THIRD ASSAULT ON LZ IKE CATCHES LP OUTSIDE WIRE, RESULTS IN 90 NVA DEAD
Written by SP4 Richard Craig
in the Cavalair newspaper
This article has been preserved by Charles Berg and I am posting it here for the heroism of the brave men who fought with Charles on LZ Ike.
TAY NINH—-The six men on the listening post,
already heavily concealed in thick underbrush and bamboo, crouched still lower
as they heard the unusual noise to their front.
Stirring as cautiously as possible, Sgt.
Johnny White raised his head and peered into the darkness. Ahead of him, six
North Vietnamese soldiers were busy setting up an 82mm mortar
position.
As he turned to alert his fellow soldiers, the
chilling "whoosh" of 107mm rockets sounded overhead as they slammed inside the
perimeter of Landing Zone Ike, a firebase 15 miles northeast of
here.
It was the beginning of round three in the
fight of LZ Ike, an isolated piece of real estate in War Zone C, manned by the
2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry and long a major impediment to the NVA blocking their
main infiltration and supply route in 111Corps.
It was the second time in less than 48 hours
and the third time in less than a month that the enemy, in ever-increasing
numbers, had been thwarted in attempts to overrun the LZ.
In a dawn sweep of the battlefield, 90 enemy
bodies were found. Five soldiers were detained.
The LZ was hit by 30-35 107mm rockets, about
40 57mm rounds, 80 B-40 shells, 45 82mm and 60 60mm mortar rounds, and
received heavy 51 caliber machine gun fire.
The listening post, trapped to the northwest
of LZ Ike, was ordered to return to the firebase. The six men soon realized
they were caught in a cross-fire but continued their flight towards the friendly
position.
"I've never seen so many enemy in my life,"
said Private First Class Mario Mejia. "We fragged the mortar position when we
pulled back and kept fragging a path straight towards Ike."
"We were lucky to get back,"said SGT White.
"not one man on the LP got as much as a scratch. It was a
miracle."
Huey Cobra artillery helicopters added to the
aerial firepower.
"The smoke was so thick by the time we got
there it was difficult to detect targets," said Captain Reave Ross, pilot of one
the Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 20th Artillery aircraft.
Over 200 rounds of tube artillery were fired
in support of the LZ during the night.
Contact was broken at 2:40 AM as what was left
of the enemy force evaded to the north. I hope this is
helpful to anyone looking for information about those nights.WAR IS HELL.!!!
Posted by Randall at 3/30/2011 6:11 PM 
Categories: 1st Cavalry Airmobile, 1st Cavalry Division, US Army, 1st Cav, LZ Ike, Vietnam
Categories: 1st Cavalry Airmobile, 1st Cavalry Division, US Army, 1st Cav, LZ Ike, Vietnam
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