U.S. CASUALTIES BY UNITS

[Gimpy]

firsthand just how bad the 173rd got chewed up at Dak To in Nov. and Dec. 1967.

I was in an orthopedic ward recovering from surgery on both my legs at a Tokyo, Japan Army Hospital when sometime around the 14th or 15th of November 1967 the ward started to fill up with wounded troopers from the 173rd. The ward was designed to house 42 beds........by the middle of December they had more than 75 beds full and more on the way! More than half of these were from the 173rd at the battle of Dak To. They really took a beating. Many, many amputees in those few weeks. Got to meet some real, true blue, young American heros' during that time. I'll never forget them.

God bless them all.......and their brothers that didn't make it to that hospital as well!

Interesting observation.............8 or the 10 "Deadliest Battles" occurred before 1968..........5 in 1967 alone?

Looks like 67, 68 and 69 were some bad ass times over there.

[frisco-kid]

you were a hero among heroes and that's a true story.

[formergrunt70]

Hey Whiteoak- My buddy! Damn it's good to see the burning rope once again. I enjoyed Your pictures of the rally. yeah I agree our fellows was the last ones out of that tropical paradise. Tough times for all that served. A salute to My fallen comrades, rest in peace My "brothers"
Topp Gee

[frisco-kid]

The 9th most deadly battle on the list also involved the 173rd. It occured on Hill 1338 near Dak To. It involved A & C companies of the 2/503. One more example of what has been said about the 173rd already.

Early in the day A company was cut off and systematicly decimated. As the battle went on through the day, platoons were cut off from each other. C company was succesfully kept at bay as the battle raged. Later in the day B company was put on the ground, but was pinned down not far from it's LZ. The place was a beehive of well entrenched NVA. The enemy was hugging Alpha too close for an airstrike or artillary fire. The smoke from the battle was so thick, gunships couldn't get an accurate fix on the paratrooper's position. Neither company was able to make it to A company's aid that day. They would have to listen to the sounds of their brothers in A company fight for their lives all night.

The next morning all was quiet. C company, being the closest, was the first to arrive at A company's battle site. It was a disaster. The death toll for Alpha was shocking. Out of 137 paratroopers, 76 were KIA. Another 23 were wounded. Of the dead, 43 of them had been shot in the back of the head execution style.

5 months later it would be A & C companies of 2/503, along with D company, that would be involved in the 3rd deadliest battle, the fight for Hill 875. Once again, it would be A company that is cut off and shot to Hell.

[PHO127]

Was taken by the Recon teams of MACSOG, 100% were wounded or KIA.

[frisco-kid]

any idea how many guys this involves? I know next to nothing about these units. Were they all Americans, or CIDG also?

[PHO127]

That these stats are for U.S. personnel only. As close as I can tell there were about 1500 U.S. forces assigned to SOG thru-out the entire VN war. Of these there were probably less than 150 assigned to the RTs and Forward operating bases (FOBs) at any given time. Also most were on anywhere from 2 to 6 tours. My SM did his first tour in 1956. If I were going to give it my best SWAG I would say that during the entire war there were probably 200 to 250 KIA/MIA and the remaining were WIA. It is difficult to determine the exact assignment because most were assigned to "Paper units" for accountability then reassigned under classified orders or detailed to SOG assignments.

[82Rigger]

Just wondering...

What was the highest ranked U.S. kia in Vietnam?

Did we lose any flag officers over there?

Anybody know?

[frisco-kid]

I thought I read somewhere that a General was killed, but I forget the particulars. I'm guessing a helicopter crash, maybe shot down.

[mcrty2]

Steve,

I believe ther was a Gen. Casey killed in an aircraft crash. He was I believe the deputy commander of the 1ST cav.div.