The team employed air strikes and ARA on enemy positions and routes of escape, while they continued to use their organic small arms fire power. The LRRPs were going to pick them off at long range and engage them at close quarters by direct fire. Members are well aware of achievements which would certainly have qualified for this citation. Aircraft over-flights and detections of surfaced submarines were reported frequently. Enemy losses were also high with many killed and blood trails leading off in several directions. Despite the magnitude of the 199th Infantry Brigades security assignment the Brigade had been sent to Vietnam without any long-range patrol assets. They learned his technique for movement and deployment along his main supply lines, routes of travel, and in staging areas in remote mountain locations and on the high plateaus. The results were NVA KIA (confirmed) and 1 NVA KIA (probable) observed carrying an RPD machine gun at the time of contact. During the Vietnam War K Company (RANGER), 75TH Infantry (Airborne) was on the active roles of the United States Army from 1 February 1969 to 10 December1970. SFC Fred Zabitoski [CMOH]. 2022 - Dcouvrez le tableau "Co.L - 101st - RANGERS 75th inf - Co.F / 58th inf - VIETNAM" de Moi sur Pinterest. The commander frequently utilized this option. This engagement with the NVA resulted in a three day and two night contact with fierce fighting continuously. The teams worked throughout the Division AO in the areas west of Hue and Camp Eagle all the way out to the A Shau Valley and south to the 85 east-west grid line and north to the 30 east-west grid line. With them, a proud and unique military heritage was resurrected from the pages of American history and a new chapter was added. We proudly served our country along with the 1st Cavalry Division as members of LRRP Det. Sp4 Douglas Fletcher was the senior scout. Ldr. On 25 October 1971 Company C was officially inactivated. - YouTube 0:00 / 5:54 L Co. Airborne Ranger 75 INF.Vietnam War re-enactment group. After more than 30 years we still remember and revere these old warriors, and appreciate the sacrifices made by them and those who came after us, and who continue the Lurp/Ranger tradition today. In spring 1970, the Rangers participated in the process of Vietnamization which was to allow the South Vietnam more latitude in fighting the war in their country. On the 23d of February 1969, Company 0 (RANGER), 75th Infantry (Airborne) became operational and ready for the test. Ranger, therefore, has been returned to the role it was initially intended to signify intelligence gathering. 1LT Peyton was also an Airborne Ranger. With the reorganization of the company from F Company (LRP) 58th Infantry to Company L (Ranger) 75th Infantry, the companys mission became strictly that of intelligence gathering. An influx of Ranger School graduates in late 1969 improved overall operations but actual school-trained Rangers and RECONDOs remained scarce. However, the tactical requirements always exceeded the number of school slots, and most advisors depended upon lessons learned the hard way, and the good luck to have a Vietnamese counterpart who understood English. In the Ripcord area, Team Phoenix, led by SSG (Fido) Vodden, engaged an enemy rifle squad carrying a Soviet 7.62 MG. During the ensuing fight Sgt Reynolds was mortally wounded and several other Rangers suffered wounds of less serious nature. . They remained in Dalat less than a month before being sent back to rejoin Task Force South at Phan Thiet. The conversation concerned the Big Red One LRRPs loss of SGT. Operations personnel, however, could not always plan successfully for these dangerous missions, which were inherently dangerous and to some extent, unpredictable. The Company regularly sent out interdiction patrols along enemy infiltration routes, which for some of the Rangers had become familiar territory. Company C (Airborne Ranger), 75th Infantry are entitled to the following: Vietnam: Valorous Unit Award (One award), Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross w/palm (Two awards), Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Medal/First Class (One award), Motto: Sua Sponte (Of their own accord). PURPOSE. Operational control of Company I was initially under the 3rd (Iron) Brigade, and the unit was known for a while as the Iron Rangers. Today, in the first decade of the 21st Century, US Army Rangers are a force that can be anywhere in the world in 18 hours. The six commanders of Company I (Ranger), during its approximate one year of existence, were CPT Allen A. Lindman, lLT Jerry M. Davis, CPT Reese M. Patrick, MAJ Hamor R