The Screaming Eagle, Volume 1, Number 25, July 15, 1968 Page: 2 of 9
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Nevada Eagle
Nets 204 Tons
Of Enemy Rice
CAMP EAGLE-Paratroopers from the 1st and 2nd
Brigades continued the rice denial phase of Operation
Nevada Eagle near Hue recently, raising their total of
grain captured to 204 tons in six weeks.
Screaming Eagles from B Co., 1st Bn. (Abn), 501st
Inf. seized 4,500 pounds of rice while searching an area
four miles northwest of the imperial city. Then C Co.,
1st Bn. (Abn), 502nd Inf. located 1,200 pounds of enemyBEATS WALKING-After completing a village sweep during Operation Nevada Eagle, paratroopers of
the 2nd Squadron (Abn), 17th Cav. and Vietnamese soldiers of the 2nd Bn., 3rd Inf., 1st ARVN Div.
crowd on a tank while returning to their base camp southeast of Hue.
(Photo by Sgt. Ormer Rogers)
Use New TacticsPHUOC VINH - Paratroopers
from the 3rd Brigade caught the
enemy off guard near here re-
cently with a surprise night heli-
borne assault, killing four Viet
Cong and detaining five sus-
pects.
"As far as I can determine,
this was the first time this sort
of thing has ever been done in
Vietnam," said Maj. John B.
Sharp, Excelsier Springs, Mo.,
brigade operations officer, as
he described the method of de-
ployment.
No Prep Fire
Two battalions were inserted
without previous artillery prep-
erations on the landing zones
(LZ's) as the paratroopers be-
gan the cordon and search of a
suspected Viet Cong staging
area.
The only warning the enemy
had was the sudden appearance
of 1 million-candle-power flares
dropped by the Air Force.
Airborne infantrymen f r o m
the 3rd Bn. (Abn), 187th Inf. hit
the three strategic LZ's without
interference. As the element of
surprise faded, however, part
of the 2nd Bn. (Abn), 506th Inf.
was forced to land on a "hot"
LZ.
Choppers Hit
Tracer bullets criss-crossed
the sky as the enemy attempted
to down the troop-bearing heli-
copters. Three "choppers" in
trail were hit by enemy cross-
fire, but no one was injured.
Before dawn the paratroopershad completely sealed off the
villages and a helicopter hov-
ered overhead broadcasting in-
structions in Vietnamese to the
inhabitants.
Police Search
At daybreak Vietnamese Na-
tional Po1ice, aided by the
Screaming Eagles, began their
search. Suspects were held for
questioning.
One revealed that he was a
member of an NVA regiment.vc
Another turned out to be the ex-
ecutive officer of an enemy
medical group.
Meanwhile C o b r a gunships
flew overhead in support of the
ground action. Six enemy sam-
pans were blasted from a neigh-
boring river while trying to es-
cape the trap.
The four enemy soldiers were
killed as they tried to break
through the encircling para-
troopers.rice in a hut one mile east of
Hue also.
The next day, paratroopers
from the same battalion uncov-
ered three tons of rice while
searching atbunkerrcomplex
four miles northwest of the city.
While patrolling an area five
miles east of Hue, airborne
infantrymen from C Co, 1st Bn.
(Abn), 501st Inf. captured 2,400
pounds of rice shortly after
engaging a group of NVA, kill-
ing two.
Meanwhile5asunit of the 1st
Bn. (Abn), 501st Inf. captured
three tons of rice hidden in a
small pagoda five miles north
of Hue.
Twelve kills were scored by
2nd B r i g a d e paratroopers,
ARVN rangers and district Viet-
namese soldiers in the coastal
plains east of Hue.
ARVN soldiers met little re-
sistance as they swept through
the villages. Paratroopers from
the 1st Bn. (Abn), 501st Inf.
engaged the retreating enemy,
killing two and detaining 20
suspects.
A company of the 1st Bn.
