Monday, October 22, 2018

Repost 2012: "The river was running red with blood.": THE 62nd BORDER RANGER CIDG CAMP LE-KHANH (POLEI-KLENG)

 
This piece confirms most of the events as penned in Kontum: The Battle To Save South Vietnam 1972, 2011 by LTC Thomas P. McKenna pages 154 - 157 Chapter 13 Cut Off and Surrounded and so much so, that I wonder if some of the latter has been borrowed from the former.  I took the liberty of cleaning up some of the translation, though it is still far from perfect, but I think sufficient the way it stands.
 
Polei Kleng is the name of a hill, 22km northwest of Kontum, the further most city in the central highlands of south Vietnam.  In June 1966, US Special Forces built a CIDG (Civilian Irregular Defense Group) camp on the hill top and named it Polei Kleng (A-241).  The Vietnamese called it Le Khanh This camp functioned as a blockage to stop the enemy expansion and pressure into the city of Kontum.  On the 31st of August 1970, the camp was transferred and converted to the 62nd Border Ranger battalion and placed under the command of the ARVN Ranger High Command.

During the Easter Offensive, the NVA launched a massive attack, crossing the three-border (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia) area, destroying the RVN 22nd  division and captured the town Tan Canh, Dakto.  The Airborne defensive line around the hills in the southwest of Tan Canh collapsed. Camp Le Khanh was the last resistance outpost against the advancing NVA forces into the city of Kontum, therefore the communists must flatten the camp at all costs.

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4 comments:

  1. BobbyOctober 23, 2018 at 9:51 AM

    Thank you for posting this. What a gripping, tragic tale of a truly heroic stand by many brave warriors and their families.

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    1. Brock TownsendOctober 23, 2018 at 10:32 AM

      Thank you, Sir. If you missed it, please go to the link at the end of this piece.

      *700 of the 7,000 Rangers survived, as well as 20,000 of the 60,000 ARVN and 100,000 of the 400,000 civilians. The horror. I believe the picture below is related to "A pregnant lady" – abandoned by her lover to face her fate

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  2. BobbyOctober 24, 2018 at 3:10 PM

    I just finished reading the link at the end of the article. What horror that cannot even begin to be comprehended. The imagery conjured by the words of the article are heart rending. The inhumanity on such a large scale is beyond pitiful.

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    1. Brock TownsendOctober 24, 2018 at 4:42 PM

      Damn, I see the link you read is missing. (At the end) but as I remember, I copied and pasted the majority, thank the Lord, as I cannot find it anywhere online. Yes, Thieu screwed up when he ordered the evacuation,(General Phu refused the order until Thieu told him he would simply find someone who would, if so. Phu had been captured by the Communist when he was fighting them for the French and killed himself April 30th. Don't miss the link THE SUICIDES ON APRIL 30, 1975) in hindsight though if it had been successful, he could have defended the Southern part though he would still have run out of ammo in the end thanks to the Democrats. I know this all too well as I was the Funds Manager for the South Vietnamese Air Force at that time and until the end. April 30, the saddest day of my life after spending 6 years there. :( There are many links in this search: https://freenorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2012/04/fall-of-saigon-april-30-1975-37th.html
      and many more on FNC and NamSouth. I'll be glad to help you in anyway and thanks.

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