Kontum: The Battle to Save South Vietnam

15. Struggling to Hold It Together

15 Struggling to Hold It Together Under extended bombardment or bombing the nerve ends are literally beaten. The ear drums are tortured by blast and the eyes ache from the constant hammering. —John Steinbeck, Once There Was a War At 1950 on 15 May, the incoming fire increased in caliber and volume . Our regiment’s front-line elements on the Round Hill were being hit with direct fire from the NV A tanks’ 100-mm main guns. At 2016, four to six T-54s were spotted about a kilometer to the northeast on the forward slope of a hill the other side of Highway 14. A Spectre gunship was on station and unsuccessfully attacked the tanks with 40-mm cannon fire. The Jeep-mounted TOWs fired at the tanks and thought they scored two hits. Both Spectre and a USAF FAC later reported seeing a tank burning. Hawk’s Claw was launched from its laager in Pleiku, and the C-130 dropped flares to illuminate the tanks for them. However, the TOW gunners were unable to locate the tanks in their sighting systems. After firing one missile at a suspected target, Hawk’s Claw returned to Pleiku. The tanks withdrew after a couple hours, but the gunship remained on station to provide illumination and fire support. Our front-line units reported receiving tank fire again at 0615 the next morning.1 John Paul Vann thought the enemy offensive would be stopped at Kontum because B-52 strikes and artillery could break the siege and destroy the bulk of the NV A in the Highlands. He said, “The enemy has sufficient forces to be able to die for the next six to eight STRUGGLING TO HOLD IT TOGETHER • 187 weeks around Kontum. Whether or not Kontum is held is going to depend on how much steel there is in [South Vietnam’s] soldiers and how much air power and airborne resupply we can provide to them.”2 Scattered attacks continued across the Highlands over the next two days. At 0600 on 16 May, FSB 42 south of Kontum received indirect fire and a ground attack that penetrated the perimeter wire. The attack was beaten off, with 47 enemy and 23 ARVN KIA. Elements of the 44th, 45th, and 53rd regiments made contact with the enemy north of Kontum. Hawk’s Claw confirmed an enemy tank destroyed by a mine west of our positions, and their TOW missiles destroyed two APCs, an ammo truck, and a 105-mm artillery piece. They also blew up an ammo dump five kilometers west of Vo Dinh. At 0325 on 17 May, sappers got into the Pleiku air base ammo dump and destroyed some 105-mm and other ammo. Sapper attacks also destroyed 1,500 tons of ammunition at Cam Ranh Bay. Mr. Vann advised Major General Toan to inflict and advertise the stiffest possible disciplinary actions for all such defensive failures.3 Colonel Ba decided he needed to eliminate the enemy penetrations , so on 16 May a battalion of the 44th Regiment attacked to drive the NV A out of the streambed behind our regiment’s positions on the Round Hill. The 44th was unable to clear the enemy out of the streambed completely before dark, when it had to return to FSB November to man positions there during the night. Then the reserve from the 53rd Regiment counterattacked the enemy in a graveyard on the northwest, but that attack was also unsuccessful.4 The NV A continued its harassment and interdiction fire on Kontum City and refined its attacks on aircraft landing at the airfield. Every time a helicopter landed to refuel, up to 12 rounds of artillery or mortar fire would be fired at it. Enemy forward observers were adjusting this indirect fire. At 1515 on 16 May, three helicopters were damaged and a crewman wounded by incoming fire. Starting at 1740, another 50 rounds landed in 20 minutes. Two VNAF C-123s sitting on the parking ramp were systematically destroyed. One was loaded with ammunition, and when it exploded, shrapnel flew in every direction, and the runway was badly pitted. The airfield was closed until 0645 the next morning. Mr. Vann recommended to the corps commander that he direct the Kontum Province chief to use martial law authority to organize an airfield cleanup team of civil- 188 • KONTUM ians to sweep the runways...