Con Thien: The Hill of Angels

15. The “Magnificent Bastards”

Marines will do exactly what you expect them to do. If you expect them to do nothing, they’ll do nothing. If you expect them to do great things, they’ll do great things. —Lt. Col. William Weise, former battalion commander, 2d Battalion, 4th Marines The 2d Battalion, 4th Marines had been known as the “Magni¤cent Bastards” since World War II. The nickname was resurrected after they had decimated an NVA regiment two years earlier during Operation Starlite. Since their costly encounter at Phu Oc on September 21, having left ¤fteen dead comrades behind on the battle¤eld, morale was rock bottom. They were not feeling like they were magni¤cent—just plain, miserable bastards. The men of 2/4 had fought bravely and valiantly at Phu Oc, but that battle and the month of constant shelling and chilling rains had taken its toll, both on their spirit and on their numbers. From a “foxhole strength” of 952, the battalion was down to less than 500 effectives. The Recovery Mission The vital land route to Con Thien had to be kept open. The Marines needed assurance that the NVA had not returned to their old positions south of Con Thien. BLT 2/3, commanded by Lt. Col. Henry Englisch, 15 The “Magni¤cent Bastards” 2/4 Battle of Bastard’s Bridge came ashore in early October to participate in a joint search-and-clear operation with 2/4. The BLT initially set up in a defensive perimeter around the Rocky Ford Washout, where engineers from the 3d Platoon, 3d Bridge Company, 11th Engineer Battalion had been hard at work for more than a week constructing a steel girder bridge that could support tanks. At ¤rst light on October 4, after three days of artillery and air preparation , 2/4 and BLT 2/3 teamed up and swept through the oftencontested , destroyed hamlets south of Con Thien: Thon Trung An, Thon An Nha, Nha Tho An Hoa, and Nha Tho Bai An. The NVA had obviously made a hasty retreat. A number of abandoned mortar positions were discovered with loose mortar rounds and powder-charge increments lying about. Outside of one abandoned bunker complex, the putrid odor of decaying human ®esh led Marines from G/2/4 to a hastily dug gravesite containing the bodies of twenty NVA. Good news awaited 2/4 at the end of their successful search-andclear operation with BLT 2/3. The division commander had ¤nally ordered a multibattalion attack on Phu Oc to recover their dead. On October 6, the attack commenced with a systematic, round-the-clock bombardment. Artillery and ¤xed-wing air strikes hit the area during daylight, followed by TPQs at night. BLT 2/3 and 2/4 were set to launch the ground attack with tank support on October 9, but torrential rains the evening of the eighth forced a postponement by one day to the tenth. Again, tank support had to be canceled because of the sodden paddy terrain. On October 10, at ¤rst light, ¤ve hundred grim-faced grunts from 2/4 moved into position east of Con Thien for the attack on Phu Oc to retrieve their dead. Companies E and F of 2/4 crossed the line of departure at six thirty and attacked directly east toward Phu Oc. Company G followed in trace of Company E, though slightly to the north; their mission was to secure an LZ and protect Echo’s left ®ank. An AO circled overhead, as all friendly artillery positions in range of the DMZ were poised to deliver instant counter-battery ¤re. BLT 2/3 was in position south of Phu Oc, prepared to counterattack if necessary, but this was intended to be 2/4’s show. They had to be the ones to put their own dead in body bags. The “Magni¤cent Bastards” 261 The attack encountered little resistance, with only some sparse artillery and mortar ¤re resulting in a few casualties. The massive, ingeniously laid-out bunker complex, built to house a battalion, had been recently deserted. The Marines found several bunkers smashed by direct hits from bombs and artillery, but no sign of the NVA. Interconnected ¤ghting positions and bunkers were situated so that their maximum observation and ¤elds of ¤re were aimed directly west toward Con Thien. In that ill-fated sweep on September 21, 2/4 had walked right into the teeth of...