Air Soldiers
Horse Soldiers
Huey UH-1M (Gunship)
Huey Air Drop
On 01 July 1965, the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) was officially activated. It was made up of
resources of the 11th Air Assault Division (Test) and brought to full strength by transfer of
specialised elements of the 2nd Infantry Division. As a part of this reorganisation, the 2nd Battalion,
23rd Infantry was redesignated the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment and the 2nd Battalion, 9th
Infantry was redesignated the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment. On 03 July 1965, in Doughboy
Stadium at Fort Benning, Georgia the colors of the 11th Air Assault Division (Test) were cased and
retired. As the band played the rousing strains of GarryOwen, the colours of the 1st Cavalry Division
were moved onto the field.
Within 90 days of becoming the Army's first air mobile division, the First Team was back in combat
as the first fully committed division of the Vietnam War. An advance party, on board C-124s and
C-130s, arrived at Nha Trang between the 19th and 27th of August 1965. They joined with advance
liaison forces and established a temporary base camp near An Khe, 36 miles inland from the costal
city of Qui Nhon. The remainder of the 1st Cavalry Division arrived by ship, landing at the harbour
of Qui Nhon on the 12th and 13th of September, the 44th anniversary of the 1st Cavalry Division. In
the Oriental calendar year of the "Horse", mounted soldiers had returned to war wearing the famous
and feared patch of the First Cavalry Division. The First Team had entered its third war - and the
longest tour of duty in combat history.
On 10 October 1965, in "Operation Shiny Bayonet", the First Team initiated their first brigade-size
airmobile action against the enemy. The air assault task force consisted of the 1st and 2nd Battalions,
7th Cavalry, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry and the 1st Battalion, 21st Artillery.
Rather than standing and fighting, the Viet Cong chose to disperse and slip away. Only light contact
was achieved. The troopers had but a short wait before they faced a tougher test of their fighting
skills; the 35-day Pleiku Campaign.
On 23 October 1965, the first real combat test came at the historic order of General Westmoreland
to send the First Team into an air assault mission to pursue and fight the enemy across 2,500 square
miles of jungle. Troopers of the 1st Brigade and 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry swooped down on the
NVA 33rd regiment before it could get away from Plei Me. The enemy regiment was scattered in
the confusion and was quickly smashed. The 3rd Brigade joined the fighting on 09 November. Five
days later, the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry air assaulted into the Ia Drang Valley near the Chu Pong
Massif. Landing Zone X-Ray was "hot" from the start. At Landing Zone X-Ray, the Division's first
medal of honor in the Vietnam War was awarded to 2nd Lt. Walter J. Marm of the 1st Battalion 7th
Cavalry. The fighting, the most intensive combat in the history of the division, raged for three days.
When the Pleiku Campaign ended on 25 November, troopers of the First Team had killed 3,561
North Vietnamese soldiers and captured 157 more. The troopers destroyed two of three regiments
of a North Vietnamese Division, earning the first Presidential Unit Citation given to a division in
Vietnam. The enemy had been given their first major defeat and their carefully laid plans for
conquest had been torn apart.
25 January 1966, began "Masher/White Wing" which were code names for the missions of the 3rd
Brigade in Binh Dinh Province. The mission ended 6 March 1966, with the enemy losing its grip on
the Binh Dinh Province, however its name would be heard again and again during the next six years.
On 01 April 1966, the 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry was activated at Fort Carson, Colorado. using the
personnel and assets of the 1st Battalion, 11th Infantry, The unit joined the 1st and 2nd Battalions of
the 7th Cavalry, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam. In August 1966 the 2nd Battalion, 7th
Cavalry was sent to the southernmost end of II Corps to bring the long months of "Operation Byrd"
to a productive finish. In 16 months the 2nd Brigade fanned out from Phan Thiet, the capital city of
Binh Thaun Province, and cleared from the enemy from the area.
