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Return To 1969 Index

Last Updated 21 October 2014

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18th MP Brigade

89th MP Group

720th MP Battalion

PFC Clair Lloyd Westlake, Jr. (A Company) age 21 was an enlistee from Mexico, Missouri. His tour began on 10 April 1968, and he came to the Battalion as a transfer from the 52nd Infantry Regiment (Rifle Security) on 1 December 1968. The 52nd fielded two companies, C in Saigon and D on Long Binh Post, and both were attached subordinate to the 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade. Clair was assigned to the 2nd Platoon of A Company, and worked convoy security escort.

     PFC Westlake died from injuries received as the result of a jeep equipment failure in Bien Hoa Province on or about 31 December 1968. He was the machine gunner on an escort, and was sitting on the spare tire mounted on the rear of the jeep. The tire mount broke free dropping him onto the roadway. He was rushed to one of the field hospitals on Long Binh Post by a Medevac, and a call for blood donors was issued throughout the Battalion. As the long line of donors formed at the hospital, word was received that he died. PFC Westlake was one of twenty American servicemen to die that day in Vietnam. PFC Westlake’s name is etched on The Wall of the Vietnam Memorial on Panel 35W - Row 018.

PFC Westlake

PFC William John Hayes (B Company) age 20 was an enlistee from Rockaway Beach, New York. His MOS was Construction Equipment Repair, and his tour of duty started on 19 June 1968. The available records do not indicate how or when he came to the Battalion and B Company. He was assigned to an ambush and recon squad. It’s said that everyone has a breaking point, and some can better handle pressure where others cannot. They also say a person’s temperament can negatively influence their ability to interact with their peers, depending on the nature of the pressure, and their surroundings. There were stories that Hayes had a quick temper, especially when drinking. Yet no one could recall his quick temper ever resulting in a physical confrontation. A friend recalled that PFC Hayes had received word of a problem at home, a relationship crisis, or as he told his friend, a Dear John letter. Another friend recalled that, he asked for an emergency leave to go home because of the letter, and was denied. What is known is that on the night of 2 January he discussed the letter with some acquaintances in another squad after drinking a few beers, and then left their barracks. They thought he was going back to his barracks to write a letter home.

PFC Hayes

82nd Airborne

     Departing at dark, the ambush team traveled the 4 klicks from the Steel Bridge in An Hoa Hung to the site via their seven man rubber raft.

     The timing whether planned or not was perfect, if there had been a delay of only a few minutes, they would have faced a head-to-head water-borne firefight from the raft. Within minutes of hiding the raft and setting up, two sampans were observed coming down river (north) towards their position and moving fast. As they approached closer, the squad could see the moonlight gleaming from the water on the new wooden paddles each time they raised them for another stroke. The squad had no problem seeing that the three occupants in each sampan were uniformed, wearing NVA style pith helmets and Khaki shirts. Watson sprang the ambush with an M-72 LAW, and the others followed with their M-16’s.

     The lead sampan rolled over when the LAW rocket hit, and the squad’s rifle fire splashed the water around it. The second sampan made a hard left turn and headed for the west bank under continuous rifle fire from the squad. Once it disappeared into the darkness of the far bank, the distinct cherry red muzzle flashes and sounds from the return fire of three enemy AK’s allowed the squad to accurately redirect their fire towards their position.

1LT Mendez

1LT Chavis

CPL Watson

PFC Lee

PFC Pye

     NVA Regulars ambushed the trail elements of the Tay Ninh Convoy. The C Company MP escorts that passed by before the ambush was launched returned to the kill-zone and set up a machine gun position to render suppression fire on the enemy so the trapped vehicles could move out. While under the enemy's heavy barrage of RPG’s, mortars, heavy machine gun and small arms fire, the exposed escorts placed their suppression fire on the enemy positions, allowing for several wounded truckers to be evacuated from their disabled vehicles. Once the enemy withdrew, the MP’s helped the responding reaction force in conducting a sweep operation through the area.

     There were three U.S. soldiers killed in action, five wounded, and eight vehicles destroyed. The C Company escorts sustained no casualties during the fight. Elements of the 25th Infantry Division that supported the convoy reported one-hundred twenty-two enemy bodies recovered from the field, sixty enemy wounded, two AK-47 rifles, one RPG launcher with ten rounds, and two .50 caliber machine guns were captured.

     Three of the C Company MP's, SGT Robert Keil from Kirkwood, New York, SP/4's Robert Merryweather from Valley, Nebraska, and PFC James C. Sala from Marshfield, Wisconsin were later awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor for their actions.

SGT Keil

SP/4 Merryweather

PFC Sala

 

     Operations (S-3) Daily Log from 89th MP Group was used for this page. Only those log entrees identified as being directly related to 720th MP Battalion Operations have been listed.

0001 Hours Journal Opened.

0435 Hours, Road Safety Conditions SGT Fortin, S3 720th MP Battalion, reported no change in road condition report.

0810 Hours, Tay Ninh Convoy SGT Zamaloff, S3 720th MP Battalion, reported the Tay Ninh Convoy departed Long Binh Post at 0705 hours (7:05AM), with 64 vehicles.

0845 Hours, Blackhorse Convoy SGT Zamaloff, S3 720th MP Battalion, reported the Blackhorse (Xuan Loc) Convoy departed Long Binh Post at 0840 hours (8:40AM), with 16 vehicles.

1530 Hours, Soc Trang Detachment CPT Roy notified LT Jones, 212th MP Company, that Post #4 Soc Trang Air Base will remain as is. Post #5 will be increased as per instruction of COL Monroe.

1600 Hours, Blackhorse Convoy SGT Zamaloff, S3 720th MP Battalion, notified this office that the Blackhorse [Xuan Loc] Convoy arrived at Long Binh Post at 1600 hours with 16 vehicles and no incidents.

1700 Hours, POW Status POW and MP Guard Report; 74th Field Hospital, 217 POW’s and 17 MP Guards.

1813 Hours, Tay Ninh Convoy SGT Zamaloff, S3 720th MP Battalion, reported that the Tay Ninh Convoy returned to Long Binh Post at 1810 hours with 58 vehicles without incident.

2400 Hours Journal Closed.

199th LI Brigade