OUR PROUD HERITAGE
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OUR PROUD HERITAGE
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History
Summary The 9th Cavalry Division
has a proud and noble heritage. On
August 3, 1866, General Gen. Phillip Sheridan, commander of the Military
Division of the Gulf, was authorized to raise one regiment of African-American
cavalry that was to be designated the 9th Regiment. The regiment was
organized September 21, 1866, at Greenville, Louisiana, with Col.
Edward Hatch, a brevet Major General by the close of the Civil War,
commanding. The 9th Cavalry was ordered to Texas in June of 1867.
There it was charged with protecting stage and mail routes, building
and maintaining forts, and establishing law and order in a vast area
full of outlaws, Mexican revolutionaries, and raiding Comanches, Cheyennes,
Kiowas and Apaches. The early history of 9th Cavalry Regiment was closely tied to the movement of people and trade on the western plains and along the Mexican Border. These routes, a result of perceived "manifest destiny", extended the domination of the United States into the far reaches of a largely unsettled western plains and southwestern territories. More and more wagon trains loaded with settlers, rolling west, were being attacked by Indians. The Army, having large areas of territory to protect, established a number of military posts at strategic locations throughout the west. The 9th Regiment served with distinction-- and were highly decorated. They continued to patrol the frontier until the 1890s, and compiled an enviable record. The history of these "Buffalo Soldiers" as they came to be called is a fascinating one, involving several awards of the Congressional Medal of Honor. For details about the early campaigns of the 9th as well as subsequent adventures with the Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders in Cuba and "Blackjack" Pershing, please visit the official 1st Cavalry Division website at http://www.metronet.com/~harryb/1st_team/9th_rgmt/.
CHOPPERS
FOR HORSES After World War II, in 1946, a special board of the U.S. Marine Corps pursued an enthusiasm in the practicality of the helicopter for dispersion and deployment of troops. To explore this possibility the Marines established an experimental helicopter squadron, HMX-1. Some developments were achieved and some achievements developed; however, when the "police action" in Korea occurred much was still theory. While the First Cavalry was still an infantry division in Korea, the Marine helicopters of VMO-6 and HMR-161 were serving both the Army and the Marines, mostly with reconnaissance and medical missions. On a small scale the Army began to utilize OH-13 helicopters for similar purposes.
After a Soviet demonstration of troop-carrying helicopters at an official ceremony in 1956, American consideration of the new aerial concept was suddenly prompted with ambition. Still, innovations during peace time do not always receive priority attention and so it was that not until some five years later that the Howze Board was formed to specifically "develop and test" the airmobile potential in military tactics. On July 1, 1965, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara announced the formation of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). It was made up of resources of the 11th Air Assault Division (Test) and brought to full strength by transfer of specialized elements of the 2nd Infantry Division. As a part of this reorganization, the 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment was redesignated the 1st Squadron (Airborne), 9th Cavalry Regiment. On July 3, 1965, in Doughboy Stadium at Fort Benning, Georgia the colors of the 11th Air Assault Division (Test) were cased and retired. As the band played the rousing strains of Garry Owen, the colors of the 1st Cavalry Division were moved onto the field. Within 90 days of becoming the Army's first airmobile division, the First Team was back in combat as the first fully committed division of the Vietnam War. An advance party, on board C-124s and C-130s, arrived at Nha Trang between the 19th and 27th of August 1965. They joined with advance liaison forces and established a temporary base camp near An Khe, 36 miles inland from the coastal city of Qui Nhon. The remainder of the 1st Cavalry Division arrived by ship, landing at the harbor of Qui Nhon on the 12th and 13th of September, the 44th anniversary of the 1st Cavalry Division. In the Oriental calendar year of the "Horse", mounted soldiers had returned to war wearing the famous and feared patch of the First Cavalry Division. The First Team had entered its third war - and the longest tour of duty in combat history. On October 10, 1965, in "Operation Shiny Bayonet", the First Team initiated their first brigade-size airmobile action against the enemy. The air assault task force consisted of