Hanson, MAJ James J. McDevitt, and CPT Robert D. Wright First Sergeants were Carl J. Cook and Jack D. Franks. Vietnam Era US ARMY 75th AIRBORNE RANGER L Co. The enemy was never quite sure who was on his trail. Depending on what they saw and how soon they were discovered, Ranger teams could be on the ground from several minutes to a number of days. May, June and July of 1970 were described by the new commander of Company C, Maj. Donald L. Hudson, as involving a dizzying pattern of operations. This produced extremely qualified personnel well able and motivated to do the dangerous missions of the Rangers. The team later found evidence of at least 100 NVA moving through the area, but had no further contact. Seven teams conducted area reconnaissance in support of the 2/506 Inf around the FSP Gladiator and Coc A Bo area. The 75th Infantry absorbed the personnel and equipment of the 50th Infantry detachment (LRP) on 1 February 1969. Late in October 1968, found the 3d Brigade in the Gia Dinh Province, a hot bed of rebel discontent and sympathetic to the Viet Cong. $150.00. ESS, which is an amorphous company, whose tentacles seem to reach everywhere, pulled that mission away from Blackwater, after that unfortunate incident and the investigation that followed. Vietnam Memorial: SGT: Dunn, Ralph Gerald: 31-68: February 16, 1969: Co K 75th Inf "Ranger" P32W43: SSGT~ Pelletier, Richard William: 4-69: March 24, 1969: Co N 75th Inf "Ranger" . Nine (9) millimeter pistols with silencers were sent to the company from civilian firms in the United States, they were used to take out the NVA/VC sentries that guarded base camps and weigh stations. The white star represents the Star of Burma. The tactic was to be very successful. SFC McMeans had served with the 10th Mountain Division. Company E, 52nd Infantry, (LRP) was a 120 man-sized long-range reconnaissance patrol unit attached to the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) in Vietnam in 1967-69. The 78th Infantry Detachment (LRP) CABN) was relocated to Phu Loi, under the command of CPT. Based on their findings, larger U.S. forces knew where to, and where not to, pursue the enemy. The team engaged an enemy outpost and a fire fight lasted several hours. They also built aid stations, hospitals, mess facilities, Command Posts, and storage depots out of what material they found in the jungle. Attention to other details also raised morale in the unit. During the first part of the year, teams also pulled recon-security duty along the ambush prone section of Highway 19 between Ahn Khe and the Mang Yang pass. On 29 June the entire company made a raid to locate an enemy aid station. The battlefield in these highlands was, just by its very nature, unpredictable and fluid, and team leaders on the ground had to make very important decisions without much time for analysis or deliberation to continue their mission. Two teams were deployed near FSB Veghel in support of the first Bde. F Company, 75th Rangers was deactivated 15 March 1971. _____. The combat nature of the unit was borne out when General Weyand said in March 1967 that LRRP was the fightingest unit under his command. The detachments authorized strength started at 42 and shortly changed to 65 personnel. During the battle an explosion, presumed to be a CHICOM claymere mine, killed four and wounded seven of the team members. During April 1969, Company 0 (RANGER) suffered its first casualties, four (4), which were overcome by large superior forces. Div. The pilots and crews were from the 160th Aviation Group, the Black Widows and the Kingsmen and they were truly both proficient and professional. Another helicopter incident took the life of Keith W. Hammond on May 5, 1969 during an extraction in the Ruong Ruong Valley. The quiet allowed the senses to notice so much: the sudden snap of bamboo growing pains a jet-like wines of mosquitoes, dive-bombing flies, and butterflies alighting on the guns; the darkness so black that the only visible light was the luminous glow of decaying leaves. The time prior to the activation was spent establishing the company as a working unit and in refresher training covering all areas needed to be known for the special mission of performing long range patrols from repelling to immediate action drills. If not, there would be no Cav division LRRPs.. Elements of Company B, and 1st Platoon Company A, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, deployed to Saudi Arabia, Feb. 12, 1991 to April 15, 1991, in . NY: Ivy, 1992. The team did suffer 1 US WIA in the engagement. Ranger Team Medicine Hat IV, led by SGT (Apple Jack) Smith, had the most significant action during the month. As