44 • VFW • March 2011

By Al Hemingway

Though the Vietnam War was winding down for the U.S. Army in 1971, the enemyattack on Fire Support Base Mary Ann in March claimed 30 American lives in onehour of no-quarters combat. The Americal’s 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry, andattached units sustained the single largest American loss of the year.

ost of us didn’t talk about itwhen we came home,” said EdNewton of Sawyer, Kan., and aveteran of the 46th Infantry. “In

my opinion, the media blew it all out of propor-tion when they mentioned the drugs and sleep-ing on duty. It’s time we set the record straightand tell the truth about Mary Ann.” Indeed, it is.

In the early morning hours of March 28, 1971, an estimated50 sappers from the 2nd Co., 409th Viet Cong (VC) MainForce Sapper Battalion quietly neared their objective—FireSupport Base (FSB) Mary Ann—a remote outpost of the 196thLight Inf. Bde. (LIB), 23rd Infantry (Americal) Div., located inthe western highlands of Quang Tin province in MilitaryRegion I of South Vietnam.

Precarious PositionMary Ann’s purpose was to provide a protective shield for Da

Nang and other coastal hamlets. Also, it was ajumping-off point for operations designed todisrupt the flow of men and materiél comingdown the Dak Rose Trail.

Erected on top of a ridge, it “occupied twocamel humps with a shallow saddle in be-tween.” A series of ridges and hills envelopedthe outpost on three sides, and thick jungle

obscured the field of observation. Described as a “shanty-town,” 30 hootches, bunkers and other buildings were sprin-kled over its interior. The base was 546 yards in length, 82yards wide across its saddle and 136 yards wide at both ends.

Twenty-two bunkers, constructed from metal conex ship-ping boxes, were placed around the outer perimeter. Most ofthe headquarters buildings were situated on the southeastside of the base: the Battalion Tactical Operations Center(BTOC), company command post (CP), communicationsbunker, a sensor monitoring station, ammunition storage

M“

Terror at Mary AnnSixty Minutes of

PHOTO COURTESY EDWARD MANSON

March 2011 • WWW.VFW.ORG • 45

bunkers, three mess halls, artillery liai-son center, battalion aid station and fuelstorage area.

The northwest end of the camp heldtwo 155mm howitzer parapets, the firedirection center and the artillery CP.Also, a quad .50-caliber machine gunteam was placed along the perime-ter together with a detachmentfrom a searchlight unit.

One line company from the196th LIB was rotated from thefield to Mary Ann approximatelyevery two weeks and was respon-sible for its security while there.

On the PerimeterIn all, 231 Americans and 21South Vietnamese (ARVN) sol-diers defended Mary Ann on thatfateful night. Among them werethe 75-man C Co., 1st Bn., 46thInf.; an 18-man recon platoon; 34medics, communications person-nel, clerks and cooks from HQCompany; and an eight-man con-tingent from the 4.2-inch mortarplatoon of E Company.

That crew was there assembling theremainder of the mortar ammo to taketo FSB Mildred. (No heavy mortarswere present that night on Mary Ann.Two mortars were sent to Chu Lai forrepair, and the other two went toMildred.)

There, too, were 81mm mortar crewsfrom B and D companies; 20 men of 1stPlt., C Btry., 3rd Bn., 16th FA, manningtwo 155mm howitzers; and artillery-men from four other units. Finally, 22grunts from A, B and D companies werein transit.

Mary Ann had been spared an all-outattack. With the war winding down, noone believed the VC would hit such aninsignificant outpost. “There was a falsesense of security at Mary Ann,” saidJohn Pastrick, an infantryman with CCo., 1st Bn., 46th Inf. “It was very lax allthe time.”

But on this fog-shrouded evening, 50VC sappers, their bodies covered withcharcoal and grease to make them more

difficult targets in the darkness, quietlyslipped through Mary Ann’s perimeter.Crouching low in three- to six-manteams, they made their way through thebase’s unsuspecting defenders.

Struck With a VengeanceThey wasted no time. Under the protec-tive umbrella of a mortar barrage, sap-pers struck the vulnerable BTOC with avengeance. Lt. Col. William P. Doyle, thebattle-hardened battalion commander,

was awakened when 82mm mortarshells landed with a resounding thudjust outside his bunker.

To make matters worse, the sapperstossed CS (tear) gas into the BTOC.Choking and unable to see, Doyle wasknocked down when a satchel chargeexploded. Regaining his composure, hedrew his .45 pistol and pumped a roundinto a sapper’s chest just before anothersatchel charge was heaved at him.

The force of that explosion threwhim to the ground, leaving him uncon-scious. Coming to, Doyle struggled tostand up, only to have a third explosiongo off in the BTOC. As a result, Doylewas again knocked out. He eventuallymade his way out of the burning BTOCand linked up with Capt. Paul S.Spilberg, who had choppered into MaryAnn several days before with a three-man training team from Chu Lai.