the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 7th Cavalry, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry and the 1st Battalion, 21st Artillery. Rather than standing and fighting, the Viet Cong chose to disperse and slip away. Only light contact was achieved. The troopers had but a short wait before they faced a tougher test of their fighting skills: the 35-day Pleiku Campaign. On October 23, 1965, the first real combat test came at the historic order of General Westmoreland to send the First Team into an air assault mission to pursue and fight the enemy across 2,500 square miles of jungle. Troopers of the 1st Brigade and 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry swooped down on the NVA 33rd regiment before it could get away from Plei Me. The enemy regiment was scattered in the confusion and was quickly smashed. The 3rd Brigade joined the fighting on November 9th. Five days later, the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry air assaulted into the Ia Drang Valley near the Chu Pong Massif. Landing Zone X-Ray was "hot" from the start. At Landing Zone X-ray, the Division's first Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War was awarded to 2nd Lt. Walter J. Marm of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry. The fighting - the most intensive combat in the history of the division - raged for three days. When the Pleiku Campaign ended on November 25th, troopers of the First Team had killed 3,561 North Vietnamese soldiers and captured 157 more. The troopers destroyed two of three regiments of a North Vietnamese Division, earning the first Presidential Unit Citation given to a division in Vietnam. The enemy had been given their first major defeat and the largely theoretical concept of air mobility had been battle-tested in what proved to be a major action of the war. The use of airmobile troops demonstrated a coordination and speed unknown in war at that time. On December 17th, after a short rest, the 3rd Brigade went into action to conduct a four day operation known as "Clean House" in the vicinity of Binh Khe, in Binh Dinh Province's Soui Ca Valley. From a position northeast of the valley, troopers moved down from high ground to sweep through suspected VC areas. From October 2nd-28th, "Operation Irving" was established to entrap Viet Cong soldiers who were fleeing Operation Thayer I. Operation Irving was one of a trio of operations launched by American, South Vietnamese and south Korean forces. The mission was intended to trap the enemy in a pocket between a group of hills and the coastline of Binh Dinh Province. The operations were complicated by a heavy concentration of civilians living in the operational area. Great care was taken to minimize civilian casualties. Trapped in a tight cordon, the enemy lost 2,063 killed. The free World Allies captured 2,071 NVA and Viet Cong troops - an unusually large number in Vietnam fighting. The 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. It was awarded for valor and aggressive pursuit of the enemy on October 2nd, after reinforcing a "Blue Team" platoon from "A" Troop 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment that was heavily engaged and outnumbered. On October 31st, Paul Revere IV was launched By the 2nd Brigade. Its units included; 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry; 2nd Battalion 12 Cavalry; Company "B" 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry and the 1st Battalion, 77th Artillery. The operation called for extensive search and destroy activities in the areas of Chu Pong and the IA Drang Valley, as well as along the Cambodian Border. With only one exception only light contact with the enemy was achieved. In midmorning of November 21st, Company "C", 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry was searching south of Duc Co along the border. Suddenly the 2nd Platoon began trading fire with a force of significant size. The 3rd Platoon tried to go to the aid of the 2nd Platoon but itself was surrounded by large numbers of North Vietnamese. The two units of outnumbered fought desperately. Artillery was called in on top of the position of the 3rd Platoon in a last ditch attempt to turn back the enemy. Both platoons were decimated by machine guns and grenades and overrun. One trooper, badly wounded, survived. The 101 "C" Regiment of the 10th NVA Division paid a very high price for its victory. It lost nearly 150 of their men. On December 27th Operation Paul Revere IV was closed out and 2nd Brigade troopers added their strength to Operation Thayer II. On November 1st, troopers of the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry and 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry were engaged in a sharp fight with the 93rd Battalion of the 2nd VC Regiment. This action took place in the vicinity of National Route 1 and Dam Tra-O Lake south of