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Casualty Info
Home Town Bismarck
Last Address Bismarck
Casualty Date Feb 01, 1968
Cause MIA-Finding of Death
Reason Air Loss, Crash - Land
Location Laos
Conflict Vietnam War
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Vietnam War/Tet Counteroffensive Campaign (68)/Battle of Khe Sanh
From Month/Year
January / 1968
To Month/Year
April / 1968
Description The Battle of Khe Sanh was conducted in northwestern Quảng Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), between 21 January and 9 July 1968 during the Vietnam War. The belligerent parties were elements of the United States (U.S.) III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF), 1st Cavalry Division, the U.S. Seventh Air Force, minor elements of the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) against two to three division-size elements of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA).
The American command in Saigon initially believed that combat operations around the Khe Sanh Combat Base during the summer of 1967 were just part of a series of minor North Vietnamese offensives in the border regions. That appraisal was altered when it was discovered that NVA was moving major forces into the area during the fall and winter. A build-up of Marine forces took place and actions around Khe Sanh commenced when the Marine base was isolated. During a series of desperate actions that lasted 5 months and 18 days, Khe Sanh Combat Base (KSCB) and the hilltop outposts around it were under constant North Vietnamese ground, artillery, mortar, and rocket attacks.
During the battle, a massive aerial bombardment campaign (Operation Niagara) was launched by the U.S. Air Force to support the Marine base. Over 100,000 tons of bombs (equivalent in destructive force to five Hiroshima-size atomic bombs) were dropped until mid April by aircraft of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marines onto the surrounding areas of Khe Sanh. This was roughly 1,300 tons of bombs dropped daily–five tons for every one of the 20,000 NVA soldiers initially estimated to have been committed to the fighting at Khe Sanh. In addition, 158,000 large-caliber shells were delivered on the hills surrounding the base. This expenditure of aerial munitions dwarfs the amount of munitions delivered by artillery, which totals eight shells per NVA soldier believed to have been on the battlefield.
This campaign used the latest technological advances in order to locate NVA forces for targeting. The logistical effort to support KSCB, once it was isolated overland, demanded the implementation of other tactical innovations in order to keep the Marines supplied.
In March 1968, an overland relief expedition (Operation Pegasus) was launched by a combined Marine–Army/South Vietnamese task force that eventually broke through to the Marines at Khe Sanh. American commanders considered the defense of Khe Sanh a success, but shortly after the siege was lifted the new American commander in Vietnam, Gen. Creighton Abrams, decided to dismantle the base rather than risk similar battles in the future. Historians have observed that the Battle of Khe Sanh may have successfully distracted American and GVN attention from the buildup of Viet Cong forces in the south prior to the early 1968 Tet Offensive. Even at the height of the Tet Offensive, General Westmoreland maintained that the true intentions of the offensive was to distract forces from Khe Sanh.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
January / 1968
To Month/Year
April / 1968
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories VO-67 Khe Sanh Contributed by Bob (Dusty) Reynolds
The North Vietnamese Tet Offensive of 1968 was an all-out effort to take the U.S. Marine Base at Khe Sanh, South Vietnam. Many military units were called upon to assist in lifting the siege of the Marine stronghold. Among them was the Navy's ultra secret squadron Observation Squadron Sixty-Seven (VO-67). On January 22, 1968 VO-67 commenced implanting extensive Acoubouy sensor fields around the combat base. Sensor implant missions were performed at low levels, less than 500 feet, and at very high risk to aircraft and combat crews. Despite the heavy fighting, none of the squadron's aircraft was seriously damaged and no members were hit on the missions close-in at the base. The OP-2Es supporting Khe Sanh carried cameras that filmed where the Acoubouys were dropped. Photo interpretations, along with radio direction finding, gave the exact location of the sensors and allowed the Marines to pinpoint enemy troop positions and movement. The radio chatter around the base area was intense. One unforgettable Marine interception: "Look out! Here comes one of those big green planes right on the deck again!" Even the Marines didn't recognize that they were Navy planes. One story that got back to VO-67 was that one Acoubouy picked up NVA movement over a hill from the base. The Marines opened up with Artillery fire on the position. The Marine monitoring the sensor, who spoke Vietnamese, could hear the NVA screams and someone shouting to get to the top of the hill and kill the spotter who was giving away their position.
The sensors have been credited for saving the day at Khe Sanh by the Marines. One of the surviving Chaplains from the siege, the Reverend Ray Stubbe wrote a letter to a member of a VO-67 crew member that: "Indeed, were it not for those of you that inserted these sensors, I probably would not be writing this letter or have been able to talk to you when you called. You and those in you unit quite literally saved our lives!" Reverend Stubbe co-authored a book on Khe Sanh entitled "Valley of Decision". The exact number of North Vietnamese that took part in the siege of Khe Sanh vary, but most agree there were upwards of 20,000 NVA troops supported by tanks and anti-aircraft weapons. It is estimated that Marine losses would have been at least double if the sensors were not used in defense of the base.
Uncommon valor became common place at Khe Sanh. The Marines and smaller contingents of Army, Navy and Air Force personal assigned to the base stayed the course of courage under fire. Esprit De Corps of the highest level kept the base from being taken by over whelming forces.
Although no official recognition has ever been given to the squadron for its actions at Khe Sanh, VO-67 is indeed proud of the role it played in helping lift the siege. This lack of recognition was due to the ultra secret nature of its original mission of implanting sensors along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos. Officially declassified in 1998, VO-67 technically did not exist in 1968 and is often referred to now as "The Ghost Squadron".
