Source: Compiled from one or more of the
following: raw data from U.S. Government
agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews. Updated
by the P.O.W. NETWORK in 1998.
Personnel in Incident: Ngok Tavak: Horace H.
Fleming; Thomas J. Blackman; Joseph F. Cook;
Paul S. Czerwonka; Thomas W. Fritsch; Barry L.
Hempel; Raymond T. Heyne; Gerald E. King;
Robert C. Lopez; William D. McGonigle; Donald
W. Mitchell; James R. Sargent (members of
USMC search team - all missing); Glenn E.
Miller; Thomas H. Perry (USSF teammembers -
missing); Kham Duc: Richard E. Sands (missing
from CH47); Bernard L. Bucher; Frank M. Hepler;
George W. Long; John L. McElroy; Stephan C.
Moreland (USAF crew of C130 - all missing);
Warren R. Orr (USSF on C130 - missing); Harry
B. Coen; Andrew J. Craven; Juan M. Jimenez;
Frederick J. Ransbottom; Maurice H. Moore;
Joseph L. Simpson; William E. Skivington; John
C. Stuller; Imlay S. Widdison; Danny L. Widner;
Roy C. Williams (all missing); Julius W. Long
(released POW).
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: Kham Duc Special Forces camp
(A-105), was located on the western fringes of
Quang Tin ("Great Faith") Province, South
Vietnam. In the spring of 1968, it was the only
remaining border camp in Military Region I.
Backup responsibility for the camp fell on the
23rd Infantry Division (Americal), based at Chu
Lai on the far side of the province.
The camp had originally been built for President
Diem, who enjoyed hunting in the area. The 1st
Special Forces detachment (A-727B) arrived in
September 1963 and found the outpost to be an
ideal border surveillance site with an existing
airfield. The camp was located on a narrow
grassy plain surrounded by rugged, virtually
uninhabited jungle. The only village in the area,
located across the airstrip, was occupied by post
dependents, camp followers and merchants. The
camp and airstrip were bordered by the Ngok
Peng Bum ridge to the west and Ngok Pe Xar
mountain, looming over Kham Duc to the east.
Steep banked streams full of rapids and
waterfalls cut through the tropical wilderness.
The Dak Mi River flowed past the camp over a
mile distant, under the shadow of the Ngok Pe
Xar.
Five miles downriver was the small forward
operating base of Ngok Tavak, defended by the
113-man 11th Mobile Strike Force Company with
its 8 Special Forces and 3 Australian advisors.
Since Ngok Tavak was outside friendly artillery
range, 33 Marine artillerymen of Battery D, 2nd
Battalion, 13th Marines, with two 105mm
howitzers were located at the outpost.
Capt. Christopher J. Silva, commander of
Detachment A-105 helicoptered into Ngok Tavak
on May 9, 1968 in response to growing signs of
NVA presence in the area. Foul weather
prevented his scheduled evening departure. A
Kham Duc CIDG platoon fleeing a local ambush
also arrived and was posted to the outer
perimeter. It was later learned that the CIDG
force contained VC infiltrators.
Ngok Tavak was attacked by an NVA infantry
battalion at 0315 hours on May
10. The base was pounded by mortars and direct
rocket fire. As the frontal assault began, the
Kham Duc CIDG soldiers moved toward the
Marines in the fort yelling, "Don't shoot, don't
shoot! Friendly, friendly!" Suddenly they lobbed
grenades into the Marine howitzer positions and
ran into the fort, where they shot several Marines
with carbines and sliced claymore mine and
communication wires.
The defenders suffered heavy casualties but
stopped the main assault and killed the
infiltrators. The NVA dug in along the hill slopes
and grenaded the trenches where the mobile
strike force soldiers were pinned by machine gun
and rocket fire. An NVA flamethrower set the
ammunition ablaze, banishing the murky flare-
lighted darkness for the rest of the night. SFC
Harold M. Swicegood and the USMC platoon
leader, Lt. Adams, were badly wounded and
moved to the command bunker. Medical Spec4
Blomgren reported that the CIDG mortar crews
had abandoned their weapons. Silva tried to
operate the main 4.2 inch mortar but was
wounded. At about 0500 hours, Sgt. Glenn Miller,
an A-105 communications specialist, was shot
through the head as he ran over to join the
Marine howitzer crews.