The need for rice by the famished Viet Cong was the catalyst for Operation Paul Revere II which
commenced on 02 August 1966. Significant contact with the enemy did not occur until 08 August, at
LZ Juliett. Company "A", 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry came under heavy fire from a reinforced enemy
battalion. In several hours of intense fighting, Alpha Company turned back repeated mass attacks.
Timely artillery and air strikes eliminated the opportunity for the enemy to surround the
Skytroopers. The roar of helicopters from two companies from the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry
arriving at LZ Juliett frightened the enemy, causing them to flee.
Hill 534, on the southern portion of Chu Pong Massif near the Cambodian Border, was the location
of the final battle of Operation Paul Revere II. It began on 14 August, after Company "A" 1st
Battalion, 5th Cavalry suddenly ran into a North Vietnamese battalion and Company "B", 2nd
Battalion began slugging it out with enemy troops in bunkers. A total of two battalions of
Skytroopers were committed to the fight. When it ended the next morning, 138 NVA bodies were
counted.
At the end of Paul Revere II, which had killed 861 of the enemy, a task force of the 2nd Battalion,
7th Cavalry was organised for Operation Byrd. The task force was dispatched to Binh Thaun
Province, at the southern of II Corps, to support the Revolutionary Development Program. This
mission would last until the end of 1966.
On October 25, Operation Thayer II continued the drive to pacify the Binh Dinh Province. On 01
November, troopers of the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry became engaged in
a sharp fight with the 93rd Battalion and the 2nd Viet Cong Regiment. The action took place in the
vicinity of National Route 1 and Dam Tra-O Lake south of the Gay Giep mountains. In Thayer II
the enemy suffered a punishing loss of 1,757 killed.
On 13 February 1967, Operation Pershing began in a territory which was familiar to many
skytroopers, the Bong Son Plain in northern Binh Dinh Province. For the first time, the First Cavalry
Division committed all three of its brigades to the same battle area.
The division began 1968, by terminating Operation Pershing, the longest of the 1st Cavalry's Vietnam
actions. When the operation ended on 21 January, the enemy had lost 5,401 soldiers and 2,400 enemy
soldiers had been captured. In addition, some 1,300 individual and 137 crew weapons had been
captured or destroyed.
Moving to I Corps, Vietnam's northern most tactical zone, the division set up Camp Evans for their
base camp. On January 31 1968, amid the celebration of the Vietnamese New Year, the enemy
launched the Tet Offensive, a major effort to overrun South Vietnam. Some 7,000 enemy, well
equipped, crack NVA regulars blasted their way into the imperial city of Hue, overpowering all but
a few pockets of resistance held by ARVN troops and the U.S. Marines. Within 24 hours, the
invaders were joined by 7,000 NVA reinforcements. Almost simultaneously to the North of Hue, five
battalions of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong attacked Quang Tri City, the capital of Vietnam's
northern province.
Following fierce fighting at Thorn La Chu, the 3rd Brigade moved toward embattled city of Hue. The
southwest wall of the city was soon taken after the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry overcome severe
resistance and linked up with the 5th Battalion. At this point, the NVA and Viet Cong invaders were
driven from Hue by late February. The Tet offensive was over. The NVA and Viet Cong had
suffered a massive defeat, with 32,000 killed and 5,800 captured.
After shattering the enemy's dreams of a Tet victory, the 1st Cavalry Division "Sky-Troopers"
initiated Operation Pegasus to relieve the 3,500 U.S. Marines and 2,100 ARVN soldiers besieged by
nearly 20,000 enemy soldiers. On 1 April 1968, the 3rd Brigade, making a massive air assault within 5
miles of Khe Sanh, were soon followed by the 1st and 2nd Brigades and three ARVN Battalions.
Company "A", 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry led the way, followed by Company "C", 2nd Battalion, 7th
Cavalry. After four days of tough fighting, they marched into Khe Sanh to take over the defence of
the battered base. Pursing the retreating North Vietnamese, the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry
recaptured the Special Forces camp at Lang Vei uncovering large stockpiles of supplies and
ammunition. The final statistics of Operation Pegasus were 1,259 enemy killed and more than 750
weapons captured.