Gay Giep Mountains. At least 43 Viet Cong died during the nine-hour battle. A month later, as Thayer II continued, the infantry platoon of Troop "C", 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry drew fire from a large enemy force in the Hamlet of Phu Huu. The embattled platoon was relieved 90 minutes later by two platoons from "B", Company 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry. These troops arrived on the run from a nearby operation to help engage the well-entrenched enemy. The fighting continued through the day and into the night. On December 2nd, the next morning the troopers advanced into the hamlet and found that most of their adversaries had fled. The wounded NVA revealed that three platoons had driven off an enemy battalion. On December 9th, a five day effort to evacuate all the civilians from Kim Son Valley, "Operation Rover", was launched. On December 17th, heavy contact was made in the Highway 506 Valley, just east of the Kim Son Valley. "C" Company, 8th Cavalry Regiment spotted and went after an enemy squad moving into the valley. Aircraft, called in to help, drew heavy ground fire from several positions. The infantry platoon of "A" Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry made an air assault into the valley and ran into heavy resistance. The 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry was also brought in, along with four infantry companies and two platoons from the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry. The First Team units attempted to encircle the enemy force who had "dug in". The encirclement was not complete and many of the enemy troops escaped at night. In a final sweep of the battle area on December 19th, 93 bodies of the enemy were found. On February 13, 1967, Operation Pershing began in a territory which was familiar to many skytroopers, the Bong Son Plain in northern Binh Dinh Province. For the first time, the First Cavalry Division committed all three of its brigades to the same battle area. ARVN soldiers familiar with the Bong Son Plain helped the skytroopers locate and eliminate the numerous caves and tunnels occupied by the enemy. Pershing became a tedious unglamorous mission that produced only 18 engagements in its 11 months. The use of Armored Personnel Carriers (APC's) of the 1st Battalion (mechanized), 50th Infantry Division, figured prominently in the battle of Tam Quan in December. The lumbering vehicles eased the dangerous task of assaulting the NVA's bunkers and entrenchments. Other units involved in the Tam Quan actions that smashed the enemy were 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, Company "B", 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry and the ARVN 40th Regiment. The division began 1968 by terminating Operation Pershing, the longest of the 1st Cavalry's Vietnam actions. When the operation ended on January 21st, the enemy had lost 5,401 soldiers and 2,400 enemy soldiers had been captured. In addition, some 1,300 individual and 137 crew weapons had been captured or destroyed.
Moving to I Corps, Vietnam's northern most tactical zone, the division set up Camp Evans for their base camp. On January 31, 1968, amid the celebration of the Vietnamese New Year, the enemy launched the Tet Offensive, a major effort to overrun South Vietnam. Some 7,000 enemy, well equipped, crack NVA regulars blasted their way into the imperial city of Hue, overpowering all but a few pockets of resistance held by ARVN troops and the US Marines. Within 24 hours, the invaders were joined by 7,000 NVA reinforcements. Almost simultaneously to the North of Hue, five battalions of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong attacked Quang Tri City, the capital of Vietnam's northern province. The 1st Brigade was not far from Quang Tri when the attacks began and was soon called to help the ARVN defenders. Four companies of skytroopers from the 1st Battalions of the 5th and 12 Cavalry Regiments quickly arrived at hot LZs around the Valley of Thon An Thai, just east of Quang Tri. The troopers knocked out the heavy weapons support of the NVA and squeezed the enemy from the rear. The enemy soon broke off the Quang Tri attack and split into small groups in an attempt to escape. For the next ten days, they would find themselves hounded by the 1st Brigade. In the meantime, the 3rd Brigade had been given the difficult mission of driving the Communists from Hue and the surrounding areas. On February 2nd, the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry made an initial assault outside of an ARVN outpost named PK-17, 10 kilometers northwest of Hue. On February 5th, under dense fog conditions the battalion spotted the NVA troops at a rice-farming hamlet named Thon La Chu. The strength of the enemy was estimated to be 1,000 troops. The advance, under small arms fire, was slowed due to the lack of artillery support. Finally, the