The NVA advanced across the eastern side of
Ngok Tavak and brought forward more automatic
weapons and rocket-propelled grenade
launchers. In desperation, the defenders called
on USAF AC-47 "Spooky" gunships to strafe the
perimeter and the howitzers, despite the possible
presence of friendly wounded in the gun pits. The
NVA countered with tear gas, but the wind kept
drifting the gas over their own lines. After three
attempts, they stopped. A grenade fight between
the two forces lasted until dawn.
At daybreak Australian Warrant Officers
Cameron and Lucas, joined by Blomgren, led a
CIDG counterattack. The North Vietnamese
pulled back under covering fire, and the
howitzers were retaken. The Marines fired the
last nine shells and spiked the tubes. Later that
morning medical evacuation helicopters
supported by covering airstrikes took out the
seriously wounded, including Silva and
Swicegood. Two CH46's were able to land 45
replacements from the 12th Mobile Strike Force
Company, accompanied by Capt. Euge E.
Makowski (who related much of this account to
Shelby Stanton, author of "Green Berets at
War"), but one helicopter was hit in the fuel line
and forced down. Another helicopter was hit by a
rocket and burst into flames, wrecking the small
helipad. The remaining wounded were placed
aboard a hovering helicopter. As it lifted off, two
Mike Force soldiers and 1Lt. Horace Fleming,
one of the stranded aviation crewmen, grabbed
the helicopter skids. All three fell to their deaths
after the helicopter had reached an altitude of
over one hundred feet.
The mobile strike force soldiers were exhausted
and nervous. Ammunition and water were nearly
exhausted, and Ngok Tavak was still being
pounded by sporadic mortar fire. They asked
permission to evacuate their positions, but were
told to "hold on" as "reinforcements were on the
way". By noon the defenders decided that aerial
reinforcement or evacuation was increasingly
unlikely, and night would bring certain
destruction. An hour later, they abandoned Ngok
Tavak.
Thomas Perry, a medic from C Company, arrived
at the camp at 0530 hours the morning of the
10th. He cared for the wounded and was
assisting in an attempt to establish a defensive
perimeter when the decision was made to
evacuate the camp. As survivors were leaving,
Perry was seen by Sgt. Cordell
J. Matheney, Jr., standing 20 feet away, as
Australian Army Capt. John White formed the
withdrawal column at the outer perimeter wire on
the eastern Ngok Tavak hillside. It was believed
that Perry was going to join the end of the
column.
All the weapons, equipment and munitions that
could not be carried were hastily piled into the
command bunker and set afire. The helicopter
that had been grounded by a ruptured fuel line
was destroyed with a LAW. Sgt. Miller's body
was abandoned.
After survivors had gone about 1 kilometer, it
was discovered that Perry was missing. Efforts
were conducted to locate both Perry and Miller,
including a search by a group from Battery D.
They were searching along the perimeter when
they were hit by enemy grenades and arms fire.
Neither the men on the team nor Perry was ever
found. Included in this team were PFC Thomas
Blackman; LCpl. Joseph Cook; PFC Paul
Czerwonka; LCpl. Thomas Fritsch; PFC Barry
Hempel; LCpl. Raymond Heyne; Cpl. Gerald
King; PFC Robert Lopez; PFC William
McGonigle; LCpl. Donald Mitchell; and LCpl.
James Sargent. The remaining survivors evaded
through dense jungle to a helicopter pickup point
midway to Kham Duc. Their extraction was
completed shortly before 1900 hours on the
evening of May 10.
In concert with the Ngok Tavak assault, the
Kham Duc was blasted by a heavy mortar and
recoilless rifle attack at 0245 hours that same
morning. Periodic mortar barrages ripped into
Kham Duc throughout the rest of the day, while
the Americal Division airmobiled a reinforced
battalion of the 196th Infantry Brigade into the
compound. A Special Forces command party also
landed, but the situation deteriorated too rapidly
for their presence to have positive effect.
