Saturday, December 13, 2014

THE ROAD TO DUONG SON (2)--1965//PART001


TO COMMO FROM JC SUBJ  ROAD CONST BY 3RD ENGINEERS

THIS FOUND IN 3RD ENGINEERS COMMAND CHRONOLOGY DATED  OCT, 65:

"BLACKBOX MSR"--







...c. Road and Bridge Construction.
(1) 2/9-3/9  MSR: This project started in late August, continued through the month of September. It consisted of building a road to the immediate east of an existing elevated railroad bed, from (AT998705 to Duong Son (2) (AT990676). This route offered terrain slightly above the paddies which flank the railroad bed and was the best site other than the railroad bed itself.   During the first two weeks  work proceeded satisfactorily. One bridge was built and 7 culverts installed. 725 cubic yards of laterite were hauled and spread on the roadway. Work on the project was completed on 13 September 1965. A combination of rain, starting on 16 September 1965, and the heavy traffic of 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines support operations caused the road to deteriorate rapidly and it became...




untrafficable to all except light and tracked vehicles. On 17 September work resumed by the 3rd Platoon, "C" Company under the command of 2ndLt T. M. Rodriguez, who had been assigned originally. The period 17-21 September was spent in repairing the damage done and opening the road vital traffic. This consisted of scraping the road and draining standing water. Since laterite by itself had proved to be a poor material for all-weather road base (although with good weather, the best available due to the scarcity of crushed rock), a combination use of this fill and sand was started and by 21 September 1965 the road was open to 15 T traffic. Fill and grading operations continued until 26 September 1965. 815 cubic yards of fill distributed on the road. On 25 September 1965 permission was obtained to use the railroad itself and work was started removing the rails and ties. By 30 September 1965 all sections of rail had been unbolted and 400 yards of rail and ties removed and stockpiled. During this period the original road was improved and kept open to all traffic.




 




DUONG SON (2) BECAME THE CP OF 27TH MARINES REGIMENTAL COMMAND.



TO COMMO FROM JC SUBJ  ROAD CONST BY 3RD ENGINEERS


Thursday, December 11, 2014

DUONG SON (2) IN 1965

http://www.marines.mil/Portals/59/Publications/U.S.%20Marines%20in%20Vietnam_The%20Landing%20and%20the%20Buildup%201965%20%20PCN%2019000307600_2.pdf

The provisional battalion had served its purpose,
in that the 9th Marines was able to begin the oc-
cupation of its new TAOR. Of particular concern
was the area to the south of the Cau Do. The 9th
Marines area of responsibility now extended to the
South China Sea on the east, the Yen River on the
west, and approximately three and a half miles to the
south of the Song Cau Do, about 30 square miles in
all. This entire region was densely populated with
innumerable clusters of villages and hamlets. The
term ''village''
in Vietnam denoted an admini-
strative unit, while the true local community was the
hamlet, several hamlet clusters making up a village.
An example of the confusion this caused for III MAF
staffs was the fact that in the 9th Marines TAOR
there were six hamlets with the name of Cam Ne and
three Duong Sons, identified only by a parenthetical
number alter the hamlet name. Often the hamlets
had different names from that of their administrative
village, while clusters had no names at all, or none
that the Americans could determine

 A Buddhist
priest who lived in one of the Duong Son hamlets
furnished the Marines with some basic intelligence of
the VC strength and organization, typical of the area.
He revealed
that
the Viet Cong maintained a
roadhiock near the railroad tracks between Duong
Son (2) and (3) manned by a four-man squad. A 40-
man VC force which lived in his village was con-
tructing bunkers, foxholes, punji traps, and setting in
booby traps.


With General Thi's concurrence, the Marines
entered the new TAOR on 12 July; Lieutenant
Colonel Scharnberg's 2d Battalion moved into the
vicinity of Duong Son (1), a mile south of the Phong
Le Bridge. While two companies formed a perimeter
defense around the hamlet, Company B, 1st Bat-
talion, 9th Marines, moved through the hamlet. The
Marines from Company B met strong resistance;
three men were killed and four wounded.


  the two Marine
companies in Duong Son (1) continued to receive fire
from Cam Ne (2) directly to the west and from
Duong Son (2) to the south. Throughout July and
into August, the Marine units encountered re-
sistance in the area.


MAP FROM 9TH MARINES RECON REPORT: (08/07/1965)
 2D BN 9TH MARINES - Special Report
Debriefing of Recon Patrol - Dong Son (2)
Covering Aug-65 dated 8/7/1965 Document No. 1201056039