Spilberg had written that he was “soproud of my men I could burst. Whenwe were without food and it was cold

and pouring down rain … there wasgood humor and the highest degree ofcooperativeness. The grunts were cleanin the jungle—no drugs.” He earned histhird Purple Heart on Mary Ann.

While the BTOC was being destroyed,C Company’s CP also was being hit hard.Capt. Richard V. Knight, the company’spopular commander, was killed outright.1st Lt. Daniel J. Mack, executive officer,was struck in the right leg by an AK-47round, shredding his calf muscles. He

feigned death while a sapper ripped thewatch off his wrist.

Spec. 4 Carl D. Carter, a radio opera-tor, was buried under sandbags when awall of the bunker collapsed on him. Hewent undetected as the VC sprayed theroom with automatic weapons fire.

Not so lucky was Sgt. Ronald J.Becksted, an easygoing NCO, who waskilled instantly as he tried to escape theCP. Spec. 4 Thomas Simmons also wasgunned down, but survived.

Staff Sgt. John C. Calhoun was hitthree times and was lying near Pfc.Michael S. Holloway, who was franticallytrying to tie a tourniquet on Calhoun’sleg. As enemy sappers approached, bothfaked death. Calhoun survived, butHolloway was killed. As the VC movedon, one let loose a burst and Calhounwas wounded two more times.

Mary Ann was struck with such ferocity that its defenders were unableto mount any type of counterattack.Many grunts, who were asleep in their

Left: GIs arrive aboard a U.S. helicopter atFirebase Mary Ann. Situated atop a ridge,the base was hit by Viet Cong sappers onMarch 28, 1971.

Lt. Col. William P.Doyle drew his .45pistol and pumped around into a sapper’schest just beforeanother satchelcharge was heavedat him.

Soldiers clean weapons captured just prior to being overrun. Men of the1/46th had unearthed a large weaponscache two weeks before the assault.

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46 • VFW • March 2011

hootches, were either shot trying to es-cape or buried alive when the satchelcharges were hurled into their quarters.

Mounting ResistanceA few soldiers managed to avoid the ini-tial onslaught. Tripping over the body ofa dead sapper in the confusion, Spec. 4David Tarnay picked up his AK-47. Ashe carefully maneuvered about, he sawan enemy soldier in the wire attemptingto leave. Tarnay took careful aim, killinghim.

Sgt. Maj. Carl N. Prosser and Pfc.John A. Bruno killed another sappertrying to flee the area. When the VC re-turned fire, Prosser and Bruno mannedthe quad .50, while Spec. 6 FreddieFillers, the chief cook, commandeeredan M-60 machine gun. Between the twoweapons, the trio let loose hundreds ofrounds. At least three more sappers werecut down trying to make their way tosafety.

A Night Hawk Huey gunship, with astarlight scope aboard, was the first air-craft on the scene. The chopper, flownby Capt. Norman Hayes, was from Trp.D, 1st Sqdn., 1st Cav. Hayes had to fly hishelicopter at a higher altitude due to thethick smoke coming from the burninghootches at Mary Ann.

But the gunship did score some kills.“[We] … could actually see the VC inthe wire… It looked like they were try-ing to take people out of the wire… Weengaged, and I know that anything wefired on ceased firing at us,” said Hayes.

In the end, however, only 15 VC bod-ies were found. Evidence indicated theenemy dug a few hasty graves to burytheir dead before withdrawing.

Unfortunately, by the time reinforce-

ments arrived, the assault was over.It had lasted just an hour. The resultswere disastrous: 30 GIs killed and 82wounded. C Company was hardest hit,with 20 KIA alone. The Battery C pla-toon sustained five KIA, 25% of its men.

(Incidentally, website claims that someof the deaths were due to “friendly fire”are absolutely wrong.)

Maj. Gen. James L. Baldwin, com-manding general of the Americal Divi-sion, arrived on the scene at dawn.

“The firebase was a shambles,” he

wrote in a letter home, “with thingsburning all over the place… There weremany [soldiers] who were sittingaround with rather dazed looks on theirfaces, and another group which wasactively and energetically trying to pickup the pieces. There were no in-betweens.”

Intelligence & NegligenceThe consequences of the attack werequickly felt. In the aftermath of an in-vestigation, Baldwin and Col. William S.Hathaway, the 196th LIB commander,were relieved of duty. Both would retiresoon afterward. A host of other officerswere reprimanded, including the hard-driving Lt. Col. Doyle. He remained inthe service until his retirement, but neverreceived another promotion.