part of Increment V (Keystone Robin-Bravo) of the US Army redeployment from the Republic of Vietnam, Company K (RANGER), 75TH Infantry (Airborne), was ordered to stand-down. The LRRPs were getting good at what they did. The rangers were known as Charlie Rangers in conformity with C in the ICAO phonetic alphabet. A typical Ranger mission, if there is such a thing, would have the team recon and observe an area for enemy presence or movement for the first 4 days and attempt to ambush on the last night and day of the mission, prior to extraction. Ranger team Opel, led by SSG Lobo Bates monitored several dogs, flashlights and what sounded to be stationary internal combustion engines. It was not a well thought out plan and it was not successful. Graduates of the school earned the coveted Ranger badge with its distinctive crossed swords. One such team, Ranger team Savannah, led by SSG Termite Vanning, while acting both as a reconnaissance element and radio relay for other Ranger teams, confirmed the presence of Phou Loc Finance and Economy Company in their area. For the soldiers wanting to be Lurps who were not airborne qualified, the first requirement was to have been on the battlefield at least two months before volunteering. Under the operational control if the 4th Infantry Division, II CTZ stretched from the coastal plains of the South China Sea West to the mountainous, tri-border region that melded jungle forest and high plateau into three countries: Laos, Cambodia, and South Viet Nam. Present and Past Designations 75th INF, and Merrills Marauders. The regiment should be unique in that it was made up of volunteers, who operated behind enemy lines and were successful in all their operations. Operating in the Nhi Binh area, from late February to the middle of May, the Rangers conducted numerous operations gathering valuable intelligence data an enemy activity in the area as wen as accounting for five (5) VC KIA. On 1 February 1969, most of the active army LRRP companies and detachments were deactivated as LRRP units and reactivated as companies of the 75th Infantry Regiment. The new Company Commander was Captain Gary F. Bjork a graduate of both Airborne and Ranger Schools. The lst Infantry Division began OPERATION TOAN THANG, (Complete Victory) with the objective of clearing and pacifying the Binh Duong Province Patrols were conducted throughout the predominantly jungle- and marsh-covered regions of War Zones C and D, the Iron Triangle, the Easter Egg, the Mushroom, the Heart-Shaped Woods, the Trapezoid, the Michelin Rubber Plantation, the Long Nguyen Secret Zone, the Song Be Corridor, and the Vietnamese frontier with Cambodia. The 3d and 5th Ranger Groups defended and secured the capitol, Saigon and the 37th Battalion fought alongside the U.S. Marines at Khe Sanh. E/58th Infantry (LRP) continued to perform valuable LRP support for the 4th Division until it was reorganized under the colors of K Company (RANGER), 75th Infantry (Airborne), on 1 February 1969. it was believed that they intended to hit the Bob Hope Show. The veteran Redcatcher Rangers were moved by truck convoy to Camp Frenzell Jones in Long Binh and started stand down procedures. Sgt King, (Killoggs), leading Team Stella, made a point contact with an enemy patrol and broke contact, linking up with Teams Cora and Anne. Westmoreland, realizing that the line Companies needed intelligence, authorized the formation of E/20 and F/51 LRP Airborne. Company C then concentrated its teams in support of the 4th Infantry Division by reconning major infiltration routes in the southwestern HINES area of operations until 28 March. During the month of September, 23 Ranger Teams were inserted for reconnaissance missions. Nevertheless, U.S. forces were able to rescue the three surviving Rangers. Bomb Damage Assessment (BDA) missions were common for the Rangers in PAPA Company. As a result, the 78th Infantry Detachment (LRP), assigned to the 3d Brigade, 82d Airborne Division (Separate), became Company 0 (RANGER), 75th Infantry (Airborne). The 74th Infantry Detachment (LRP) was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions during the Dak To battles in November 1967, however this was in error as the 74th Infantry Detachment (LRP) did not exist at the time. It included insertions to give them actual experience with patrolling methods used in our area of Vietnam. In order to be an elite Lurp, one must volunteer and then pass the Company Recondo School. November company personnel were called upon to conduct special contingency missions such as the BRIGHT LIGHT mission of prisoner rescue and the destruction of the VC infrastructure throughout