On April 19 1968, Operation Delaware was launched into the cloud-shrouded A Shau Valley, near
the Laotian border and 45 kilometers west of Hue. None of the Free World Forces had been in the
valley since 1966, which was now being used as a way station on the supply route known as the Ho
Chi Minh Trail. The first engagement was made by the 1st and 3rd Brigades. Under fire from mobile,
37 mm cannon and 0.50 caliber machine guns, they secured several landing zones. For the next
month the brigades scoured the valley floor, clashing with enemy units and uncovering huge enemy
caches of food, arms, ammunition, rockets, and Russian made tanks and bulldozers. By the time that
Operation Delaware was ended on 17 May, the favorite VC sanctuary had been thoroughly
disrupted.
In late 1968, the Division moved and set up operations in III Corps at the other end of South
Vietnam. In February 1969, Operation Cheyenne Sabre began in areas northeast of Bien Hoa. The
year 1969 ended in a high note for the 1st Cavalry Division. The enemy's domination of the northern
areas of III Corps had been smashed - thoroughly.
On 1 May 1970, the First Team was "First into Cambodia" hitting what was previously a Communist
sanctuary. President Nixon has given the go-ahead for the surprise mission. Pushing into the "Fish
Hook" region of the border and occupied the towns of Mimot and Snoul. Troopers deprived the
enemy of much needed supplies and ammunition, scattering the enemy forces. The Cambodian
Operation far exceeded all expectations and proved to be one of the most successful operations of
the First Team. All aspects of ground and air combat were utilised. The campaign had severe
political repercussions in the United States for the Nixon Administration. Pressure was mounting to
remove America's fighting men from the Vietnam War.
Although there would be further assault operations, the war was beginning to wind down for many
troopers. The efforts of the 1st Cavalry Division were not limited to direct enemy engagements but
also, using the experiences gained during the occupation of Japan and Korea, encompassed the
essential rebuilding of the war torn country of South Vietnam. As a result of its' gallant
performance, the regiment was awarded two presidential Unit Citations and the Valorous Unit
Citation.
Although 26 March 1971 officially marked the end of duties in Vietnam for the 1st Cavalry Division,
President Nixon's program of "Vietnamization" required the continued presence of a strong U.S.
fighting force. The 2nd Battalion of the 5th Regiment, 1st Battalion of the 7th Regiment, 2nd Battalion
of the 8th Regiment and 1st Battalion of the 12th Regiment along with specialised support units as "F"
Troop, 9th Cavalry and Delta Company, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion helped establish the 3rd
Brigade headquarters at Bien Hoa. Its primary mission was to interdict enemy infiltration and supply
routes in War Zone D.
The 3rd Brigade was well equipped with helicopters from the 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion and
later, a battery of "Blue Max", aerial field units and two air cavalry troops. A QRF (Quick Reaction
Force) - known as "Blue Platoons", was maintained in support of any air assault action. The "Blues"
traveled light, fought hard and had three primary missions; 1) to form a "field force" around any
helicopter downed by enemy fire or mechanical failure; 2) to give quick backup to Ranger Patrols
who made enemy contact; and 3) to search for enemy trails, caches and bunker complexes.
"Blue Max", "F" Battery, 79th Aerial Rocket Artillery, was another familiar aerial artillery unit.
Greatly appreciated by troopers of the 1st Cavalry, its heavily armed Cobras flew a variety of fire
missions in support of the operations of the 3rd Brigade. The pilots of "Blue Max" were among the
most experienced combat fliers in the Vietnam War. Many had volunteered for the extra duty to
cover the extended stay of the 1st Cavalry Division.
Most of the initial combat for the new brigade involved small skirmishes. But the actions became
bigger and more significant. Two engagements in May of 1971 were typical operations. On 12 May
the third platoon, Delta Company, 2/5th tangled with enemy forces holed up in bunker complexes.