The mortar attack on fog-shrouded Kham Duc
resumed on the morning of May 11. The
bombardment caused heavy losses among the
frightened CIDG soldiers, who fled from their
trenches across open ground, seeking shelter in
the bunkers. The LLDB commander remained
hidden. CIDG soldiers refused orders to check
the rear of the camp for possible North
Vietnamese intruders. That evening the 11th and
12th Mobile Strike Force companies were
airlifted to Da Nang, and half of the 137th CIDG
Company from Camp Ha Thanh was airlanded in
exchange.
The 1st VC Regiment, 2nd NVA Division, began
closing the ring around Kham Duc during the
early morning darkness of 12 May. At about 0415
to 0430 hours, the camp and outlying positions
came under heavy enemy attack. Outpost #7 was
assaulted and fell within a few minutes. Outposts
#5, #1 and
#3 had been reinforced by Americal troops but
were in North Vietnamese hands by 0930 hours.
OP1 was manned by PFC Harry Coen, PFC
Andrew Craven, Sgt. Joseph Simpson, and SP4
Julius Long from Company E, 2nd of the 1st
Infantry. At about 0415 hours, when OP1 came
under heavy enemy attack, PFC Coen and SP4
Long were seen trying to man a 106 millimeter
recoilless rifle. Survivors reported that in the
initial enemy fire, they were knocked off their
bunker. Both men again tried to man the gun, but
were knocked down again by RPG fire.
PFC Craven, along with two other men, departed
the OP at 0830 hours on May
12. They moved out 50 yards and could hear the
enemy in their last position. At about 1100 hours,
as they were withdrawing to the battalion
perimeter, they encountered an enemy position.
PFC Craven was the pointman and opened fire.
The enemy returned fire, and PFC Craven was
seen to fall, with multiple chest wounds. The
other two men were unable to recover him, and
hastily departed the area. PFC Craven was last
seen lying on his back, wounded, near the camp.
OP2 was being manned by 1Lt. Frederick
Ransbottom, SP4 Maurice Moore, PFC Roy
Williams, PFC Danny Widner, PFC William
Skivington, PFC Imlay Widdison, and SP5 John
Stuller, from the 2nd of the 3rd Infantry when it
came under attack. Informal questioning of
survivors of this position indicated that PFC
Widdison and SP5 Stuller may have been killed
in action. However, the questioning was not
sufficiently thorough to produce enough evidence
to confirm their deaths.
The only information available concerning 1Lt.
Ransbottom, SP4 Moore, PFC Lloyd and PFC
Skivington that Lt. Ransbottom allegedly radioed
PFC Widner and PFC Williams, who were in the
third bunker, and told them that he was shooting
at the enemy as they entered his bunker.
SP4 Juan Jimenez, a rifleman assigned to
Company A, 2nd of the 1st Infantry, was
occupying a defensive position when he was
severely wounded in the back by enemy mortar
fire. SP4 Jimenez was declared dead by the
Battalion Surgeon in the early morning hours of
May 12. He was then carried to the helipad for
evacuation. However, due to the situation, space
was available in the helicopter for only the
wounded, and SP4 Jimenez'remains were left
behind.
At noon a massive NVA attack was launched
against the main compound. The charge was
stopped by planes hurling napalm, cluster bomb
units and 750 pound bombs into the final wire
barriers. The decision was made by the Americal
Division officers to call for immediate extraction.
The evacuation was disorderly, and at times, on
the verge of complete panic. One of the first
extraction helicopters to land was exploded by
enemy fire, blocking the airstrip. Engineers of
Company A, 70th Engineer Battalion, frantically
reassembled one of their dozers (previously torn
apart to prevent capture) to clear the runway.
Eight more aircraft were blown out of the sky.
PFC Richard E. Sands was a member of
Company A, 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry, 198th
Light Infantry Brigade being extracted on a CH47
helicopter (serial #67-18475). The helicopter was
hit by 50 calliber machine gun fire at an altitude
of 1500-1600 feet shortly after takeoff.