Many felt Baldwin’s reprimand un-just. “It was a political thing,” said Capt.John Strand, commanding officer (CO)of A Co., 1st Bn., 46th Inf. “Scapegoatswere needed… What happened toBaldwin was wrong, but it’s not hard forme to understand given how big organi-zations work.”

Spec. 4 Ed Newton also felt “it wasnot right what they did to Baldwin.

Hell, he was the division commander. Itwas a brigade and battalion problem.The day before we got hit they had uspull in all the sensors from around theperimeter.

“Kim, our Kit Carson Scout, warnedus we were infiltrated. He said the enemywas posing as ARVNs on the base. OneARVN officer even inquired about theeasiest way to get off the firebase to fish.

“We thought that was strange andnobody told him. In fact, the night ofthe attack, we took fire from the ARVNposition. When we returned fire, itstopped. Not one ARVN came out tohelp us. And the enemy left them alone.

“We tried to tell the officers whatKim had said, but they didn’t listen tous. It was poor intelligence and grossnegligence—plain and simple.”

Allegations of drug use also havehovered over the performance of theGIs at Mary Ann.

Platoon Sgt. Bill Walker, who was incharge of bunkers 15 through 22, has adifferent viewpoint: “Everyone wasawake when I made my rounds. Therewas no pot in my bunkers. And I knowwhat pot smells like. One soldier, man-ning a bunker by the trash dump, wasdozing. I stayed with him for a few min-utes to make sure he was awake, then Ireturned to my bunker. Not two min-utes later, everything hit the fan.”

Sgt. Gary L. Noller, a battalion radiooperator for the 46th Infantry, recalled:“The belief that the enemy would notwaste its time attacking a force that wassoon leaving anyway led to a false senseof security. And while drugs were pre-sent on Mary Ann, they were used onlyby a minority of soldiers.”

Why Mary Ann?Why had the enemy made such a deter-mined effort to overrun Mary Ann? Itwas late in the war, and Vietnamizationwas progressing steadily. GIs were beingreplaced by ARVN units.

Timothy Baldwin, son of Gen.Baldwin, who did extensive research onMary Ann to clear his deceased father’sname, may have found the answer: “The1/46th was causing too much troublefrom … Mary Ann.” Just two weeksbefore the assault, the unit had un-earthed a large enemy cache. Sgt. 1stClass Edward “Pop” Manson, platoon

“That commentary which tars the 1/46th Infantry as a‘mob’ … is grossly exaggerated. Most of the draftees onMary Ann had already proven themselves in combat.And yet, however reluctantly, there were still soldierslike those in the 1/46th Infantry out fighting the war.”

— Author Keith Nolan from his book, Sappers in the Wire: The Life and Death of Firebase Mary Ann

March 2011 • WWW.VFW.ORG • 47

sergeant of the 4.2-inch mortar platoon,agrees: “Charlie was after Company C… they got the CO [Knight] in hisbunker, too…”

Baldwin interviewed several MaryAnn VC veterans: they had no idea theAmericans were about to abandon thefirebase and turn it over to ARVN. “TheVC,” Baldwin wrote, “normally knownfor their superb intelligence-gathering,had failed on this issue.”

That American courage was displayedon Mary Ann is indisputable. SilverStars were awarded to Sgt. Elmer R.Head, Capt. Virtus A. Savage, seniormedic Larry J. Vogelsang (a conscien-tious objector), Sgt. Ervin E. Powell, 1stLt. Jerry W. Sams, Pfc. Paul G. Grooms,1st Lt. Arthur D. Schmidt, Capt. PaulSpilberg and Spec. 4 David Tarnay.

In one legendary exploit, 1st Lt. C.Barry McGee choked a sapper to deathbefore being killed.

Recognizing HardshipsIn Sappers in the Wire: The Life andDeath of Firebase Mary Ann (1995), thelate author Keith W. Nolan countersmany bogus claims. “Unfortunately, wehistorians got it wrong,” he wrote.

“I do not mean to whitewash whathappened at Firebase Mary Ann withsuch a remark, for the incident was atragic disaster with much to teach today’ssoldiers about vigilance.

“What I do mean to say is that com-mentary which tars the 1/46th Infantryas a ‘mob’ … is grossly exaggerated.Most of the draftees on Mary Ann hadalready proven themselves in combat.And yet, however reluctantly, there werestill soldiers like those in the 1/46th In-fantry out fighting the war. Their hard-ships should be recognized.

“Author [Geoffrey] Perret got it rightwhen he wrote that these troops who‘had faith in nothing much, least of allin men like Johnson and Nixon,’ still‘served their country a lot better than itserved them.’ ” �

AL HEMINGWAY, is a Vietnam vet andmember of Post 201 in Waterbury, Ct.Editor’s Note: Vets of Mary Ann willhold a memorial service at Ft. Benning,Ga., on March 28. For information, con-tact Gary Noller at gnoller@aol.com.

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