Jones - Last Stand at Khe Sanh: The U.S. Marines Finest Hour in Vietnam

LAST STAND AT KHE SANH

Copyright 2014 by Gregg Jones

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information, address Da Capo Press, 44 Farnsworth Street, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02210.

Set in 11.25 point Adobe Caslon Pro by The Perseus Books Group

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Jones, Gregg, 1959

Last stand at Khe Sanh : the U.S. Marines' finest hour in Vietnam / Gregg Jones. First Da Capo Press edition.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-306-82140-0 (e-book)

1. Khe Sanh, Battle of, Vietnam, 1968. 2. United States. Marine CorpsHistoryVietnam War, 19611975. I. Title.

DS557.8.K5J66 2014

959.704'3450973dc23

2013045206

First Da Capo Press edition 2014

Published by Da Capo Press

A Member of the Perseus Books Group

www.dacapopress.com

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To those who fought at Khe Sanh, living and dead.

One of the great joys at the end of a long journey such as this is having the opportunity to publicly thank the people who inspired, assisted, and sustained me along the way.

Dennis Mannion and Michael OHara introduced me to the brotherhood of Khe Sanh veterans, and over three years entrusted me with their personal stories, introduced me to comrades, read chapter drafts, and offered friendship, counsel, and encouragement. Tom Quigley was the third Khe Sanh veteran to enter my life, and he further enriched this book by sharing his story and persuading reticent comrades to do the same. I can only hope that Dennis, Michael, and Tom consider this book worthy of their generous efforts on my behalf.

Among the larger community of Khe Sanh veterans and family members is a core group of wonderful people who graced my life along the way: Ken Rodgers and his wife, Betty; Ray Stubbe; Paul Knight; Tom Esslinger; James Feasel; Michael Coonan; Bill Martin; William Smith; Edward Feldman; Dan Fisher; Ken Pipes; Ken Warner; Michael Archer; Earle Breeding; Larry McCartney; Dave Norton; Don Shanley; John Roberts; Charles (Toby) Rushforth; Greg and Constance Gibbons; Jim Kaylor; Michael Barry; Maurice Casey; Chuck Chamberlin; Bruce Geiger; Paul Longgrear; and the late James Finnegan. Mike Fishbaugh is an exceptionally kind soul and unsung hero of the Khe Sanh Veterans Association, and on several occasions he shared documents from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

David Powell covered Khe Sanh as a young freelance news photographer in early 1968, and we became friends during many interviews, phone conversations, and emails. I am deeply appreciative that Dave has allowed me to share with readers of this book several of his extraordinary images from Khe Sanh Combat Base and Hill 881 South.

I would like to thank and acknowledge all those who shared their memories in interviews, conversations, emails, and written submissions: Arnold Alderete; Adam Alexander; Richard Allen; Charles Almy; David Althoff; Joe Amodeo; Michael Archer; James Armbrust; Michael Barry; Clifford Braisted; Earle G. Breeding; Calvin E. Bright; Jim Caccavo; Maurice Casey; Charles Chamberlin; George Chapman; John Cicala; Bruce Clarke; Michael Coonan; John Corbett; David Doehrman; Rich Donaghy; Richard Dworsky; George Einhorn; Nick Elardo; Tom Esslinger; James Feasel; Edward Feldman; Lynn Fifer; James O. Finnegan; William Gay; Bruce Geiger; Robert Genty; Lionel Guerra; Jack Haigwood; Joe Harrigan; Billy Joe Hill; Richard Hillmann; Norman Jasper; Keith Kapple; James Kaylor; Neil Kenny; Paul Knight; Lacey Lahren; Larry LeClaire; Guy Leonard; Paul Longgrear; Kevin Macaulay; Dennis Mannion; Bill Martin; Dave McCall; Larry McCartney; Howard McKinnis; Lewis S. Messer II; Ted Mickelson; Ray Milligan; David Norton; Michael OHara; Raul Orozco; Steve Orr; Robert Pagano; John Pessoni; Michael Pike; Kenneth W. Pipes; David Powell; Glenn Prentice; Tom Quigley; Henry (Mac) Radcliffe; John Rauch; Mike Reath; Jose Reyes; John Roberts; Ken Rodgers; George (Greg) Rudell; Charles Rushforth; John Sabol; Miguel Salinas; Lawrence Seavy-Cioffi; Don Shanley; James Sigman; William Smith; Ron Smith; David Steinberg; Ray Stubbe; Daniel Sullivan; Mark Swearengen; F. J. Taylor; Jim Thomas; Robert Tipton; Craig Tourte; Matthew Walsh; Ken Warner; Ed Welchel; Steve Wiese; and Michael Worth.

Foreign correspondent Seth Mydans was a friend and mentor during my formative years as a journalist in Southeast Asia, and we shared many adventures in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines over three decades. Seths careful and enthusiastic reading of the completed manuscript of Last Stand at Khe Sanh made this a better book, and reminded me of the joy and passion he always brought to his work as a foreign correspondent. The readers of the New York Times were fortunate to have had Seth as their window into the war-scarred nations of Indochina for three decades, and I was fortunate that our paths crossed.

Dr. Charles P. Neimeyer and the staff of the United States Marine Corps History Division provided kind assistance during my research forays into the various collections housed in Quantico, Virginia. A special thanks to Quantico archivist Greg Cina for his efforts on my behalf on this book and the one before, spanning an epic century of Marine Corps history. At the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland, archivist Nathaniel Patch provided valuable insights, as did NARA archivist Paul Brown. A chance meeting at the National Archives brought me into contact with Navy veteran Ralph J. Fries of Escondido, California, who imparted his knowledge on Navy corpsmen in Vietnam.

I would like to thank Dr. Steve Maxner and his staff at the Vietnam Center and Archive at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, for their magnificent contributions to the work of Vietnam War research over the past quarter-century. Their vast online collection enabled me to continuously backstop and expand on the work I did in my interviews and my research at the National Archives and Marine Corps archives, and I am grateful to have had access to this wonderful resource.

Marine Corps reference historian and blogger Beth Crumley shared her expertise on Marine helicopter operations in I Corps and other facets of Khe Sanh history, and she also introduced me to legendary CH-46 pilot David Althoff. Donna Elliott shared contacts acquired during her impassioned search for her missing brother, Staff Sergeant Jerry W. Elliott, who went missing outside Khe Sanh village on the afternoon of January 21, 1968. My thanks as well to geriatric psychiatrist Kevin Gray, for his encouragement and observations about the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder on Vietnam veterans.