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200
18 February 1969
1/35th
Submitted by: Dave Fogg
3rd Bde 4th Inf Div
Bn (1/35) Forward Fire Base
LZ Lillie ZA11951
Unit Locations:
A 1/35 OPCON 1/10 Cav ZA009521
B 1/35 (-) ZA078527
C 1/35 ZA086482
D 1/35 LZ Lillie ZA119561
Recon 079519
4.2\" LZ Lillie ZA119561
Summary: Log opened at 0001 hours 18 February 1969. Unit locations: At LZ Lillie ZA119561, Battalion Headquarters (Forward); D Company, 4.2\" mortar platoon, C Battery 2/9 Artillery, counter mortar section from the 2/9 artillery; B Company ZA078527; C Company ZA086482; Recon platoon ZA079519; OPCON units; A Company OPCON to the 1/10 Cav; C Company 2nd platoon Rock Quarry ZA083309; At LZ Oasis Headquarters and Headquarters Company Support (S-4 Froward); At Base Camp (Camp Enari); Battalion Headquarters (Rear).
At 1029 hours Blackjack 503 reports taking fire northeast of B Co about 1000-1500 meters, one round went through the left side and the blade, negative casualties. At 1109 hours at grid 084519 Recon reports finding the following NVA equipment: 15 old bunkers, found one NVA canteen with a hole in it, 15 AK-47 rounds, 1 strap from an NVA pack, bloody bandages that are a week old or older. At 1642 hours at grid 085482 C Co reports that they spotted 3 VC/NVA without weapons they fled to the west in the direction of the village that C Co was at that morning, the individuals were wearing green uniforms.
0738 hours (U) DELAYED ENTRY-0730 hours 18 Feb 69- From the Bde S-3 to the Bn S-3: 1st Bde assumes portion of the 2nd and 3d Bde AO west of Highway 14 north from northwest along the trail to ZA159880 north to ZA158888, west along Dak Bla River to ZA110899 west to ZA100899 southwest along a line one kilometer west of Dak Blah/Ya Krong Bolah River to ZA040738, west along a line 1 kilometer north of Ya Krong Bolah River to YA911746, south along Ya Klong River to YA865600, east to ZA089600 (Pleiku Defense Boundary), northeast along the Pleiku Defense Boundary to ZA169645 north along the current 2nd Bde, 3 A/C boundary to ZA210808 (startpoint) effective 190600.
1010 hours (C) Bn CO thinks that he took fire 1000 meters to the west of C Co location.
1020 hours (C) C Co sent a patrol to the location where the fire was taken.
1029 hours (C) Blackjack 503 took fire northeast of B Co about 1000-1500, one round went through the left side and the blade, negative injuries, 700 feet, 90 knots.
1109 hours (C) Recon 084519 500 meters east of their night location, old bunkers, 15 bunkers, outhouse had negative use, 2-3 feet overhead cover, 3-4 man bunkers, bunkers look to have been built before the monsoon season, they have been used within the last week, found one NVA canteen with a hole in it, 15 AK-47 rounds, 1 strap from NVA pack, bloody bandages a week old or older, the bunkers had dirt and logs for overhead cover, trail in the area running north to south, used within the last week.
1355 hours (C) Bde reports that the ADC-B will visit LZ Lillie at 1415 hours today (General Urzik).
1515 hours (C) Aloha 02 request unknown amount of small arms about 6 klicks due south of LZ Lillie was flying at a height of approximately 1000 feet and speed of 90 knots.
1642 hours (C) At grid 085482 C Co reports that they spotted 3 VC/NVA without weapons, VC/NVA fled to the west in the direction of the village that C Co was at this morning, the individuals were wearing green uniforms.
2310 hours (C) B Co 3d platoon activated an ambush at grid ZA092543 employed hand grenades, Claymore mines and used artillery, detail will be sent as soon as all of the information has been tabulated.