With help from the Air Force and 3rd Brigade Gunships, the troopers captured the complex. Fifteen
days later, helicopters of Bravo Troop, 1/9th received ground fire while conducting a reconnaissance
mission over a large bunker complex. Air strikes were called in and the troopers overran the
complex.
Early in June, intelligence detected significant enemy movement toward the center of Long Khanh
Province and its capital, Xuan Loc. On 14 June Delta Company of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry ran
into an ambush in heavy jungle and engaged a company-sized enemy unit. The troopers were
pinned down in a well-sprung trap. Cavalry field artillery soon pounded their North Vietnamese
positions and heavy Cobra fire from Blue Max, "F" Battery of the 79th Aerial Rocket Artillery, swept
down on the enemy positions keeping pressure on the withdrawing North Vietnamese throughout
the night. The Brigade's timely movements had thwarted the enemy build up north of Xuan Loc.
By 31 March 1972, only 96,000 U.S. troops were involved in the Vietnam combat operations. In mid
June 1972, the standdown ceremony for the 3rd Brigade was held in Bein Hoa and the colors were
returned to the United States. The last trooper left from Tan Son Nhut on 21 June, completing the
division recall which had started on 05 May 1971. With the 3rd Brigade completing their withdraw,
the 1st Cavalry had been the first army division to go to Vietnam and the last to leave.
"Firsts" had become the trademark of the First Team.
On 27 January 1973, a cease-fire was signed in Paris by the United States, South Vietnam, North
Vietnam, and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the National Liberation Front (NLF), the
civilian arm of the South Vietnam Communists. A Four-Party Joint Military Commission was set up
to implement such provisions as the withdrawal of foreign troops and the release of prisoners. An
International Commission of Control and Supervision was established to oversee the cease-fire.
Courtesy Pete Jones - the SOTCW Vietnam War Study Group
resources of the 11th Air Assault Division (Test) and brought to full strength by transfer of
specialised elements of the 2nd Infantry Division. As a part of this reorganisation, the 2nd Battalion,
23rd Infantry was redesignated the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment and the 2nd Battalion, 9th
Infantry was redesignated the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment. On 03 July 1965, in Doughboy
Stadium at Fort Benning, Georgia the colors of the 11th Air Assault Division (Test) were cased and
retired. As the band played the rousing strains of GarryOwen, the colours of the 1st Cavalry Division
were moved onto the field.
Within 90 days of becoming the Army's first air mobile division, the First Team was back in combat
as the first fully committed division of the Vietnam War. An advance party, on board C-124s and
C-130s, arrived at Nha Trang between the 19th and 27th of August 1965. They joined with advance
liaison forces and established a temporary base camp near An Khe, 36 miles inland from the costal
city of Qui Nhon. The remainder of the 1st Cavalry Division arrived by ship, landing at the harbour
of Qui Nhon on the 12th and 13th of September, the 44th anniversary of the 1st Cavalry Division. In
the Oriental calendar year of the "Horse", mounted soldiers had returned to war wearing the famous
and feared patch of the First Cavalry Division. The First Team had entered its third war - and the
longest tour of duty in combat history.
On 10 October 1965, in "Operation Shiny Bayonet", the First Team initiated their first brigade-size
airmobile action against the enemy. The air assault task force consisted of the 1st and 2nd Battalions,
7th Cavalry, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry and the 1st Battalion, 21st Artillery.
Rather than standing and fighting, the Viet Cong chose to disperse and slip away. Only light contact
was achieved. The troopers had but a short wait before they faced a tougher test of their fighting
skills; the 35-day Pleiku Campaign.
