st the next day. After processing in and going through P-Training at Phan Rang, I was sent to Dak To to join my new company,......Charlie Company of the 2/502! That was 10JUL66. Two days later I saw my first KIA in my company, 22yr. old PFC William Leon of NYC. On the 15JUL66 we were pulling out of The Highlands headed for Tuy Hoa over on the coast.

The survivors of Toumorong would forever be known as "Carpenter's Crispy Critters." You gotta love grunt humor. As I began to settle into the company and hear the stories from the Crispy Critters, there were alot of mixed feelings about Carpenter's decision. Some of them thought he over reacted [there were troopers killed by the napalm], while others believed that he saved their lives. Like in most battles, it depended on where you were standing and where you were looking. Everybody's experience and perception can be widely different.

Our battalion commander, Hank 'Gunfighter" Emerson, put Carpenter in for the MOH, but was downgraded to a DSC. Our First Sergeant, Walter Sabalouski, was also awarded a DSC and a Silver Star for his actions that day. I stood at attention while General Westmoreland pinned them on both men.