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98
3 April 1968
Delta 2/35th
Submitted by: Romain Voeller
Hill 1062, either Pleiku or Kontum Province, just north of Firebase Polei Kleng. On Apr 1, D Company CA\'ed to a landing zone near Hill 1062. Working with some ARVNs we moved out to where we knew another company had taken a lot of hits and casualties. When we got there we were hit with mostly mortar and some small arms fire. We took a few casualties and moved back to the landing zone for the night. On Apr 2, we stayed back and called in arty and air strikes all day. On Apr 3, we moved out once again, got to the same location and walked directly into an NVA ambush. I was in 2nd platoon, the point platoon that day, and within minutes after the first shot, we had 4 KIA and several WIA. Lost immediately were Gary Watson, Ted Sandidge, Leslie Lantos and Joe Quirion (all rifleman, not sure of their ranks). These were the first four men in the 1st squad. The first 3 men in the 2nd squad were wounded at the same time, these were Packer (? first name), Gerald Kelly and myself.
I was dragged out of there right away and not sure how many more casualties were taken that day. I was taken back to our night location and then dusted off.
As you can see from Ben Youman\'s account, this was a joint effort that day and proved to be very costly to both companies.
99
3 April 1968
Charlie 2/35th
Submitted by: Ben Youmans
Pleiku Province, North by Northwest from Bn Firebase at Polei Kleng. On April 03 we CA\'ed to an LZ just Northeast of Hill 1062. We moved along the ridge about 400 meters and started up 1062. As they approached the top 1st Plt was ambushed by NVA who were well dug in and heavily bunkered, and by the end of the day we had 4 KIA and several WIA. We lost SSG David Carl Thomas, SGT Philip Lorne Konigsfeld, SP4 Edward Day, and SP4 William Joseph Frey.
All day April 04 we pounded the hill with Artillery and Air Strikes. On April 05 we assaulted once again with the 2nd Platoon on point. We made the top and engaged the NVA in a fierce fire fight. 2nd Platoon took 3 WIA, Shockey Mayle (point man who killed 5 NVA with a shotgun) Jimmie Holmes, and Randy Thorne. We withdrew and pounded the hill all afternoon with artillery. On April 06 we went back up the hill to no resistance. The NVA had pulled out. It was estimated that we had encountered a Regimental Hospital complex. We were lifted out by helicopter and taken to Polei Kleng for Palace Guard.
100
3 April 1968
Charlie 2/35th
Submitted by: Ken Smith
An account of a fire fight in
Kontum or Pleiku Province, South Vietnam
On April 3rd 1968 we were ferried by helicopter into the hills about seven kilometers northwest of Fire Base Polei Kleng. After landing we set out on a search and destroy mission, with the 1st Platoon taking point. As we topped a hill named 1062, we came under intense automatic weapons fire. I was positioned off center towards the right flank and began returning fire with the M-60 machine-gun into the dark shadows of the forest. The enemy had caught us in an ambush. An NVA shot my assistant-gunner Don Willis in the right shoulder with an automatic burst of three rounds with an AK-47. I didn\'t know which direction the rounds had come from so I began shooting into the top of the trees. The NVA whose position was about eight to ten meters to my right front was sighted and taken out by the flank man a minute or so later.
The three rounds that Don received went down his back underneath the flesh. SP4 Huerra, the platoon medic, attended to Dons wounds. Our Platoon Leader Lt. Ferrie had me take my machine gun about 15 meters to my left, to fire into a confirmed NVA position. Upon arriving at the position I found SP4 William (Bill) Frey. A machine gun at that position had already malfunctioned. When I arrived at Bills position he was KIA. I began returning fire into a clump of bushes, which was about 15 to 20 meters to the front of us. Point man SP4 Edward Day and Squad Leader Sgt. Philip Konigsfeld were lying on the ground near the bushes. They had walked to within a few meters of the NVA position and become KIAs in the first seconds of contact.
Artillery rounds from Fire Base Polei Kleng were called in to pound the hill. Platoon Sergeant David Thomas and Lt. Ferrie was to my right a few meters. Sergeant Thomas was intent on retrieving Philip and Edward. Under heavy automatic weapons fire Sgt. Thomas took a rope and crawled to the position where Philip and Edward lay. I continued to fire into the bushes in front of them, but could not see the NVA in their holes. My machine-gun malfunctioned shortly after he made it to their position. At that point in time Thomas became the fourth KIA.
I had fired the M-60 so hard that it got hot. A spent cartridge had hung up in the chamber and would not eject. As many of you seasoned Grunts are aware, while engaged in a fierce exchange of bullets no weapon can spit out enough rounds fast enough to make one feel comfortable. With no weapon to fire, I began to disassemble both guns in an attempt to repair them. I tried ramming my cleaning rod down the hot barrel of the gun to knock out the expended cartridge, but my attempt failed. A machine-gunner from the second platoon came to help out. At this point I began helping one of the other men carry William (Bill) Frey\'s body down the hill to a safe place. The battle continued for maybe twenty to thirty minutes until the order to pull back was issued. We regrouped a few hundred meters from the point of contact and A-1 Sky-raiders were called in to bomb the hill. This is my recollection of the first day of battle on Hill 1062 April 3, 1968.
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