Loss of company personnel due to enemy action was five killed and 14 wounded during the year. Combined LRRP Units Roster Unit Roster The men on this roster are some of the bravest men that served in Vietnam. K/75th Rangers continued field operations in Vietnam until 22 November 1970. The activation of the 75th Infantry in no way disrupts the CARS. In World War II and Korea the following organizations were considered to be special mission units: The Ranger Battalions (lst6th Battalions); and 1st Special Service Force; the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) and the Ranger Companies (lst_5th, 8th and the 8th Army Ranger Company). Captain Tedrick conducted an extra week of tropical training following the regular two-week course. Twelve operational teams of six men each composed entirely of enlisted personnel. The month of November was the last operational month for L Co Rangers in Vietnam. For the next 32 years until 2001 Rangers were known by their distinctive Black Beret. With the redesignation of the LRPs to 75th Infantry Regiment companies in 1969, additional Army Reserve National Guard (ARNG) Ranger-style companies were organized. The following day Operation BINH TAY I, the invasion of Cambodias Ratanaktri Province, was initiated. Operating in the Nhi Binh area, from late February to the middle of May, the Rangers conducted numerous operations gathering valuable intelligence data an enemy activity in the area as wen as accounting for five (5) VC KIA. In addition, Company G received three (3)Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm as a valorous unit citation (VOC) and was also accredited with TET Counteroffensive 69, Counteroffensive VI, Counteroffensive Summer-Fall 1969, Sanctuary Counteroffensive, Counteroffensive Phase VII, Consolidation I, Consolidation II, and Cease Fire. Their training is arduous and specialized. 3. Finally, nearly 50 American Advisors were killed while fighting alongside their Vietnamese Ranger counterparts. First, I want to thank those who put together the original text and pictorial history of F/51 (LRP). While in Vietnam, E Company earned the Meritorious Unit Commendation Streamer embroidered Vietnam 18 June 68 20 January 69. Acceptance into the Rangers was based upon factors of a GT score of 100 or higher, no physical or mental impairments and voluntary request for the Ranger company. The unit was consolidated with the assets and soldiers of the deactivated 11th Infantry Brigades 70th Infantry Long Range Patrol Detachment in December 1967, as Long Range Recon Patrol Detachment (Airborne) LRRP-D(A). The company survived the TET Counteroffensive 68 phases 111, IV, V, and VI with minor damage to some of the companies barracks, tin huts, as a result of the Divisions ammunition dump exploding from enemy artillery and mortar attack in January 1968. Hot wars in the midst of the longest of the three world wars of the 20th Century, Korea and Vietnam were the unfinished business of WW II and remain the legacy of Americas Greatest Generation.. As more equipment was needed, Specialist Garver became the unofficial Supply Specialist which lead to the temporary receipt of vehicles and other items of interest through his procurement efforts. During the following months, the unit lost several team members as a result of direct action battles. Team makeup consisted of one lieutenant (team leader), one staff sergeant (asst. Here the emphasis was placed upon reconnaissance and surveillance of roads and trails through out the area. Rumors were rampant among the men up until departure day, that the unit would never go to Vietnam. As some of the initial National Guardsman rotated out due to ETS, hardships, wounds, and early out for college, regular army personnel were recruited or assigned to take their place. Additionally, Rangers attempted to recover prisoners of war, capture enemy soldiers for interrogation, tap the wire communications of the North Vietnam Army and the National Liberation Front for South Vietnam (Vietcong) on the Ho Chi Minh trail, and mine enemy trails and roads. In mid November 1970 Company C was attached to the 17th Aviation Group, and it remained under either aviation or 173rd Airborne Brigade control for most of the remaining duration of its Vietnam service. Some of the units LRP Teams participated as a blocking force during Operation Muscatine. During July 1966, the battalions were formed into task forces, and five Ranger Group headquarters were created to provide command and control for tactical operations. As part of the II Field Force, the Indiana Rangers were assigned reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions. The Ranger Group Headquarters advisor team was comprised of a Major, one or two Captains, two or three NCOs, and an RTO. The Riverine Rangers conducted 244 patrols and reported 