Vietnam War: E Troop, 17th Cav In The 506 Valley October 1970 

Who was your uncle son?

On April 1, 1970, Second Platoon, D Troop, 17th Cavalry, 199th Light Infantry Brigade, was providing security escort for a convoy of ammunition trucks on Route 335 when it was ambushed south of Xo Xu in Binh Thuy Province, RVN, by elements of the 33rd North Vietnamese Army Regiment. For this escort duty, Second Platoon consisted of only four vehicles, two ACAV's (heavily armed M113A1 armored personal carriers) and two M551 Sheridan tanks. The ambush began at approximately 8:30 AM when the convoy was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades (RPG’s) and machine gun fire. The initial assault concentrated on the track commanders (TC’s), which was successfully achieved. With the TC's out of commission, communications with outside support was cut off. Meanwhile, First Platoon, D/17th, was providing support at a forward firebase that day. At about 9:30 AM, they began receiving radio calls from an unknown source. The person was literally crying over the radio, pleading for help. Once First Platoon authenticated who was calling, determining it was their sister platoon in trouble, they immediately sent a reaction force of three Sheridans and five ACAV's to their assistance. As the ambush site was just coming into view of the rescue force, they were hit with a much larger ambush from the right side of the road. One of their Sheridan tanks, Track 15, was hit first with three RPG's, followed by a second Sheridan, Track 17. Both vehicles were immediately destroyed with the loss of lives. Several more vehicles were hit with RPG's, resulting in more dead and many wounded. As the battle raged, a lieutenant from First Platoon called in and carefully coordinated airstrikes and artillery which was successful in turning the tide of the battle. The commander of D Troop, a captain, arrived overhead by helicopter, and helped direct fire support before landing. At roughly 2:00 PM, during a lull in the fighting, BGEN William R. Bond, the commander of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, arrived on scene and set his Command and Control (C&C) UH-1 helicopter down in the middle of the road. By this time, First Platoon had consolidated with the Second Platoon, and were getting resupplied with ammo and weapons. BGEN Bond conveyed that he wanted a live prisoner for the intel they might provide, so he and the captain decided to conduct a sweep of the contact site. The captain grabbed two other troopers, and along with Bond, they got behind an ACAV and started the sweep. The captain and Bond were walking behind the left side of the track and the other two troopers were behind the right side, approximately six feet apart. Above, an AH-1G Cobra helicopter gunship hovered out to the left front, watching over the group conducting the sweep. Not long into the mission, a NVA hiding behind a large mound of dirt fired an RPG round into the front of the APC. When the rocket hit, the captain and Bond rolled out to the left with M16s blazing, the troopers on the right doing the same. Almost simultaneously, the overhead Cobra engaged the enemy combatant from its hovering position. It fired two rockets into the NVA, who was very close to the front of the APC. The rockets came from the left side of the ACAV, the same side which Bond and the captain were firing their rifles. Immediately after the Cobra unleashed its rockets, the captain yelled for a stretcher. Bond had suffered a fragmentation wound in the upper right chest area close to his neck, critically injuring him. A jagged gash was visible where he had been hit. The general’s pilot was immediately notified, and the search party carried Bond to his C&C aircraft. While being loaded into the helicopter, he was overheard to say, “Tell my wife I love her.” Bond died while in flight to the evacuation hospital in Long Binh. Four other Americans were killed in the ambush, including CPL Daniel L. Flynn, SFC Jay W. King, PFC Eldon W. Moore, and SSGT Billy J. Schaffer. Two more would die of wounds after being evacuated, SP4 Everett L. Ankrom and SP4 Edward E. Howard. More than 20 other troopers were wounded.

Thanks for the note. I don't remember being trapped for that long but at some point was caught in a typhoon and remember the mud trying to suck my boots off.

@@ChristopherJensenNH There was a Ranger LRRP team that spent the whole time up in a tree further up the valley. My Sheridan was part of the rescue party sent up to get them out of the tree and back to the mound. Fun times.

@@bebobalhan4572 Yikes. Glad I missed all that. Did you get old, too? Can't believe it has been 50 years.

@@ChristopherJensenNH :) I stayed in the Army and retired in 2000. My body and mirror says I am old but I still l think young. I watch cartoons, not the news. Although maybe they are the same thing. ;)

I had to look that REMF up. www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=REMF

Thanks. Hard to believe a 16 mm with a wind-up spring, no autofocus and no light meter. Pretty quaint.

@jack torrence Thanks, but no serious editing skills and can't image there would be a market or interest. These were "edited in the camera."