pilots of two aerial rocket artillery helicopters bravely flew through the fog and blasted the enemy. The barrage opened the way for the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment to made its first gains against the invaders. The battle for Thon La Chu was far from being finished. They traded fire for two days and nights constantly, then the skytroopers the enemy with a risky night march. At sunrise of February 5th, the brigade was positioned on a hill overlooking the North Vietnamese. By February 11th, the enemy was blocked both on the north and south, but remained too strong and well entrenched for a frontal attack. On February 11th and 12th the brigade freed Thon La Chu and moved toward Hue where much of the fighting would be house to house. The 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry blocked the escape route to the west. Two more battalions of the 1st Cavalry Division also joined in the fight. The 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry was stalled for a day by heavy enemy fire a kilometer outside Hue. The artillery blasted the NVA positions and the "Garry Owen" unit linked up with its Bravo Company which had made an air assault into Hue. At this point, the NVA and Viet Cong invaders were driven from Hue by late February. The Tet offensive was over. The NVA and Viet Cong had suffered a massive defeat, with 32,000 killed and 5,800 captured. After shattering the enemy's dreams of a Tet military victory, the 1st Cavalry Division "Sky-Troopers" initiated Operation Pegasus to relieve the 3,500 US Marines and 2,100 ARVN soldiers besieged by nearly 20,000 enemy soldiers. On April 1,1968, the 3rd Brigade, making a massive air assault within 5 miles of Khe Sanh, were soon followed by the 1st and 2nd Brigades and three ARVN Battalions. Company "A", 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry led the way, followed by Company "C", 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry. After four days of tough fighting, they marched into Khe Sanh to take over the defense of the battered base. Pursing the retreating North Vietnamese, the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry recaptured the Special Forces camp at Lang Vei uncovering large stockpiles of supplies and ammunition. The final statistics of Operation Pegasus were 1,259 enemy killed and more than 750 weapons captured. On April 19, 1968, Operation Delaware was launched into the cloud-shrouded A Shau Valley, near the Laotian border and 45 kilometers west of Hue. None of the Free World Forces had been in the valley since 1966, which was now being used as a way station on the supply route known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The first engagement was made by the 1st and 3rd Brigades. Under fire from mobile, 37-mm cannon and 0.50-caliber machine guns, they secured several landing zones. For the next month the brigades scoured the valley floor, clashing with enemy units and uncovering huge enemy caches of food, arms, ammunition, rockets, and Russian made tanks and bulldozers. By the time that Operation Delaware was ended on May 17th, the favorite Viet Cong sanctuary had been thoroughly disrupted. In late 1968, the Division moved and set up operations in III Corps at the other end of South Vietnam. In February 1969, Operation Cheyenne Sabre began in areas northeast of Bien Hoa. In November, an important discovery, that proved costly to the enemy, was along the border between II Corps and III Corps. "B" Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry found another canopy-concealed infiltration route and named it the "Jolley Trail" after the troop commander, Major Charles A. Jolley. By jungle standards the Jolley Trail was an elaborate, high-speed roadway. It was paved with bamboo matting and lined every hundreds of yards with bunkers and bomb shelters. The trail was blasted by air strikes and patrolled repeatedly by 1st Cavalry helicopters and troopers on the ground. The year 1969 ended in a high note for the 1st Cavalry Division. The enemy's domination of the northern areas of III Corps had been smashed - thoroughly. On May 1, 1970, the First Team was "First into Cambodia" hitting what was previously a Communist sanctuary. President Nixon has given the go-ahead for the surprise mission. Pushing into the "Fish Hook" region of the border and occupied the towns of Mimot and Snoul. Troopers deprived the enemy of much needed supplies and ammunition, scattering the enemy forces. The Cambodian Operation far exceeded all expectations and proved to be one of the most successful operations of the First Team. All aspects of ground and air combat were utilized. The campaign had severe political repercussions in the United States for the Nixon Administration. Pressure was mounting to remove America's fighting men from the Vietnam War. Although there would be further assault operations, the