2315 hours (C) To the 1/35 CO from the Bde CO: Recent intelligence information has indicated that the enemy forces in this area have the capability of conducting attacks by fire and ground assaults against U.S. installations. 182110 hours Feb; LZ Lanetta received an attack by fire with negative casualties or damage; this attack is a probable indication of enemy intentions in the area. Commanders will take such measures, as they deem necessary to increase the state of readiness of their units.
2330 hours (C) B Co CO reports that his 3d platoon has the movement 35 meters to the southwest and when the ambush was set off they heard people scream but they received no return fire, B Co 3d platoon thinks that these individuals may be trying to get reorganized, they also said to have a Spooky on standby.
2350 hours (C) Bde informed us that Spooky will be on station in approximately 05 minutes.
2355 hours (C) B Co 3d platoon reports that the movement has ceased.
266
18 February 1969
1/35th
Submitted by: Dave Fogg
Cacti Green Kills Six In Late Night Contact
Article from March 23, 1969 Ivy Leaf
By SP4 CRAIG MACGOWEN, Oasis
"I lived ten lifetimes in about five minutes" was the way Private First Class Joe C. Crowley of Upton, Mass., described the late-night contact with a company-sized NVA Rocket Transportation group by the Famous 4th's Company B, 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry.
The action near Firebase Lillie netted the "Fighting Gypsies" one detainee, six enemy dead, four 122mm rocket warheads and other miscellaneous enemy equipment including rucksacks and an AK47.
"We were going to move to the west from our night location when a helicopter flew over and received some ground fire," explained 3rd Platoon Leader, First Lieutenant John C. Kelly of Bayside, N.Y.
"That evening, instead of closing with the company, we were to set up three individual platoon-sized look-outs. I set up furthest away from a village to the east on a trail running into the village."
That set the stage for the triangular-shaped contact by Bravo Company, with the 3rd Platoon facing the trail.
Private First Class Joe Crowley, the man who initiated the action, was concealed in a bamboo thicket.
"I was on guard. I looked down at my watch. 11 p.m. I looked back up and there they were, NVA passing by my position about six feet away, moving in column down the trail."
"At first I thought it was only a squad, but after a few minutes I had counted 40...then 62."
"I lived ten lifetimes in about five minutes."
When he was certain all the enemy had passed, PFC Crowley sprung the trap by throwing hand grenades at the tail of the enemy column.
Further up the line Sergeant Stanley Synstenlien of Ashby, Mass., was alerted by the noise of the passing enemy. They were heavily loaded, carrying rucksacks, small arms, mostly AK47's slung over their shoulders.
"You could hear the water sloshing in their canteens," recalled the Ivy sergeant.
"They were carrying 122mm rocket warheads and every third man was carrying a rocket booster or an 82mm mortar tube."
Sergeant Synstenlien started throwing grenades at the same time as PFC Crowley.
At the end of the Ivy unit was Private First Class Charles L. Neal of Montgomery, La., who detonated two claymore mines at the passing column.
As he squeezed the detonators at precisely the right moment, the NVA scattered into the dense bamboo near the trailside and the night was to be a long one for Bravo Company.
"There was a lot of movement around us most of the night," said Lieutenant Kelly. "They were trying to recover their people and the equipment they had dropped."
"When they started coming back about a half hour after the initial contact, we engaged them with M79 grenade launchers."
Again, at about 3 a.m. approximately ten NVA came back out of the bushes and were engaged by small arms fire.
"I think it really shook them up when the 2nd Squad opened up," stated Lieutenant Kelly. "They thought they had something small, came up to see what it was, and found they were up against something pretty big."
At daybreak the next morning the Ivymen were in for another surprise: Four enemy 122mm rocket warheads were discovered near the site.
A total of six enemy were killed in the action, in addition to one detainee who later revealed significant information about the NVA Rocket Transportation Company.
"It didn't matter to me if they were an infantry company or a rocket company. They were out to get us," recalled PFC Crowley. "But we just played it cool all night and did a good job."
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