134 observations of enemy activity. The units of the 75th Infantry (Airborne) Regiment of Rangers were so successful in their operations that they were singled out for special recognition by the Secretary of the Army. The Rangers also worked for the 2d Bde, north of FSB Rifle. The company additionally conducted rappelling and McGuire Rig training for the Division. Brigade-level LRP detachments (also called companies) and divisional companies were both smaller. Vietnam Memorial: SGT: Dunn, Ralph Gerald: 31-68: February 16, 1969: Co K 75th Inf "Ranger" P32W43: SSGT~ Pelletier, Richard William: 4-69: March 24, 1969: Co N 75th Inf "Ranger" . These units were the catalyst for the 78th Infantry Detachment (LRP) (ABN). In November of 1965 the Indiana National Guard organized its first and only Airborne Infantry battalion in response to the high mobilization priority Selected Reserve Force. The mission, however, changed little: Like the other Ranger detachments serving in Vietnam, expertise in long range special operations at the tactical level was raised to a new intensity. Helicopters were assigned to the company and on 4 May the company conducted its first long range patrol. d. Approval of a Ranger Enlistment Option whereby qualified applicants may enlist specifically for the 75th Infantry and be assured of training as an Infantryman or Radio Operator, a parachutist and a Ranger and initial assignment to a Ranger Company upon successful completion of training., 1. Vietnam Era US Military Original 187th Infantry Airborne Ranger Patch. 2 d Battalion, 75 th Ranger Regiment. The Berlin Wall had gone up in August of 1961, and international tensions were quite high. With the insertion teams on the slicks, a flight of Hueys with their Hog (Huey model Slicks converted to Gunships armed with rocket pods, mini guns and .30 or .50 caliber door gunner machine guns) and Cobra escorts made low passes in several locations to keep enemy spotters guessing where we actually dropped. Just down below the rock quarry was the 191st Military Intelligence. L CO, 75TH INFANTRY, 101ST ABN DIV US ARMY Vietnam Wall Panel W17 Line 122 Bronze Star Medal - Purple Heart . The unit employed artillery and ARA on all enemy positions and drove them from the area as they pushed on to their objective. Some teams of the division LRPD rendered reconnaissance for 2nd Brigade in Operation CORONADO and entered the Viet Cong Cam Son secret base area while other teams supported the 1st Brigade in Operation AKRON and uncovered a massive underground system of enemy tunnels and bunkers. When we became operational we were under the operational control of II FIELD FORCE who assigned us to units that needed us for their eyes and ears in areas that they were interested in. After remaining quiet for extended Periods, moves would be made to monitoring sites where enemy activity had been suspected. The team quickly returned suppressive fires and pulled the wounded man into the hastily established perimeter and became deeply engaged in a fire fight with the undetermined sized enemy force. In addition to being selected for tactical and technical proficiency, many Ranger advisors were graduates of the Military Assistance and Training Advisory Course (MATA) and Vietnamese Language School. 1LT Frank G. Pratt Jr. assumed command of the detachment. Survivors say the communists explanation is: We are teaching you not to cooperate with the government., o August 13th: Officials in Saigon report a total of 17 communist terror attacks on refugee centers and small villages in Quang Nam and Thua Thien provinces, leaving 23 persons dead, 75 injured and a large number of homes destroyed or damaged., o August 26th: A nine-month-old baby in his mothers arms is executed, shot in the head by terrorists outside Hoa Phat, Quang Nam province; also found dead are three children between ages six and ten, an elderly man, a middle-aged man and a middle-aged woman, a total of seven, all shot at least once in the back of the headas a warning.. (678) 792-3318 The use of name brand cigarettes was used to identify the teams such as: Team Old Gold, Winston, Salem, Lucky Strike, Camel, Marlboro, etc. They learned his technique for movement and deployment along his main supply lines, routes of travel, and in staging areas in remote mountain locations and on the high plateaus. By spring, 1970, the 4th relocated its headquarters to Camp Radcliff, near An Khe, and again went on the offensive during the Cambodian cross-border incursion in May and June of 1970. On December 20, 1968, 6 men departed as an advance team to set up the base camp which was to be located next to the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, in an old missile base. On 9 February several Ranger Teams were inserted into the Roung Roung Valley region to replace a infantry battalion