~ 720th Military Police Battalion Vietnam History Project ~

Outpost-3
Village of An Hoa Hung
Tu Duc District, Bien Hoa Province, Military Region III
Vietnamese
Popular Forces
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   Regardless of MOS if you recognize or participated in any of the events listed on this page and would like to contribute any information, personal stories, documents, media articles, photographs, or, if you can provide information on any events not listed, please take a moment to contact Tom Watson the History Project Manager at the Email Link provided for you on each page. Your contributions are important to the recording of the Battalion history and always welcomed here.
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This Page Last Updated   14 March 2018
18th MP
Brigade
89th MP
Group
720th MP
Battalion
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Editors Note: Most of the more specific details of some of the events and missions carried out in this village have been moved into the chronology of the more comprehensive daily Battalion Timeline from September 1967 through July 1970. If you find a specific mission or incident that is not listed or linked, please notify the History Project Manager via the Email Link at the top of this page.

An Hoa Hung Village

     Located in the north western portion of the 720th MP Battalion Tactical Area Of Responsibility (TAOR), An Hoa Hung was the largest of the four primary villages, and the hub of progressive economic, civic government and growth.

     The village was originally one of many within the vast Area of Operations of the 3rd Brigade of the 9th Infantry Division (Camp Martin Cox - Bearcat) before being assigned to the Battalion in September 1967 under Operation STABILIZE. No evidence was found that the 9th ever established a permanent foot print during their operational control. At best the village Popular Forces platoons and the National Police were monitored and visited occasionally through the Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) advisory program Team-95 headquartered in the City of Bien Hoa.

MACV
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9th Inf.
Division
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     It was bodered on the west by Long Binh Tan Village, and on the north by Highway-317 and the southern perimeter of Long Binh Post. To the south by the Ben Go River, and the Village of Long Hung. A steel bridge over the Bien Go connected the two village areas. The east side was bordered by forest and beyond that, the area known as the Finger of Land.

     Motorized transportation to and from Long Hung was readily accessible via a single lane dirt road connected to Highway 317 that looped in a U shape through the village along the buildings bordering the Rach Ben River then out to Highway 317 through the village of Long Bin Tan.

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     The economy was largely agricultural and centered in the large Market Square, however there were numerous small village cottage industries, rice mills and brick manufacturing businesses. Many of the residents also worked on Long Binh Military Post and in the nearby city of Bien Hoa. Highway-317 provided a transportation route and a civilian bus line and Lambretta Taxis were available for trips to the cities of Saigon, Bien Hoa, Vung Tau and the many stops in between.

     It boasted a very large school system with a student population of over 700, and a governmental compound. In early 1967 the Viet Cong destroyed the government compound and the generators that powered the two villages of An Hoa Hung and Long Hung.

     Through the Civic Action Program the compound was rebuilt and the villages power grids were connected to the more reliable Electric of Vietnam.

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     The village also had the only Canh Sat, National Police Force Compound (police station) in the Tactical Area of Responsibility, staffed by five to eight members of the Uniformed Service Police and security was provided by a squad of Regional Forces/Popular Forces Village Militia.

     On occasions when staffing permitted, after 26 June 1968, two B Company MPs were assigned to live at the compound as added security and to perform liaison services.

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   There was also a large Buddhist Temple and monastery located in the northeast corner of the village. The interior of the temple was very ornate and beautifully maintained. The vast majority of the villagers were of the Buddhist faith with a minority of Catholics who attended services in the neighboring village of Long Bin Tan.

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     With the South Vietnamese President being Catholic religious tensions between the Buddhists and Catholics existed at all levels of government, a leftover from the French Colonial era, and was evident throughout much of the country.

     Although it was frowned upon by Battalion, on occasions the ambush teams would,  with permission of the Buddhist's Priests, conduct searches of the Temple and grounds for VC contraband and activity and to familiarize new squad members of the interior of the temple and compound. It was suspected at the time they might have been assisting the local Viet Cong, however, there has yet to be any evidence uncovered of the local Buddhist within the Battalion TAOR taking an overt role in their support.

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     Of the four TAOR villages, An Hoa Hung was the second least sympathetic to the Viet Cong. Being the economic and governmental center of the TAOR it was always a prime target for Viet Cong harassment. Due to their close proximity to Long Binh Post, and after the 26 June 1968 TAOR consolidation under B Company, major hostile VC activity in the village dropped dramatically but there were still scattered incidents of harassment.