On 23 October 1965, the first real combat test came at the historic order of General Westmoreland
to send the First Team into an air assault mission to pursue and fight the enemy across 2,500 square
miles of jungle. Troopers of the 1st Brigade and 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry swooped down on the
NVA 33rd regiment before it could get away from Plei Me. The enemy regiment was scattered in
the confusion and was quickly smashed. The 3rd Brigade joined the fighting on 09 November. Five
days later, the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry air assaulted into the Ia Drang Valley near the Chu Pong
Massif. Landing Zone X-Ray was "hot" from the start. At Landing Zone X-Ray, the Division's first
medal of honor in the Vietnam War was awarded to 2nd Lt. Walter J. Marm of the 1st Battalion 7th
Cavalry. The fighting, the most intensive combat in the history of the division, raged for three days.
When the Pleiku Campaign ended on 25 November, troopers of the First Team had killed 3,561
North Vietnamese soldiers and captured 157 more. The troopers destroyed two of three regiments
of a North Vietnamese Division, earning the first Presidential Unit Citation given to a division in
Vietnam. The enemy had been given their first major defeat and their carefully laid plans for
conquest had been torn apart.
25 January 1966, began "Masher/White Wing" which were code names for the missions of the 3rd
Brigade in Binh Dinh Province. The mission ended 6 March 1966, with the enemy losing its grip on
the Binh Dinh Province, however its name would be heard again and again during the next six years.
On 01 April 1966, the 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry was activated at Fort Carson, Colorado. using the
personnel and assets of the 1st Battalion, 11th Infantry, The unit joined the 1st and 2nd Battalions of
the 7th Cavalry, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam. In August 1966 the 2nd Battalion, 7th
Cavalry was sent to the southernmost end of II Corps to bring the long months of "Operation Byrd"
to a productive finish. In 16 months the 2nd Brigade fanned out from Phan Thiet, the capital city of
Binh Thaun Province, and cleared from the enemy from the area.
The need for rice by the famished Viet Cong was the catalyst for Operation Paul Revere II which
commenced on 02 August 1966. Significant contact with the enemy did not occur until 08 August, at
LZ Juliett. Company "A", 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry came under heavy fire from a reinforced enemy
battalion. In several hours of intense fighting, Alpha Company turned back repeated mass attacks.
Timely artillery and air strikes eliminated the opportunity for the enemy to surround the
Skytroopers. The roar of helicopters from two companies from the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry
arriving at LZ Juliett frightened the enemy, causing them to flee.
Hill 534, on the southern portion of Chu Pong Massif near the Cambodian Border, was the location
of the final battle of Operation Paul Revere II. It began on 14 August, after Company "A" 1st
Battalion, 5th Cavalry suddenly ran into a North Vietnamese battalion and Company "B", 2nd
Battalion began slugging it out with enemy troops in bunkers. A total of two battalions of
Skytroopers were committed to the fight. When it ended the next morning, 138 NVA bodies were
counted.
At the end of Paul Revere II, which had killed 861 of the enemy, a task force of the 2nd Battalion,
7th Cavalry was organised for Operation Byrd. The task force was dispatched to Binh Thaun
Province, at the southern of II Corps, to support the Revolutionary Development Program. This
mission would last until the end of 1966.
On October 25, Operation Thayer II continued the drive to pacify the Binh Dinh Province. On 01
November, troopers of the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry became engaged in
a sharp fight with the 93rd Battalion and the 2nd Viet Cong Regiment. The action took place in the
vicinity of National Route 1 and Dam Tra-O Lake south of the Gay Giep mountains. In Thayer II
the enemy suffered a punishing loss of 1,757 killed.
On 13 February 1967, Operation Pershing began in a territory which was familiar to many
skytroopers, the Bong Son Plain in northern Binh Dinh Province. For the first time, the First Cavalry
Division committed all three of its brigades to the same battle area.
The division began 1968, by terminating Operation Pershing, the longest of the 1st Cavalry's Vietnam
actions. When the operation ended on 21 January, the enemy had lost 5,401 soldiers and 2,400 enemy
soldiers had been captured. In addition, some 1,300 individual and 137 crew weapons had been
captured or destroyed.