Binh Dinh province. With particular emphasis on the Western Highlands in 1969 from the northern An Lao Valley of Kontum Province, across Pleiku and Darlac Provinces, to Bu Krak in Western Quang Duc Province, K Company Rangers escalated operations against NVA forces that were pouring down the Ho Chi Minh Trail at rates approaching 20,000 soldiers per month. Several men offered to extend their tours for duty with the V Corps and VII Corps LRRP Companies, but were turned down by their TO&E unit commanders as being too valuable to be let go. While in Vietnam, E Company earned the Meritorious Unit Commendation Streamer embroidered Vietnam 18 June 68 20 January 69. As the above lineage shows, we have a long history, rich in tradition. 2LT Walden was an Airborne Ranger, but by this time the Division had other plans for the unit. By October it had reached full authorized strength of 119 personnel and was rated fully operational. An Areo-rifle platoon of Delta Troop 2/17 Cav was inserted while team Shelbys four WIA were extracted. Often the enemy would be within ten feet of the team. On May 31, 1967, PFC Brian K. McGar, PFC Joseph E. Fitzgerald, riflemen; SGT John A. Jakovac, ammo bearer; CPL Charles G. Rogerson, and SP4 Carl D. Flower were members of a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) deployed in Quang Ngai Province, South Vietnam. 1LT Robert Johnson It also saved lives of many U.S. servicemen through their intelligence gathering. . His experiences as both a combat veteran and as a Ranger instructor set very high standards for the unit. The former location caused additional problems in communications and control. L Co (Ranger) still containing its well known initiative, staged another company size raid in the A Shau Valley along Rt 548. The Rangers repulsed the enemy with organic weapon fire and hand grenades. bietdongquan@yahoo.com. Choose Options. The latest activation for the company was on 10 January 1968. As individual advisors rotated back to the United States, they were not replaced. The primary references used were the intsums of the combat operations during the year and notes written periodically throughout the year by the companys commanders and other personnel involved in the companys operations. After four or five days, the choppers would return to pick us up. Division reconnaissance initially from October 1965 had relied on the armored 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry. The numbers and style of tire shoe marks were noted. The infantry is regarded as L Company, 75th Infantry. During the month of June, this unit deployed a total of 23 Ranger Teams. On 26 July 1970 Company C was transported by cargo aircraft to Landing Zone English outside Bong Son and was returned to the jurisdiction of the 173rd Airborne. During this period the men of the company found it does get cold in Vietnam. The Saigon River was one of the major waterways that served as a means of transportation for the inhabitants of the Saigon area and the many hamlets and villages along the rivers course. 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Rangers were actively involved in warfare and unable to write of their comrades achievements This responsibility for writing documentation for medals was left to the Division G2 for their attached unit. Each independent company was attached to a separate division or brigade and acted as the eyes and ears of those units. No one could believe it when just three weeks after returning from Panama the unit was called to active duty. The company additionally conducted rappelling and McGuire Rig training for the Division. On 3 November 1969, a heavy team led by SSG Bruce T. Black engaged 3 NVA, killing one and forcing the others to flee. The remainder of the company became involved in repelling the enemys TET offensive in the Bien Hoa area. Teams directed the fires of gunships and artillery as many as 200 times throughout the year. With the insertion teams on the slicks, a flight of Hueys with their Hog (Huey model Slicks converted to Gunships armed with rocket pods, mini guns and .30 or .50 caliber door gunner machine guns) and Cobra escorts made low passes in several locations to keep enemy spotters guessing where we actually dropped. (2) It returns to the rolls of the active Army Regiment having a distinguished combat record and a unique place in the annals of the United States Army. This was a prevailing attitude in the field and base commanders. The persistent Ranger reconnaissance campaign continued to relentlessly, as sustained pressure was applied on the network of supply lines used by the two enemy regiments. It proceeded in this