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1967 ~ Start of the Battalion Activities Timeline in An Hoa Hung
The Outpost
September At the start of Operation STABILIZE the  Battalion combined ambush platoon commanded by 1LT Robert S. Wilkerson of B Company evaluated the four Popular Forces outposts within the Tactical Area of Responsibility. It is still unknown as to the exact dates when the first MP liaison staff were stationed at each.
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    As with the other outpost's, life at Outpost-3 was also Spartan, primarily due to its size. It was the smallest in size and had the smallest staff of the four Battalion outpost's within the TAOR.

     Since it was located at the entrance to the village just off of Highway-317, water and supplies and staff could be transported in daily and access to Long Binh Post was easy.

     The outpost was a single wood and brick structured building (for lack of a better description) about the size of a one car garage, but it did have a second floor observation area. The structure was covered in sandbags and barbed wire, and had a small perimeter and sandbag reinforced bunkers.

     Located on the northwest corner of the main entrance to the village from Highway 317, it was in view of the perimeter of Long Binh Post.

     From September 1967 to until the 26 June 1968 consolidation, the outpost was manned by MPs from C Company. The staff didn’t reside at the outpost on a full time basis and worked it in twelve hour shifts.

     Their primary function was a combined MP and National Police motorized patrol in the village and surrounding highways. The outpost at that time was staffed (per shift) by a squad of local Popular Forces troops.

     The primary focus of the local VC was their frequent attacks on the C Company armored gun jeeps that would patrol the village and transport the shift changes at night during 1967 and early 1968. The the attacks were small scale and the enemy came in from the wooded region to the east that bordered the Finger of Land. The goal of the attacks was to seize the jeeps M60 machine guns, small arms, and ammunition while they were at or approaching the outpost.

     Unfortunately the VC were successful in this endeavor on several occasions in the 1967 and early 1968 time period resulting in several wounded MPs. A fatal attack occurred in May 1968 when the patrol jeep was ambushed from the front yard of the Buddhist Temple, resulting in the death of one MP.

     The outpost was staffed by three MPs and a squad size element of the Popular Forces. A senior SP/4 or a Non Commissioned Officer (NCO) was in command of the liaison MPs, when manpower permitted.

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     The MP armament was similar to that at the other outpost, as was the arms used by the RF/PF troops. In addition to the radio, the outpost was also connected to a telephone land line permitting communication with Outpost 1, 2, and 4, Long Binh Post Tactical Operations Command (TOC) and later B Company TOC. The land line was much more reliable and less frequently interrupted by the VC due to it’s close proximity to Long Binh Post.

     Because of its physical size and small staff, the daily C Company routine at Outpost-3 was primarily supporting the local PF's with their vehicle inspections and ID card checks that were aimed at preventing enemy infiltration. The MPs also watched for unauthorized U.S. personnel, and errant convoy trucks looking to unload their supplies to the black marketer's in the village. Daytime duty there could be best described a similar to working a main gate on a busy military post.

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13 November The Battalion conducted a cordon and search operation in An Hoa Hung to root out active VC, their weapons and supplies and identify their active sympathizers.

     In the early morning hours MP units set up land and river checkpoints while other joint squads of MPs, Popular Forces and National Police conducted searches of village homes and businesses to examine the National identification cards of the inhabitants.

     The operation lasted throughout the night.

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27 December SGT William A. Sword, and PFC’s Daniel B. Chaplin and Calvin E. Burton, C Company where on a Civic Action Patrol, and saved the life of a young villager that nearly drowned in a rice paddy when he lapsed into convulsions.

Staff Photographs
If you were assigned to the outpost for shift work or on a permanent basis for part of your tour and your name and photograph does not appear in this section, please contact the History Project Manager Tom Watson through the Email Link at the top of this page.
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Photograph

Needed

 

PFC Adams

PFC Hallman

Photograph

Needed

 

PFC DeWitt

PFC Gorman

PFC Petrucco

Photograph

Needed

 

PFC Zegler
C Company 1967
C Company 1967
Unit Unknown
Unit Unknown
B Company 1969
B Company 1969

Better Photograph

Needed

G2383

PFC McGuffin

Unidentified

B Company 1969
B Company 1969
B Company 1969
1967 Miscellaneous Photographs
A "?" following the photo number denotes further identifications are needed, and an Email Link is provided.
 
