JUNE 1967
The 1st Air Cavalry remained in constant action following the Battle of la Drang Valley. The aerial reconnaissance squadron, the 1/9, with its current 88 helicopters and 770 personnel, was the only army unit of its type, a unique combination of scouts, gunships, and troop lifts that was proving deadly effective on the battlefield. Practically every fight started with a first contact by 1/9 helicopters. The 1/9 thrived on speed in the hunt and quick reaction after contact.
Operation Pershing, which began in June 1967 and lasted into 1968, was a typical result of helicopters and airmobile troops working together to develop a first contact. It began at the village of An Quang near a lake tidewater basin connected to the South China Sea. A pair of 1/9 Loaches buzzing An Quang spotted fresh diggings and field work in surrounding farms but saw no farmers. Slicks inserted a Blue rifle team to investigate. The cavalrymen found a large whitewashed boulder containing a notation in Vietnamese: WELCOME TO THE VC AND NVA. When the team approached the village, it was fired upon.
What began as a scouting report quickly became a brigade action. Gunships rocketed the village while four and a half cavalry battalions were airlifted to the scene, where they surrounded An Quang. An estimated two companies of NVA regulars and a company of VC defended the village.
Artillery, aerial rocket helicopters, gunships, naval and air force tactical air strikes, naval gunfire, medium battle tanks, 40mm self-propelled guns, and Chinooks armed with 7.62 miniguns all were hurled into the battle to soften up the village. Despite this destruction, cavalry troopers were still hit when they entered the smoldering village.
Machine gunners and snipers swept the Americans with accurate close-in fire. VC dashed out of spider holes and hurled grenades. Dead and wounded GIs littered the open ground where they were cut down next to tunnel entrances. Cavalrymen withdrew from the village, dragging their wounded with them while a pair of tanks fired cover with Bee Hive rounds.
The next morning, a battalion of cavalry launched an assault after another barrage of air strikes and artillery. This time the Sky Soldiers successfully secured the hamlet. A total of eighty-nine NVA and VC corpses were counted in the rubble.
Throughout the Pershing coastal campaign that began at An Quang, the 1/9 aerial reconnaissance squadron continued to spark the majority of contacts. Scouts initiated action by sighting activity on the ground; Red Team gunships moved in to strafe and rocket the enemy; Blue slicks inserted infantry to exploit the situation on the ground.
Over the course of the 343-day campaign, the 1/9’s forward recon role exacted such a heavy toll that the aircraft were replaced twice over. The squadron came under fire 931 times, resulting in 250 helicopters being hit. Of these, 102 were so badly damaged they never flew again in combat while 14 were shot down and destroyed. The squadron lost 55 killed, 1 MIA, and 264 wounded in aerial and ground combat.