manner. While working in the Khe Shan plains the team was taken under fire by a regular NVA unit. K/75th Rangers would provide the Division with a long range capability unmatched, at the time, in modern warfare. These difficulties were worsened by commanders who were unfamiliar with ranger employment. Volunteers to the unit arrived with different styles of uniforms depending on what was being worn by the unit they recently departed. We worked in four man teams that were flown by helicopter into remote areas and dropped off in the jungle for reconnaissance. Obviously, some higher ups had to justify us being there. The information that the 101st Abn Div received from the POWs enabled the 1st Bde to counter a serious enemy threat to their fire support base in that area. Ranger units assumed the responsibility of providing the primary ARVN mobile reaction force in each Tactical Zone a far larger geographical operating area. Dont you know that their enemy KIAs exceed any battalions in your Brigade, . This history deals with the activities, personnel, and accomplishments of Company K (Ranger), 75th Infantry (Airborne), during the period 1 February 1969 through 10 December 1970, and briefly highlights the history of the units that preceded, and led to the establishment of Company K (Ranger), 75th Infantry (Airborne). This same team captured a Chinese National with the rank of Colonel. Numerous team sightings in the Binh Thuan area led to operation HANCOCK MACE. In summation, Company F, 58th Infantry throughout 1968 was totally committed to the military effort in Vietnam, and its performance was commendable in every aspect. On the 15th of December 1968, the 78th Infantry Detachment (LRP) (ABN) Was activated under the command of Lt. William E. Jones and stationed at Camp Red Ban, northeast of Saigon. Savannah then observed a light shinning on the body of the previous KIA and engaged it with organic weapons with unknown results. Their training is arduous and specialized. The company joined the two teams already in the area and secured the area which was to become Camp Eagle. 1969 Co H (Ranger), 75th Inf. Rangers differ from Special Forces. It was during this time that the Company received its first recipient of the Medal Of Honor from the exploits of Staff Sergeant Robert Pruden who gave his life to protect his team members during an operation in the Due Pho area. The new base, Dong Tam, was constructed by dredging the My Tho river to produce enough fill to build a major installation in the Mekong Delta. Vietnam Era US Military Original 187th Infantry Airborne Ranger Patch. Learn More For the 1/506 Inf, six Ranger teams were employed in the flat and piedmont region south and west of FSB Jack. March also brought a new aspect of Ranger operations to the forefront. Close proximity to the enemy made it difficult to observe without engaging the enemy with contact occurring more often than not Successful intelligence missions were achieved when no shots were fired. The Year 1964 was spent mostly in garrison duty, with only some opportunities for LRRP actions, most notably along the E. German Border with the 14th AC. For K Company, whose anxious members reveled in any opportunity to strike the enemy, the emphasis on offensive missions raised company morale, aided recruiting, and infused the company with new spirit. The team threw frag grenades and fired small arms on the NVA position. One of these was heavy Ranger team Baboon, which had the primary mission objective of prisoner snatch. Most of these missions involved helicopter insertions behind enemy lines with 3-4 man patrols. 1SG Neal R. Gentry 17 Mar 71- 21 Nov 71 At the Special Forces MACV Recondo School at Nha Trang, the entire 9th Infantry Division LRRPS became recondo-qualified, Meanwhile, the unit adjusted to its combat operating area. By the end of April on to May 1970 emphasis was place on heavy teams and on having these elements maintain 50% security during their ONH. On 15 January 1969, Lt. Robert Eason Jr. took over the 71st with an assigned priority to reorganize it into a brigade-level ranger company by the end of the month. This was just before the detachment was scheduled to deploy on its first major field training exercise. Before everyone was extracted and air strikes called in thirteen of the reaction force were wounded. On one occasion elements of the company responding to an enemy ambush of an American truck on this road killed one fleeing enemy. Each was authorized eight personnel to perform the support mission. Morale of the enemy was sensed along with their weapons and luggage. 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