Sands, who was sitting near the door gunner,
was hit in the head by an incoming rounds. The
helicopter made a controlled landing and caught
fire. During the evacuation from the burning
helicopter, four personnel and a medic checked
PFC Sands and indicated that he had been killed
instantly. Because of the danger of incoming
mortar rounds and the fire, personnel attempting
to remove PFC Sands from the helicopter were
ordered to abandon their attempt. The remaining
personnel were evacuated from the area later by
another helicopter.
Intense antiaircraft fire from the captured
outposts caused grave problems. Control over
the indigenous forces was difficult. One group of
CIDG soldiers had to be held in trenches at
gunpoint to prevent them from mobbing the
runway.
As evacuation was in progress, members of
Company A, 1/46, who insisted on boarding the
aircraft first, shoved Vietnamese dependents out
of the way. As more Americal infantry tried to
clamber into the outbound planes, the outraged
Special Forces staff convinced the Air Force to
start loading civilians onboard a C130, then
watched as the civilians pushed children and
weaker adults aside.
The crew of the U.S. Air Force C130 aircraft
(serial #60-0297) consisted of Maj. Bernard
Bucher, pilot; SSgt. Frank Hepler, flight
engineer; Maj. John McElroy, navigator; 1Lt.
Steven Moreland, co-pilot; George Long, load
master; Capt. Warren Orr, passenger, and an
undetermined number of Vietnamese civilians.
The aircraft reported receiving ground fire on
takeoff. The Forward Air Control (FAC) in the
area reported that the aircraft exploded in
mid-air and crashed in a fire ball about one mile
from camp. All crew and passengers were
believed dead, as the plane burned quickly and
was completely destroyed except for the tail
boom. No remains were recovered from the
aircraft.
Capt. Orr was not positively identified by U.S.
personnel as being aboard the aircraft. He was
last seen near the aircraft helping the civilians to
board. However, a Vietnamese stated that he
had seen Capt. Orr board the aircraft and later
positively identified him from a photograph.
Rescue efforts were impossible because of the
hostile threat in the area.
At the time the order was given to escape and
evade, SP4 Julius Long was was with Coen and
Simpson. All three had been wounded, and were
trying to make their way back to the airfield
about 350 yards away. As they reached the
airfield, they saw the last C130 departing. PFC
Coen, who was shot in the stomach, panicked
and started running and shooting his weapon at
random. SP4 Long tried to catch him, but could
not, and did not see PFC Coen again. Long then
carried Sgt. Simpson to a nearby hill, where they
spent the night.
During the night, the airfield was strafed and
bombed by U.S. aircraft. SP4 Long was hit twice
in the back by fragments, and Sgt. Simpson died
during the night. SP4 Long left him lying on the
hill near the Cam Duc airfield and started his
escape and evasion toward Chu Lai, South
Vietnam. SP4 Long was captured and was
released in 1973 from North Vietnam.
The Special Forces command group was the last
organized group out of the camp. As their
helicopter soared into the clouds, Kham Duc was
abandoned to advancing NVA infantry at 4:33
p.m. on May 12, 1968. The last Special Forces
camp on the northwestern frontier of South
Vietnam had been destroyed.
Two search and recovery operations were
conducted in the vicinity of OP1 and OP2 and the
Cam Duc airfield on July 18, 1970 and August
17, 1970. In these operations, remains of
personnel previously reported missing from this
incident were recovered and subsequently
identified. (SP4 Bowers, PFC Lloyd, Sgt. Sisk,
PFC Guzman-Rios and SSgt. Carter). However,
extensive search and excavation could not be
completed at OP1 and OP2 because of the
tactical situation.
It was assumed that all the missing at Kham Duc
were killed in action until about 1983, when the
father of one of the men missing discovered a
Marine Corps document which indicated that four
of the men had been taken prisoner. The
document listed the four by name. Until then, the
families had not been advised of the possibility
there were any American prisoners taken other
than Julius Long. A Vietnamese rallier identified
the photograph of Roy C. Williams as positively
having been a POW.
Until proof is obtained that the rest of the men
lost at Ngok Tavak and Kham Duc are dead, their
families will always wonder if they are among
those said to still be alive in Southeast
Asia.