ATTACK ON CON THIEN
On 8 May 1967, the 13th anniversary of the fall of Dien Bien Phu, the NVA tried to overrun the
Marine position at Con Thien. The outpost, less than two miles from the southern boundary of
the DMZ, was on a hill only 158 meters high in the middle of the red mud plain. It afforded
the best observation in the area, overlooking the DMZ to the north and west, as well as the
Marine base Dong Ha to the southeast. As a strategic terrain feature, Con Thien was important
to the Communists: before the summer was over, it achieved an additional symbolic
importance.
At the time of the attack, the outpost contained a small command group of the 1st Battalion,
4th Marines, reinforced companies A and D of the battalion, and a civilian irregular defense
group (CIDG) unit. The Marines were there to provide security for the engineers, who having
completed the trace on 1 May, were busy clearing a 500-meter-wide strip around the perimeter
of the outpost. At 0255, the morning of 8 May, a green flare lit the sky south of the hill,
followed immediately by a savage 300-round mortar and artillery attack. Concurrently, Camp
Carroll, Gio Linh, and Dong Ha also came under fire.
At Con Thien, enemy units maneuvering under the cover of the barrage breached the defensive
wire with bangalore torpedoes, and small elements moved inside. At approximately 0400, two
NVA battalions armed with flamethrowers, RPGs, and automatic weapons, attacked through the
breach in the wire. The brunt of this assult fell on the right flank of Company D. The
Marines engaged the enemy force in bitter hand-to-hand fighting. An engineer platoon moved
to reinforce Company D. The situation became serious when the Marines ran out of 81mm mortar
illumination rounds; artillery illumination from the nearest artillery at Gio Linh could not
reach Con Thien. (There is no illumination round for the 175mm gun). A flare plane finally
arrived and provided much-needed illumination until daylight.
Meanwhile, Company A sent a platoon to help Company D, as well as to protect an ammunition
resupply convoy composed of an attached Army M42 “Duster,” and two LVTHs, and two ¼-ton trucks.
As these elements moved up to support the hardpressed Marines of Company D, the relief vehicles
came under fire. The Army M-42, which was the lead vehicle, stopped and burst into flames after
being hit by an enemy RPG antitank projectile. A satchel charge exploded under the following
LVTH. It began to burn but its crew managed to get out. The trailing LVTH, trying to get around
the burning vehicles, which now included the ¼-ton trucks, became entangled by barbed wire around
its left rear sprocket. The tractor was stuck. Despite their losses, the reinforced Marines
continued to Company D’s position. With these reinforcements, Company D halted the enemy
penetration and sealed off the break in the wire just before daylight. By 0900, the enemy
soldiers still within the perimeter were either dead or captured.
The recently completed brush clearance around the perimeter paid early dividends. It permitted
the Marines to catch the retreating North Vietnamese in the open as they crossed the cleared
strip. Tanks and LVTH’s firing both conventional and “beehive” antipersonnel ammunition were
particularly effective. Supporting fires of the Composite Artillery Battalion at Gio Linh
ripped into the enemy as it withdrew north into the DMZ.
The defending Marines lost 44 killed and 110 wounded, as well as two LVTH’s and one ¼-ton truck
destroyed, but the hard and bloody battle cost the enemy 197 killed and 8 captured. The
Communists left behind 72 weapons, including 19 antitank weapons, 3 light machine guns, and 3
flamethrowers. (This was the first instance of NVA use of flamethrowers against Marines).
The 8 May attack on Con Thien had been carefully rehearsed, but the enemy displayed an inherent
inability to alter plans. The NVA attacked the strongest point of the perimeter and continued
to press the attack at this point, even when it was clear that it had encountered heavier
resistance than anticipated. The enemy planners were not aware of the arrival of the two
Marine companies. Company D had replaced and ARVN unit only a few days before the attack.
Following the battle, enemy activity intensified throughout the “Leatherneck Square” area,
( a quadrilateral between Con Thien, Gio Linh, Dong Ha, and Cam Lo). The number and volume
of artillery attacks increased greatly. More than 4,200 mortar, rocket, and artillery rounds
were fired at Marine positions during the month. The enemy revealed the degree and sophistication
of its buildup in the area on 10 May by the destruction of a Douglas A-4E Skyhawk flying a
radar-controlled mission near the southern boundary of the DMZ. As the plane approached its
target, Marines on the ground witnessed the firing of three surface-to-air missiles (SAM)
from positions north of the Ben Hai River. One of the missiles hit the A-4E; the aircraft
disappeared from the controlling radar screen at Dong Ha. This was the first reported use of
Communist Sam’s over South Vietnam.