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SAPPER ATTACK THWARTED FROM THE PACIFIC STARS AND STRIPES FOR JUNE 13, 1970.

Electronic copy of article provided by Leslie Hines


FIRE SUPPORT BASE 4-11, Vietnam (Special) â€” Without an enemy round being fired, Americal Div. soldiers here recently nipped a midnight sapper attack in the bud, killing 10 VC and detaining two.

A large number of enemy weapons including two rocket propelled grenade launchers, two AK47s, one AK50, one 9mm pistol, 76 Chicom grenades, 10 RPG rounds, 11 B40 rockets, and one five-pound satchel charge were seized in the aborted attack on this 3rd Bn., 1st Inf. firebase.

Near midnight, three enemy sappers had advanced through the perimeter wire when a fourth sapper, with an RPG launcher slung over his shoulder, touched off a trip flare. "I looked in front of me and there were a dozen of them just frozen in place," said Spec. 4 Jerry D. Parker.

The bunker line opened up with rifle and machine-gun fire. Hand grenade and claymore mine shrapnel showered in the area. Constant illumination, intermingled with accurate mortar fire from the 81mm and 4.2 mortar sections, encircled the perimeter as the 11th Inf. Brigade soldiers methodically dispatched the intruders.

After the fire subsided, a sweep of the area was made. The bodies of two sappers armed with RPG launchers were discovered on the wire. One VC still clutched a pair of wire cutters. A third sapper, awestruck at the fate of his fellow comrades, threw his arms in the air and surrendered.

Sapper Attack Thwarted from the Pacific Stars and Stripes for June 13, 1970.: List
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