(Abn), 502nd Inf. killed seven
enemy and captured three
weapons in a contact five miles
northwest of Hue. Sweeping the
area, the paratroopers foundfour tons of rice hidden under a
haystack.
Paratroopers of the 1st Bn.
(Abn), 501st Inf. discovered two
caches containing morethant14
tons of rice while conducting
reconnaissance-in-force opera-
tions four miles east of the city.
Total enemy body count for
the week was 22.
Field Haircuti
PHUOC VINH - Field ex-
pedience expanded into t h e
realm of haircuts for paratroop-
ers of the 3rd Brigade north of
here recently.
Company A, 1st Bn. (Abn),
506th Inf. was stationed on an
isolated hill when 1st Sgt. Don-
ald W. Larimore, Greenville,
Ala., saw his men begin to look
a bit shaggy.
He lined up his troops,
reached into his rucksack and
produced a pair of clippers.
"Hair really started to fly,"
said Spec. 4 John Polk, Ft. At-
kinson, Wis., one of the men.
"It was kind of like sheep
sheering," said Lt. Stephen Hay-
ward, Bath, Me., as he rubbed
his slick head. "At least you
can't beat the prices."Trooper's Memory
Brings Viet Smiles
PHUOC VINH-A paratrooper's m e m o r y of fun
shared during recess in grade school led to the acquisition
of playground equipment for the village school here r-
cently.
"I noticed that the children just stood around be-
cause there was nothing to play on," said Spec. 4 Daniel
Cross, Long Beach, Calif., of 2nd Bn. (Abn), 506th Inf."It was nothing like when
Cross talked to the battalion
civil affairs officer, Lt. Melvin
Rittner, Blissville, Mich., and
suggested they try to help.
Rittner began to observe the
government-run grade school
located outside the front gate of
the 3rd Brigade base camp.
"These children were playing?-
The Screaming Eagle is an authorized Army newspaper published weekly by the
101st Airborne Division, RVN. for military personnel. Views and opinions expressed in
this publication are not necessarily those at the Department at the Army. Reproduction
of all material other than copyrighted items is authorized. Address all communications
to: Editor, Screaming Eagle, Headquarters, 101st Airborne Division, APO San Francisco
96383. Printed in Tokyo, Japan, by Pacitic Stars and Stripes.
Circulation 15,000
Commanding General . . Maj. Gen. O.M. Barsanti
Information Officer. . . Maj. Bobby J. Bishop
Officer-in-Charge Lt. Samuel B. Huff
Editor ...... .. .. . .. Spec. 5 Jack HurstI went to school."
the only thing they were famil-
iar with-the good guys against
the bad," he said. "That was
when they played at all. Most
of them just seemed to wander
aimlessly."
The only playground equip-
ment was a dilapidated set of
swings.
Rittner outlined his idea to
Staff Sgt. E r n e s t Mattin,
Eugene, Ore., of C Co, 34th En-
gineer Bn. Two days later, Pfc.
Alfred C. Flatt, Gainsboro,
Tenn., moved into the school
yard with a 2 -ton truck load
of building materials.
By the end of the day, four
seesaws were installed and the
swing set restored. The children
swarmed over their new play-
ground equipment amid laugh-
ter and squeals of happiness.
"This is the way it should
be," Rittner said. "These chil-
dren should be happy just like
we used to be."WORKING OUT-Airborne artillerymen of C Btry., 1st Rn. (Abn),
321st Arty., worked rapidly under intense heat to repel an enemy
mortar and small arms attack on Landing Zone (LZ) Henry, a
division fire support base north of Hue.
(Photo by Spec. 4 Paul Higgs)3rd
Bde
Surprises
Page 2
The Screaming Eagle
July 15, 1968
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United States. Army. Airborne Division, 101st. The Screaming Eagle, Volume 1, Number 25, July 15, 1968, periodical, July 15, 1968; San Francisco, California. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1600078/m1/2/: accessed June 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.