The Vietnam Story

Question 1

What was the first battle in the Vietnam War?

Answer 1

Ia Drang Valley

Question 2

What is the Ia Drang Valley?

Answer 2

It is located in South Vietnam’s Central Highlands. It is a very rugged area.

Question 3

Why was the village of Plieku strategically important to the defense of South Vietnam?

Answer 3

If the North Vietnamese overran Plieku, Route 19 to Qui Nhon on the coast would be wide open and could cause more trouble for South Vietnam.

Question 4

Who was Lt. Col during the Ia Drang battle?

Answer 4

Moore

Question 5

Who was Moore compared to?

Answer 5

General Custer

Question 6

What was the American helicopter landing zone at the Ia Drang battle?

Answer 6

Landing Zone X-Ray (aka Ia Drang Valley)

Question 7

What was our first mission at the Ia Drang battle?

Answer 7

Search and Destroy mission

Question 8

What was our first attack?

Answer 8

Capturing prisoners

Question 9

What did some of the captured prisoners reveal to us?

Answer 9

The prisoner warns us that Vietnamese are loaded and ready to kill Americans when they see them. We should know we are being targeted now.

Question 10

On Day 1 of the battle, who made a costly mistake?

Answer 10

Lt. Herrick and his platoon

Question 11

What did Herrick’s mistake make them?

Answer 11

the lost platoon

Question 12

What was the mistake made by Herrick?

Answer 12

His platoon went up the finger of land, and he found some enemy troops.

Question 13

When Herrick saw Vietnamese troops, what did each side initially do?

Answer 13

Then, the North Vietnamese fled and Herrick responded by putting his men in hot pursuit.

Question 14

What happened to Herrick’s men when they were in hot pursuit?

Answer 14

As they charged in hot pursuit of the enemy, they ran into 150 North Vietnamese headed down the mountain and his platoon were surrounded.

Question 15

After Herrick’s men ran into the NVA soldiers, what happened to them?

Answer 15

Many of Herrick’s men were wounded, killed, and the rest were completely driven out.

Question 16

What did PAVN stand for?

Answer 16

People’s Army of Vietnam

Question 17

What army was the army that surrounded Herrick’s men?

Answer 17

PAVN

Question 18

Describe the PAVN.

Answer 18

North Vietnamese regulars in khaki battle dress, their pith helmets camouflaged with clumps of elephant grass. They were armed with many AK-47s and other weapons such as grenades and machine guns.

Question 19

When did the first firings at Ia Drang begin?

Answer 19

The North Vietnamese wanted to shoot down our American helicopters at the landing zone.

Question 20

What did the NVA learn about fighting us at the Ia Drang?

Answer 20

They needed more weapons to fight us

Question 21

What could have closed Ia Drang for the Americans?

Answer 21

If the Chinese-made antiaircraft machine guns were deployed on Chu Pong Mountain, they could have shut it down on us.

Question 22

Who was in charge of our helicopters at Ia Drang during the shooting?

Answer 22

Crandall

Question 23

What were the most feared rounds of battle attacks?

Answer 23

willie-peter rounds

Question 24

What caused the US to go to a willie-peter round at Ia Drang?

Answer 24

When Moore’s artillery’s batteries ran out of smoke shells, they substituted them with white phosphorous shells.

Question 25

What happens during a willie-peter round?

Answer 25

Tiny flaming fragments were scattered around, which laid down a choking cloud of white smoke.

Question 26

What did Moore order on sunrise of Day 2 of the battle?

Answer 26

Scouts to go out and survey the area

Question 27

What happened to the surveying scouts on Day 2?

Answer 27

The scouts ran into 300 North Vietnamese soldiers, who attacked the scouts while crawling on their hands and knees.

Question 28

What did the scouts do in response to this attack?

Answer 28

The scouts pulled back as quickly as possible and reported the news back.

Question 29

What did the scouts reporting the news back do for the troops for the US?

Answer 29

It warned them of the NVA around the area and possibly saved them from an attack if the scouts had not gone out at first.

Question 30

What happens when a shell “cooks off”?

Answer 30

When it explodes before it leaves the tube

Question 31

Why did so many shells cook off in the Ia Drang battle?

Answer 31

Water was so scarce at the moment and water was needed to cool down the mortars and control the shells from cooking off.

Question 32

In response to the water scarcity, what did soldiers do to prevent shells from cooking off?

Answer 32

They stood and urinated on the mortars to cool them down.

Question 33

What is a mad minute?

Answer 33

When a general ordered every man on the line on his signal to shoot anything in front of their lines that worried them and keep shooting randomly and rapidly.

Question 34

Who created the Mad Minute? What time of day was it done?

Answer 34

Moore, he did it at his signal at 6:55.

Question 35

Who's unit left X-Ray on Day 4 that caused trouble?

Answer 35

McDade

Question 36

Describe the background leading up to McDade's mistake.

Answer 36

An experienced commander in Tully radioed McDade and offered to have his artillery specialist relay the correct coordinates to McDade’s artillery man so that McDade's men would be safe on their way out of X-Ray.

Question 37

What was McDade's mistake?

Answer 37

McDade said that was not necessary to hear coordination relays and he left without hearing the information.

Question 38

What did McDade's mistake lead to?

Answer 38

A report by scouts as McDade approached the la Drang River.

Question 39

What had McDade's men done as they were leaving Vietnam?

Answer 39

McDade’s unit had captured two Vietnamese prisoners and spent 20 minutes questioning them.

Question 40

What did their questioning lead to?

Answer 40

This led the enemy to set up an L-shaped ambush.

Question 41

What were the effects of the ambush by the enemy?

Answer 41

Charlie Company lost 20 men and many others wounded.

Question 42

What was McDade's other mistake during the ambush?

Answer 42

When he heard shooting, he thought it was a shootout between Americans. He didn't know what was really happening and did not hear about the enemy's involvement.