Timeline, May 19th

[David]

SECOND INDOCHINA WAR:
May 19, 1962 (16th day of the 4th month, Year of the Tiger [Nham Dan]) (US Advisory): US Marines begin Operation Op-Plan 32-59 in response to the Laotian crisis.

May 1966 (3rd month, supplemental, and 4th month, Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo])(US Counteroffensive): 3rd Brigade troops doing "checkerboards" in the Ia Drang Valley make significant contact near the Chu Pong Massif. A running battle ensues, as the enemy again seeks safety in Cambodia. Westmoreland now appeals to Washington for permission to maneuver Army units behind the enemy, possibly into Cambodian territory, but officials refuse, fearing international repercussions, and the NVA sanctuary remains untouched.

May 19, 1966 (3rd month, supplemental, and 4th month, Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo])(US Counteroffensive): Operation El Paso I starts around Loc Ninh.

May 19, 1966 (3rd month, supplemental, and 4th month, Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo])(US Counteroffensive): The 155th AHC supports the 22nd ARVN Division in operations in the Bong Son area.

May 19, 1966 (3rd month, supplemental, and 4th month, Year of the Horse [Binh Ngo])(US Counteroffensive): Gen. Vang Pao is involved in efforts to retrieve an Air America pilot's body after a crash in Laos.

May 19, 1968 (23rd day of the 4th month, Year of the Monkey {Mau Than]) (US Counteroffensive Phase IV): Tet mini-offensive: Several Viet Cong rocket and mortar shells strike the center of Saigon.

May 19, 1969 (4th day of the 4th month, Year of the Rooster [Ky Dau]) (US Tet69/Counteroffensive) (Zaffiri): Ap Bia Mountain/Hill 937: After the rain finally stops, Honeycutt has his men stay on 50% alert during the night of the 18th/19th in case the NVA attacks, and he calls in gunships that hit the enemy's night supply trails. Early in the morning, seven sets of fighters start prepping the areas to be assaulted tomorrow. During the day, the four hundred men of the ARVN 2/3 move in from Hue to a LZ southeast of Ap Bia and head into their assault position. Three companies of the 2/501 are picked up from FSB Airborne and taken to a LZ 800 meters northeast of Ap Bia; they then close the gap to 400 meters and take up assault positions. Honeycutt gives his commanders the final briefing. The 3/187th will attack the west face of Ap Bia again, with Charlie Company heading up the main ridge and Alpha up a large southern ridge. A/2/506 is to swing left and attack, suppressing the fire that hit Charlie and Delta the previous day.

Meanwhile, the 1/506th has gone back on the attack, their Alpha Company leading the way. At 1030, they move out of their NDP and start pushing for the peak of the hill south of Ap Bia. Despite running into the most intense fire they've yet encountered, with the help of napalm strikes, they manage to advance to the top of their mountain, taking three hours to clear its more than 20 bunkers, including a command bunker filled with field telephones, detailed maps of the mountain and northern A Shau and large amounts of ammo. After consolidating their position, they try to launch an attack toward Ap Bia, but are pinned down by fire from a large enemy bunker complex. C/1/506th, which had been in the rear mopping up, is sent to their aid and has a tough time of it, but finally links up.

By nightfall, all four battalions are in their assault positions around the mountain. Many of the waiting men think that, in the face of this display of force, the NVA will pull out and head for Laos during the night. Instead, they do what they've done every night during the fight, resupply and reinforce the mountain, and rest up.

May 19, 1970 (15th day of the 4th month, Year of the Dog [Canh Tuat]) (US Sanctuary Counteroffensive): In South Vietnam, enemy forces shell more than 60 allied positions on the 80th anniversary of the birth of Ho Chi Minh.