Your diverse skills. There was only minor damage to the TACAN antenna and no casualties. Shortly after 1800 on 10 March an artillery barrage commenced against the summit. At the Embassy in Vientiane, the Ambassador lost touch with the situation after 0300, and radio contact was not re-established at the helipad until about 0500. During this period, there was ample intelligence indicating that the enemy was gradually encircling Phou Phathi and massing for a major attack. According to official Vietnamese history, the PAVN 41st Special Forces Battalion lost one soldier killed and two wounded in their fight for Lima Site 85. This test also angered the 7th Air Force because it violated procedures and caused embarrassment. The book covers much more than the commando attack. The Air Force aircraft were to fly from Thailand. Three were killed instantly, including the TSQ commander, while the rest scrambled over the side of the cliff. They were fierce and courageous fighters who were strongly motivated to defend the mountain.
Despite having received little or no combat training, Chief Etchberger single-handedly held off the enemy with an M-16, while simultaneously directing air strikes into the area and calling for air rescue.
Hearing the noise of the battle, the TSQ technicians ran out the front door of the operations building into small-arms fire. The site was defended by a force of 1,000 Hmong irregulars in the valley below, but a key element in its security was the mountain What happened at Lima Site 85 on Phou Pha Thi was shrouded in official secrecy for decades. 85 strip in the valley below. Between the 12th and 18th, At the same time, the commander of Cell 4 decided to maneuver his unit to the west side of the airstrip instead of the east side as originally planned, because the terrain on the east side was higher and was covered by buildings. As part of the second phase, commenced on 22 January 1968, six PAVN sappers were sent out to climb Phou Pha Thi, to pinpoint opposing positions in and around Lima Site 85, as well as routes of withdrawal.To maintain secrecy and surprise, Muc was ordered to avoid contact with local civilians and opposing military forces. to us and to those with more detail. Calfee and the other 10 men who died at Lima Site 85 were given the Bronze Star medal in 1983 - with the Valor device issued in 1984. The wild card in the plan was weather. Even in poor weather, the COMMANDO CLUB system was able to direct bombing accurately throughout the Hanoi--Haiphong complex as well as in the immediate area of Phou Phathi for its own defense. Because the North Vietnamese totally depended on road transportation for heavy units, these developments were considered ominous. Three battalions with a 105-mm howitzer moved into position to attack Phou Den Din, a key position in control of the Phou Phathi area. Following the airstrike by the Sandys, the Air America helicopters were able to approach the ridgeline and evacuate some of the Americans. The Ambassador relented, and the offensive went forward, but it ended in deadlock near Muong Son in late July. While assigned as Ground Radar Superintendent, Detachment 1, 1043rd Radar Evaluation Squadron. Richard Etchberger has finally received the recognition that he deserved back in 1968. The Air Force personnel realized their predicament, but they continued to direct large numbers of airstrikes daily both in Vietnam and Laos. After the situation became clearer in the days following the battle, Ambassador Sullivan and 7th Air Force ordered a postmortem on the fiasco. This situation was not reassuring; the enemy in the area knew of Americans on the mountain, knew who they were, and knew what they were doing. The strikes were increased, even using Air Commando A-26 Invaders to attack at night, in an attempt to turn the twin advances on Routes 19 and 6. It became operational in early November 1967, almost exactly coincidental with the end of the rainy season in Laos. The attack would commence during the early hours of 9 or 10 March.To capture Lima Site 85, the PAVN Special Forces were equipped with three Chinese-made By 9 March 1968, the US facility atop Phou Pha Thi was surrounded by PAVN and Pathet Lao units. The North Vietnamese evidently did not realize what they had captured, or, if they did, did not care. Shortly afterwards, Hmong units recaptured the village.The defense of Lima Site 85 was assigned to two CIA paramilitary officers who led about 1,000 Hmong soldiers, with 200 men guarding the ridge line and the remaining 800 in the valley below.