that had re-deployed to the Khe Sahn region. The 199th Infantry Brigade deployed to the Republic of Vietnam in December 1966. The LRPD also conducted important military intelligence tasks for the Mobile Riverine Force within the Mekong Delta. "F" Company, 75th Rangers was deactivated 15 March 1971. During the initial fighting, most of the Rangers were wounded. This unit was formed with the personnel and equipment from the LRRP detachment. On 4 May 1970 the company was opconned to the 4th Infantry Division. The Rangers provided important information for the 101st Abn Div by locating elements of the 5th NVA Regiment and inflicting heavy casualties. The company continued its exceptional performance with an increased number of enemy sightings and enemy kills. This method would buy time to start a procurement effort for volunteers from the Division. Soon after arrival the first ambush team was sent out and for the next two weeks the company provided the city security by sending out ambushes and close in reconnaissance missions. V Corps LRRPs to Company A, 75 th Infantry (Ranger) Vietnam. Christopher was a Ranger whose military occupation was, Reconnaissance Intelligence Specialist. They operated deep in hostile territory to find the enemy, provided advance warning, and conducted small precision strikes The Iron Rangers monitored menacing NVA/VC formations in hazardous locations. Many of these volunteers never had the chance to attend any formal training as the 173rd Airborne Brigade was constantly on operations throughout the III Corps and II Corps areas of the Republic of Vietnam, however, infiltration and extraction techniques were refined and were SOP for the duration of the LRRPs operations in Vietnam. The advisor coordinated any available combat support from U.S. forces such as artillery, armored vehicles, air strikes, helicopter gunships, naval gunfire, and medical evacuation. Ranger team Octopus, operating in the Spear Valley, engaged an unknown size enemy force resulting in 1 NVA WIA (confirmed) and several more NVA WIA (probable). That night the team had enemy movement and blew their claymores. While working in the Khe Shan plains the team was taken under fire by a regular NVA unit. K/75th Rangers would provide the Division with a long range capability unmatched, at the time, in modern warfare. Tasked to cut major exit points of the Ho Chi Minh trail that hemorrhaged NVA soldiers and war materiel into the Central Highlands, the 4th Infantry Division fought one of the bloodiest battles of the war in October 1967, at the Battle of Dak To, where Ivymen killed approximately 1,600 NVA soldiers. Attention to other details also raised morale in the unit. The new base, Dong Tam, was constructed by dredging the My Tho river to produce enough fill to build a major installation in the Mekong Delta. I have attended several Ranger Reunions with the Regiment Association and a fair number of E51st/G75th reunions over the years. The Detachment participated in Operations Attleboro, Wheeler, Wallowa and Junction City penetrating and patrolling into War Zone C of I Corps. Nor has there been a cinematic treatment of or documentary about nearly 8 decades communist terror and genocide, either directly or in passing. The teams communications lifeline and link was often a single PRC-25 tactical radio. Wanted posters, circulated and posted by the VC in Chu Lai, Tam Ky, and Due Pho, also added to the mystic of the Lurps . He then had harrows driven back and forth across the fields, as one report later described it, to scratch and tear and chop those living heads like so many small tree stumps as the harrows went over them., Newsweek magazine for May 15, 1967 reported that over the past decade the Viet Cong have murdered, mutilated and otherwise brutalized tens of thousands of Vietnamese civilians. Like the Korean War which preceded it by about a decade, Vietnam was a shooting war against communist aggression. The use of false extractions by the company during this period proved to be highly successful. The term Provisional was dropped and the LRRPs became a Detachment instead of a Provisional Detachment. CPT Robert A. The persistent Ranger reconnaissance campaign continued to relentlessly, as sustained pressure was applied on the network of supply lines used by the two enemy regiments. Only three Rangers LRRPs received the Nations highest medal while assigned to these type units. Ranger teams were in employed in clusters of 5 and 6 teams to completely saturate an area. Thirteen served proudly in Vietnam until inactivation on August 15, 1972. The Rangers of Papa Company, 75th Infantry (Ranger) in formation for an awards ceremony in 1970. Instead they were informed that their exemplary reconnaissance pursuit campaign was about to end. 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