war was beginning to wind down for many troopers. The efforts of the 1st Cavalry Division were not limited to direct enemy engagements but also, using the experiences gained during the occupation of Japan and Korea, encompassed the essential rebuilding of the war torn country of South Vietnam. As a result of its' gallant performance, the regiment was awarded two presidential Unit Citations and the Valorous Unit Citation. Although March 26, 1971, officially marked the end of duties in Vietnam for the 1st Cavalry Division, President Nixon's program of "Vietnamization" required the continued presence of a strong US fighting force. The 3rd Brigade (Reinforced), commanded by Brigadier General Jonathan R. Burton, included a battalion from each of the four cavalry regiments; the 2nd Battalion of the 5th Regiment; 1st Battalion of the 7th Regiment; 2nd Battalion of the 8th Regiment and 1st Battalion of the 12th Regiment along with specialized support units as "F" Troop, 9th Cavalry and Delta Company, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion helped establish the 3rd Brigade headquarters at Bien Hoa. Its primary mission was to interdict enemy infiltration and supply routes in War Zone D. The 3rd Brigade was well equipped with helicopters from the 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion and later, a battery of "Blue Max", aerial field units and two air cavalry troops. A QRF (Quick Reaction Force) - known as "Blue Platoons", was maintained in support of any air assault action. The "Blues" traveled light, fought hard and had three primary missions; 1) to form a "field force" around any helicopter downed by enemy fire or mechanical failure; 2) to give quick backup to Ranger Patrols who made enemy contact; and 3) to search for enemy trails, caches and bunker complexes. "Blue Max", "F" Battery, 79th Aerial Field Artillery, was another familiar aerial artillery unit. Greatly appreciated by troopers of the 1st Cavalry, its heavily armed Cobras flew a variety of fire missions in support of the operations of the 3rd Brigade. The pilots of "Blue Max" were among the most experienced combat fliers in the Vietnam War. Many had volunteered for the extra duty to cover the extended stay of the 1st Cavalry Division. Most of the initial combat for the new brigade involved small skirmishes. But the actions became bigger and more significant. Two engagements in May of 1971, were typical operations. On May 12th, the third platoon, Delta Company, 2/5th tangled with enemy forces holed up in bunker complexes. With help from the Air Force and 3rd Brigade Gunships, the troopers captured the complex. Fifteen days later, helicopters of Bravo Troop, 1/9th received ground fire while conducting a reconnaissance mission over a large bunker complex. Air strikes were called in and the troopers overran the complex. Early in June, intelligence detected significant enemy movement toward the center of Long Khanh Province and its capital, Xuan Loc. On June 14th, Delta Company of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry ran into an ambush in heavy jungle and engaged a company-sized enemy unit. The troopers were pinned down in a well-sprung trap. Cavalry field artillery soon pounded their North Vietnamese positions and heavy Cobra fire from Blue Max, "F" Battery of the 79th Aerial Field Artillery, swept down on the enemy positions keeping pressure on the withdrawing North Vietnamese throughout the night. The Brigade's timely movements had thwarted the enemy build up north of Xuan Loc. By March 31st, 1972, only 96,000 US troops were involved in the Vietnam combat operations. In mid June 1972, the standdown ceremony for the 3rd Brigade was held in Bein Hoa and the colors were returned to the United States. The last trooper left from Tan Son Nhut on June 21st, completing the division recall which had started on May 5, 1971. With the 3rd Brigade completing their withdraw, the 1st Cavalry had been the first army division to go to Vietnam and the last to leave. (For more details including anecdotal accounts, refer to LTC Hilbert Chole’s work, “Historical Summary, 1st Squadron 9th Air Cavalry - The Vietnam Years”, which was distributed at the 2000 Reunion of the Bullwhip Squadron and may be obtained by contacting him. This is an excellent resource about Bravo Troop heroics in Vietnam plus reports and narratives about the supporting Alpha and Charlie Troops) Vietnam Citations - 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Squadron (Note: citations are those of the Squadron unless otherwise noted.)
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©
Loretta Stager 2000-2005 All rights reserved. Duplication
of any part of this web site is strictly prohibited.
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The Cavalry during World War
II
Bravo Troop in Vietnam -- 1968
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