@jack torrence If by film stocks you mean the type it was Ektachrome. Army's choice. 100-foot rolls. Typically had 10 rolls in my rucksack.

Lam sao Anh Co duoc vidieo nay vay.Anh co phai nguoi My khong ??

Hào hùng cái mả cha bọn chó phá nhà dân mà hào hùng đúng lúc bán nước

It was a long time ago, but I think that area was hit by a nasty storm. I remember being with a cav unit when it hit and the mud almost sucking off my boots. But everything else looks pretty dry. So, dunno. If we'd have flattened them I would have filmed it. We were free to film anything we wanted since - of course - the Army would get the film. Interestingly, nobody ever censored anything I filmed.

@@ChristopherJensenNH - Thank for the reply. I don't know the right word to use,but I've always been interested in that war. I know it doesn't sound right but I just mean the duration and scale of it. I was born in 63 and can remember some of the nightly news reports. There was a televised program Vietnam The Ten Thousand Day War that was broadcast on the History Channel years ago. I don't think there is a History Channel anymore.

@@damkayaker You are welcome. There are a lot of good histories. Elsewhere you should be able to find my film of Fire Support Base Ripcord. If that interests you Keith Nolan did a great book on Ripcord. I also recommend "Hue" by Mark Bowden, who also wrote "Black Hawk Down."

Not sure how they were destroyed, however. Not necessarily US

So, were you there when I was shooting this film?

@@ChristopherJensenNH I should of been I was in E troop track number 333 and 330 most guys in the company had already been in country for about 6 months when I got there

I might be in video but can’t make out a lot of the faces in video looks like I might be riding on the right rear 60 machine gunner spot on one of the APC

@@patrickvallimont8734 I got in country in April '70.

@@ChristopherJensenNH I remember a photographer wanted to film me shooting my 60 machine gun but I think it was in January of 1971

I guess you got told, too. You could try Facebook groups to find them.

Đây là Thiết vận xa M113,của Quân đội Mỹ....

lt anstrom is still here

Not familiar with the 378 designation. It was a 16 mm with three lenses. Normal, telephoto and wide angle. The lenses were on a turret and you rotated them. It held 100 feet of film, which was good for two or three minutes of filming. There was no light meter, no autofocus and you powered it with a wind-up spring - key on the side. It was just what they gave us.

Looks possible, but they were clearing jungle in some spots to make it harder for the North Vietnamese to find cover.

Yeah, how did that happen to us?

Of course. The camera the army gave us was a 16 mm Bell and Howell Filmo. It was very sturdy, but did not have the ability to record sound. It was powered by a wind-up spring that kept it going for about three minutes, if I remember correctly. It also lacked a light meter and there was no autofocus.

@@ChristopherJensenNH Hi sir. Thanks for your reply. Your explanation clear my long time question. So you are the one filming and you are the viet vet also, didnt you. Glad to have a reply from you. I used to watch many of your films in viet war actually. Wish you the best of health sir

@@Muhammad-uu3nu You are most welcome. Thank you for the kind words and I wish you the best of health.

Sorry, I should have made it clear that the camera the Army gave us to use did not have audio. It was a 16 mm Bell & Howell Filmo and was very rugged, but could not record sound. It was powered by a wind-up spring. Did not have a light meter. We were taught to estimate the light settings. And no autofocus.

@@ChristopherJensenNH sorry I must have missed the disclaimer

@@MrSanteeclaus it's kinda buried.

Miền Bắc hứa sẽ ở lại phía bắc và tìm ra cách hòa bình để thống nhất đất nước. Nó nói dối.

Christopher Jensen thằng ngu chó mày lên biết non sông Việt Nam là một , dân tộc Việt Nam là một

@@ChristopherJensenNH mỹ và trung cộng ngầm bắt tay đi đêm với nhau.thật là khốn nạn

Maybe somebody else can help. I was lucky enough never to be around when an rpg hit one.

@@ChristopherJensenNH thank you for reply and your service happy vetrans day

Nhiều NVA chết hơn người Mỹ. Nhưng tất cả đều rất buồn.

Miền Bắc hứa sẽ ở lại phía bắc và tìm ra cách hòa bình để thống nhất đất nước. Nó nói dối.

Military of vietnam is number one of the word!

@@ChristopherJensenNH Giống quê mình quá. Đừng tin bọn CS bạn à. Cố TT Nguyễn Văn Thiệu đã nói: ĐỪNG NGHE NHỮNG GÌ CỘNG SẢN NÓI MÀ HÃY NHÌN KỸ NHỮNG GÌ CỘNG SẢN LÀM rồi mà bạn!