Moving to I Corps, Vietnam's northern most tactical zone, the division set up Camp Evans for their
base camp. On January 31 1968, amid the celebration of the Vietnamese New Year, the enemy
launched the Tet Offensive, a major effort to overrun South Vietnam. Some 7,000 enemy, well
equipped, crack NVA regulars blasted their way into the imperial city of Hue, overpowering all but
a few pockets of resistance held by ARVN troops and the U.S. Marines. Within 24 hours, the
invaders were joined by 7,000 NVA reinforcements. Almost simultaneously to the North of Hue, five
battalions of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong attacked Quang Tri City, the capital of Vietnam's
northern province.
Following fierce fighting at Thorn La Chu, the 3rd Brigade moved toward embattled city of Hue. The
southwest wall of the city was soon taken after the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry overcome severe
resistance and linked up with the 5th Battalion. At this point, the NVA and Viet Cong invaders were
driven from Hue by late February. The Tet offensive was over. The NVA and Viet Cong had
suffered a massive defeat, with 32,000 killed and 5,800 captured.
After shattering the enemy's dreams of a Tet victory, the 1st Cavalry Division "Sky-Troopers"
initiated Operation Pegasus to relieve the 3,500 U.S. Marines and 2,100 ARVN soldiers besieged by
nearly 20,000 enemy soldiers. On 1 April 1968, the 3rd Brigade, making a massive air assault within 5
miles of Khe Sanh, were soon followed by the 1st and 2nd Brigades and three ARVN Battalions.
Company "A", 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry led the way, followed by Company "C", 2nd Battalion, 7th
Cavalry. After four days of tough fighting, they marched into Khe Sanh to take over the defence of
the battered base. Pursing the retreating North Vietnamese, the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry
recaptured the Special Forces camp at Lang Vei uncovering large stockpiles of supplies and
ammunition. The final statistics of Operation Pegasus were 1,259 enemy killed and more than 750
weapons captured.
On April 19 1968, Operation Delaware was launched into the cloud-shrouded A Shau Valley, near
the Laotian border and 45 kilometers west of Hue. None of the Free World Forces had been in the
valley since 1966, which was now being used as a way station on the supply route known as the Ho
Chi Minh Trail. The first engagement was made by the 1st and 3rd Brigades. Under fire from mobile,
37 mm cannon and 0.50 caliber machine guns, they secured several landing zones. For the next
month the brigades scoured the valley floor, clashing with enemy units and uncovering huge enemy
caches of food, arms, ammunition, rockets, and Russian made tanks and bulldozers. By the time that
Operation Delaware was ended on 17 May, the favorite VC sanctuary had been thoroughly
disrupted.
In late 1968, the Division moved and set up operations in III Corps at the other end of South
Vietnam. In February 1969, Operation Cheyenne Sabre began in areas northeast of Bien Hoa. The
year 1969 ended in a high note for the 1st Cavalry Division. The enemy's domination of the northern
areas of III Corps had been smashed - thoroughly.
On 1 May 1970, the First Team was "First into Cambodia" hitting what was previously a Communist
sanctuary. President Nixon has given the go-ahead for the surprise mission. Pushing into the "Fish
Hook" region of the border and occupied the towns of Mimot and Snoul. Troopers deprived the
enemy of much needed supplies and ammunition, scattering the enemy forces. The Cambodian
Operation far exceeded all expectations and proved to be one of the most successful operations of
the First Team. All aspects of ground and air combat were utilised. The campaign had severe
political repercussions in the United States for the Nixon Administration. Pressure was mounting to
remove America's fighting men from the Vietnam War.
Although there would be further assault operations, the war was beginning to wind down for many
troopers. The efforts of the 1st Cavalry Division were not limited to direct enemy engagements but
also, using the experiences gained during the occupation of Japan and Korea, encompassed the
essential rebuilding of the war torn country of South Vietnam. As a result of its' gallant
performance, the regiment was awarded two presidential Unit Citations and the Valorous Unit
Citation.
