Kontum: The Battle to Save South Vietnam

19. All Over but the Shooting?

19 All Over but the Shooting? If Kontum City holds, the North Vietnamese will be defeated in II Corps. —John Paul Vann, May 1972 Enemy activity tapered off on 29 May. The previous night was the first one since arriving in Kontum that we were not bombarded and then hit with major ground assaults supported by tanks. However , the front line was still only 100 meters from our bunker door. The perimeter was being pulled in so it would be easier to defend and to prevent enemy infiltration. It seemed to be the smart thing to do, but it could also be viewed as a tightening of the NV A noose around us. The relief force pushing up Highway 14 was not making much progress, and the airfield was still closed. All our supplies were coming in by Hook or by parachute. Pockets of enemy soldiers were holding out all over town, and just driving back to the DTOC was an adventure. Some days we could not get there at all. That meant no mail, Stars and Stripes, or personal contact with the other advisers. We were lucky to have food and water. Major Lovings and I had two cases of beer, and we heard the local ice plant was still operating, so we might even have cold beer someday. However , as we watched VNAF bombers striking an area right in front of us, I tried to think of ways we were better off than Dien Bien Phu.1 There were only sporadic sniper shots, and only 30 artillery, mortar, or rocket rounds landed in the city on this day. A Loach from B Troop, 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry, was shot down seven kilometers north of the city. There were no survivors. Almost an ALL OVER BUT THE SHOOTING? • 239 entire NV A regiment was in the streambed behind FSB November. Pulling the 45th Regiment off FSB November had probably saved it from being cut off. Moving back into the city, the 45th Regiment linked up with the 53rd Regiment. Both regiments then withdrew into the new, tighter perimeter to strengthen our defenses. The 45th Regiment would be available as a reserve to counterattack penetrations .2 By 1000, approximately 60 tactical air sorties had hit targets in and around Kontum. Fourteen of them struck in the northeast, where they destroyed 39 bunkers and other structures. The 44th Regiment attacked enemy positions in the hospital compound but made little progress despite heavy fighting. Those entrenched NV A soldiers were fighting for their lives. Also, the VNAF tactical air support for our attacks was 90 minutes late arriving, allegedly because of a weather hold in Pleiku. This excuse did not sit well with Major General Toan because the US fighter-bombers and helicopters were on station continually starting at 0600. At the end of the day, the enemy still held his positions in the north and southeast of Kontum. What we had was essentially a stalemate.3 In his “Daily Commanders Evaluation” written 29 May, Mr. Vann told General Abrams, “The consensus is that Arc Light results greatly exceed kills by all other means. My personal synthesis of all available information indicates that most enemy infantry units are at 50 percent or less of their entry strength in early 72. Nearly all PW and Hoi Chanh reports indicate average company strength of around 20–25. An exception to this was a report from a PW from the 28th NV A Regiment, who stated the recent arrival of 200 replacements for the regiment had raised the company strength up to 60 men.”4 The American advisers at higher levels said that if we could hold out another seven days, the NV A would give up and go home. I was dubious. From my previous trips to Pleiku and passing through Saigon to go on R&R, I knew the Americans’ optimism about the war increased in direct proportion to their distance from the front lines. Being on the front lines, I was mostly pessimistic and slightly hopeful at best.5 The enemy attacked the 44th Regiment through the night of 29–30 May. At 0100 on 30 May, the 44th and 53rd Regimental CPs were hit with heavy mortar fire, which continued until dawn. One Stinger and two Spectre gunships were on station and fired on the suspected mortar locations. The NV A then launched a ground attack 240 • KONTUM against the...