spartans_in_darkness

Tera SEef(ETifeeMINTffX I
did not mention anything about the planned
bombing operations.
CU) On 14 December, Operation Barrel Roll
began when about a dozen Air Force fighter
bombers hit communist transportation points in
Laos. Three days later, U.S. naval aircraft, staging
from carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin, hit targets in
central Laos. From the start, these air strikes were
not publicized unless an American aircraft was
downed. At this early stage, the Johnson administration
was trying to downplay the significance
and extent of its policy change. At the same time,
Johnson approved an intensification of OPLAN­
34A, stepping up the insertion of commando
units into North Vietnam.
CU) However, Hanoi and the Viet Cong
refused to get the "message" from the air strikes.
The day after Barrel Roll began, news arrived in
Saigon of a massive ARVN defeat in the An Loa
valley, where 600 troops were beaten decisively
by a Viet Cong force. On Christmas Eve, two Viet
Cong agents, dressed in ARVN uniforms, parked
a car filled with explosives outside the Brinks
Hotel in Saigon, used to house American troops
and advisors. In the blast, two Americans were
killed and sixty-five more Americans and
Vietnamese injured.
missing. The wonder was how the VC could infiltrate
almost a thousand troops to an area so close
to Saigon without being discovered. Just as disheartening
was the performance of the ARVN
forces. Backed by helicopters and tanks and
staffed with American advisors, Saigon's troops
seemed unable to handle communist tactics and
ambushes. President Johnson still resisted calls
for air strikes and an infusion of American
ground forces. However, he quietly approved
retaliatory air strikes "following the occurrence of
a spectacular enemy action." His aides, preparing
for a pretext to start the air assault campaign, said
it was like waiting for the next streetcar to come
along
CU) That streetcar's name was Pleiku, and on
the night of 6/7 February 1965 it arrived with a
crash of mortar rounds and satchel charge explosions.
Pleiku was a market town in the Central
Highlands, a commercial center for the
Montagnard Thuong tribe. It also was home to
Camp Holloway with a U.S. Special Forces
detachment. Nearby was an airstrip filled with
American helicopters, transport, and combat aircraft.
Early in the morning, a VC unit opened up
with mortars and assaulted the perimeter wire.
Bunkers were attacked, and the aircraft, lined up
along the tarmac, were hit by demolition teams.
CU) The tempo of
Viet Cong attacks accelerated
in late December
when they seized the
village of Binh Gia only
forty miles southeast of
Saigon. Vietnamese
troops, supported by
tanks and helicopters
were ambushed and
outfought by the VC.
After a week-long battle,
there were over 500
ARVNcasualties. There
were also five Americans
dead and three
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(V) Pleiku Airfield 'lfterthe communist attack
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