Dak To

[39mto39g]

I was in some VN web sight and came accros the war time line, This one stuck out to me because it didn't mention the unit most involved, 173 airborne. anyway.

November 3-December 1 - The Battle of Dak To occurs in the mountainous terrain along the border of Cambodia and Laos as the U.S. 4th Infantry Division heads off a planned NVA attack against the Special Forces camp located there. During the fighting, the 4th Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry earns a Presidential Unit Citation for bravery. Massive air strikes combined with U.S. and South Vietnamese ground attacks result in an NVA withdrawal into Laos and Cambodia. NVA losses are put at 1644. U.S. troops suffer 289 killed. "Along with the gallantry and tenacity of our soldiers, our tremendously successful air logistic operation was the key to the victory," states General Westmoreland.

End.

The key to our "victory?" was that the NVA left in the middle of the night.

Ron

[DMZ-LT]

I always appreciated it when they left.

[exlrrp]

Originally posted by DMZ-LT I always appreciated it when they left.

me too. I always hated it when they came. Darn those Vietnamese, why didn't they go back to Vietnam? once myself and my team were set up in some bushes minding our own business when a company or so of NVA came marching along a trail and set up all around us. Boy were our faces red, it was disturbing.. It could have been very embarassing. I know people that would have opened fire but yr boy was not one of them, nor his friends.We managed to crawl away but it took all night.

James
Happy just to be alive

I hated Dak To, there are too many ghosts there for me. It was one of the most frighting places I had been in the Highlands, I thought Chu Moor was a tough fight, but Dak To had to one of the worst fights I was in.

[frisco-kid]

Ron,

you and I have discussed Dak To several times over the years. Particularly Hill 875. My unit of the 101st, 2/502, was in Dak To when I joined them in JUL66. My company was over run there the month before. Like you and Robert have said, it was a very scary place. You could just sense the NVA around all the time. This was where I saw my first American KIA; PFC Wm. Leon. We left there a couple of weeks after I got there. I think it was either you 4th ID guys or 1st Cav that took over the AO. None of us were sorry to leave. As far as I know, Dak To was never completely pacified during the whole war.