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1968
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16 April The VC ambushed the C Company shift change gun jeep just outside the outpost wounding PFC David Shea, and capturing the M60 machine gun, an M14 rifle and ammunition for both.
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1 May In the early evening the VC attacked the National Police Station-Village Office with a barrage of small arms fire directed at its entrance wounding one PF and two villagers.
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28 May The VC ambushed a C Company gun jeep near the Buddhist Temple with small arms and Rocket Propelled Grenade fire, seriously wounding SGT Apimenio "Api" Lara and the driver. On 30 May SGT Lara died as a result of his wounds.
Consolidation
26 June B Company assumed full control of the TAOR and the B Company MPs physically lived at the outpost full time, and since there were no predictable shift change runs the ambushes stopped. Occasional small arms harassment sniper fire would still occur, but only at night.
1968 Miscellaneous Photographs
A "?" following the photo number denotes further identifications are needed, and an Email Link is provided.
 View of the village entrance in 1967.
 Village children.
 Village children.
 Vendors in the Market Center.
 Lambretta Taxi to Bien Hoa.
 Restaurant-Cafe in the Market Center.
 Restaurant-Cafe in the Market Center.
  PFC's Sinwelski and Watson from B Company Outpost-2 enjoy a cold beer in the village.
  Members of a B Company Ambush Squad approach the Steel Bridge.
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1969 ~ Accelerated Vietnamization Begins
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 23 February The 274th Viet Cong Main Force Regiment of the 5th NVA Division attacked the southern perimeter of Long Binh Post. The thrust came right through the eastern sector of the Tactical Area of Responsibility avoiding the more populated western sector where the four villages were located. The enemy attack was disrupted by elements of the B Company ambush & recon squads who directed overwhelming allied firepower and prevented their support units from joining the fight, with over 100 bodies left on the field.

     As a result, an immediate program to improve structural security at the outpost's was begun.

     With the implementation of the theater wide accelerated Vietnamization Program, the Battalion began the turn over of village security responsibilities to the National Police and Popular Forces. By the end of the summer, most of the MPs working outpost duty were reassigned to to increase the size of the ambush and recon squads who were now focused on interdiction missions.

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2 August All outpost missions in the TAOR were terminated. B Company abandoned the two fortified command posts on Hill-15 and the Finger of Land. The fortifications at both locations were destroyed.

     The Village Outpost staffed from late 1967, OP-1 An Xuan, OP-2 Long Hung, OP-3 An Hoa Hung and OP-4 Long Bin Tan, were turned over to the operational control of their local Popular Forces units supported by the local National Police. All B Company personnel withdrawn from the facilities were committed to increased reconnaissance and ambush missions outside the villages.

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1969 Miscellaneous Photographs
A "?" following the photo number denotes further identifications are needed, and an Email Link is provided.
  SP/4 Rosenblatt with village children during a Civic Action Patrol.
  Members of a B Company Ambush Squad stop for a meal at a village cafe.
 PFC McGuffin and unidentified staff member in their quarters.
1970 ~ Operation STABILIZE Comes To An End
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June Members of the 212th MP Company (Sentry Dog) were utilizing the village for new handler orientation training.

25 July A result of the Vietnamization Program Operation STABILIZE came to an end when all support for all B Company missions in the Tactical Area of Responsibility were turned over to the Army of The Republic of South Vietnam (ARVN) and the 25th Infantry Division elements headquartered at Bearcat.
25th Infantry
Division
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1995 & 2006 ~ The Changes Are Evident
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 June 1995 PFC James R. Brunotte, B Company, 1968, was one of 13 members of the Point Man Ministries group to visit Vietnam on a missionary mission to Saigon and Song Be. The ministry is a non denominational organization comprised of civilians and veterans. While there he visited his old stomping ground in the Battalion TAOR. For additional details on Jim's visit go to Outpost-1.

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   The village area is very developed and the current highway (former Highway-317) has been moved closer to the village area. The location marked as the former Outpost-3 area was determined based on best estimates from war era photographs compared to the current satellite overview.
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