John J Duffy
Fire Support Base Charlie on Rocket Ridge
The site tells the story of the biggest battles of the Vietnam War. Ten enemy Divisions were in attack, three of them in the Kontum region. Their tanks and long range artillery blasted away at us. I advised and fought with the 11th Vietnamese Airborne Battalion. We went in with 451 paratroopers and after two weeks of ferocious battle - we fought our way out with 37 survivors; bloodied but unbroken. The rescue of that group was due to the heroic efforts of helicopter pilots who braved enemy fire even when their aircraft was being riddled.
This offensive was four years in preparation, and the North Vietnamese lost an estimated 60,000 in these battles. This gave our Vietnamese allies three years before the final offensive which toppled the South Vietnamese government.
John J Duffy <johnjduffy@aol.com>
Santa Cruz, CA USA - Wednesday, April 01, 2009 at 08:23:17 (PDT)