GIs, Reds Locked in Battle; B52s Strike Close to DMZ

June 29, 1967

SAIGON (UPI) - American troops battled Communist forces in heavy fighting Wednesday on South Vietnam's central highlands and coastal lowlands. The U.S. Command reported 20 Communist killed in clashes that cost the lives of 14 Americans and wounded 47 others.

To the north, near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Vietnams, U.S. Air Force B52 jets showered tons of bombs before dawn Thursday on North Vietnamese positions only hours after Communist gunners opened up on American Marines manning the jungle fortress at Khe Sanh.
Other B52s hit targets in the central highlands where U.S. paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade battled North Vietnamese infantrymen Wednesday in fighting that raged within hand grenade range at times.

Seven Americans were killed and 14 wounded. Only six North Vietnamese bodies were found, but field commanders said the

Communists probably dragged others away in the darkness.

At one point in the highlands fighting, North Vietnamese troops pinned down American forces with machinegun and rifle fire, but the Communists broke off contact about dusk.

The lowlands battle Wednesday raged all day on the Bong Son plain about 280 miles northeast of Saigon. The U.S. First Air Cavalry Division reported killing 14 Communists. Seven air cavalrymen were killed and 33 wounded.

The B52 raid against North Vietnamese hill positions overlooking Khe Sanh in South Vietnam's northwest corner was the latest in a series designed to destroy Communist bunkers and foxholes. It appeared that the strikes were at least partially effective.

North Vietnamese crews fired about 25 rounds of 102-millimeter mortar shells at Khe Sanh Wednesday night, but all missed and exploded harmlessly outside the base perimeter.

August 9, 1967

SAIGON (AP) - Helicopter crews from the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry Division reported they killed nine Viet Cong while covering a reconnaissance helicopter that had been knocked down by ground fire about 300 miles north of Saigon.

Capt. Robert Thompson of Lincolnton, Ga., a gunship pilot, said he saw a guerilla running for cover near the grounded chopper.
"I saw that the man had a weapon and he was trying to get a shot at the downed ship," Thompson said. "I started to tell my door gunner to 'take him,' but he already had seen him.

"As soon as he heard me tell him to fire, he let off a burst from his machine gun, knocking the enemy down."