Although 26 March 1971 officially marked the end of duties in Vietnam for the 1st Cavalry Division,
President Nixon's program of "Vietnamization" required the continued presence of a strong U.S.
fighting force. The 2nd Battalion of the 5th Regiment, 1st Battalion of the 7th Regiment, 2nd Battalion
of the 8th Regiment and 1st Battalion of the 12th Regiment along with specialised support units as "F"
Troop, 9th Cavalry and Delta Company, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion helped establish the 3rd
Brigade headquarters at Bien Hoa. Its primary mission was to interdict enemy infiltration and supply
routes in War Zone D.
The 3rd Brigade was well equipped with helicopters from the 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion and
later, a battery of "Blue Max", aerial field units and two air cavalry troops. A QRF (Quick Reaction
Force) - known as "Blue Platoons", was maintained in support of any air assault action. The "Blues"
traveled light, fought hard and had three primary missions; 1) to form a "field force" around any
helicopter downed by enemy fire or mechanical failure; 2) to give quick backup to Ranger Patrols
who made enemy contact; and 3) to search for enemy trails, caches and bunker complexes.
"Blue Max", "F" Battery, 79th Aerial Rocket Artillery, was another familiar aerial artillery unit.
Greatly appreciated by troopers of the 1st Cavalry, its heavily armed Cobras flew a variety of fire
missions in support of the operations of the 3rd Brigade. The pilots of "Blue Max" were among the
most experienced combat fliers in the Vietnam War. Many had volunteered for the extra duty to
cover the extended stay of the 1st Cavalry Division.
Most of the initial combat for the new brigade involved small skirmishes. But the actions became
bigger and more significant. Two engagements in May of 1971 were typical operations. On 12 May
the third platoon, Delta Company, 2/5th tangled with enemy forces holed up in bunker complexes.
With help from the Air Force and 3rd Brigade Gunships, the troopers captured the complex. Fifteen
days later, helicopters of Bravo Troop, 1/9th received ground fire while conducting a reconnaissance
mission over a large bunker complex. Air strikes were called in and the troopers overran the
complex.
Early in June, intelligence detected significant enemy movement toward the center of Long Khanh
Province and its capital, Xuan Loc. On 14 June Delta Company of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry ran
into an ambush in heavy jungle and engaged a company-sized enemy unit. The troopers were
pinned down in a well-sprung trap. Cavalry field artillery soon pounded their North Vietnamese
positions and heavy Cobra fire from Blue Max, "F" Battery of the 79th Aerial Rocket Artillery, swept
down on the enemy positions keeping pressure on the withdrawing North Vietnamese throughout
the night. The Brigade's timely movements had thwarted the enemy build up north of Xuan Loc.
By 31 March 1972, only 96,000 U.S. troops were involved in the Vietnam combat operations. In mid
June 1972, the standdown ceremony for the 3rd Brigade was held in Bein Hoa and the colors were
returned to the United States. The last trooper left from Tan Son Nhut on 21 June, completing the
division recall which had started on 05 May 1971. With the 3rd Brigade completing their withdraw,
the 1st Cavalry had been the first army division to go to Vietnam and the last to leave.
"Firsts" had become the trademark of the First Team.
On 27 January 1973, a cease-fire was signed in Paris by the United States, South Vietnam, North
Vietnam, and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the National Liberation Front (NLF), the
civilian arm of the South Vietnam Communists. A Four-Party Joint Military Commission was set up
to implement such provisions as the withdrawal of foreign troops and the release of prisoners. An
International Commission of Control and Supervision was established to oversee the cease-fire.
Courtesy Pete Jones - the SOTCW Vietnam War Study Group
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Song Is "Born To Be Wild" By Steppenwolf
Click On This Graphic For The Complete History Of The First Cavalry (Airmobile)
Information Compliments Of Wikipedia
Information Compliments Of Wikipedia
