Endnotes for Chapter III
1 Although battalions in the 1st Cavalry Division retained the
traditional cavalry names, they were actually dismounted infantry units.
Since the division was airmobile, these units moved by helicopter. The
only unit in the division that fought mounted was the 1st Squadron, 9th
Cavalry, an air cavalry squadron with one ground cavalry troop.
2 The herringbone required all armored vehicles to stop immediately in
an ambush, pivot to face outward at an angle, with alternate vehicles
facing either side of the road, and fire all weapons. Softskin vehicles
hid behind the armored vehicles. The maneuver was developed by the 1st
Squadron, 4th Cavalry. It was a favorite of theirs and was used by many
units.
3 Although General Westmoreland later stated that he welcomed with
enthusiasm the arrival of the M48A3 medium tank in the 11th Cavalry, t he
facts bear out that not all the MACV staff shared his enthusiasm.
4 The Department of the Army action officer on this study was Lieutenant
Colonel George S. Patton, who would later command the 11th Cavalry in Vietnam.
Feeling in the department was that if a compromise was not reached,
neither the 11th Cavalry nor any other large armored unit would be
deployed.
5 Claymore Corner was the unit nickname for this particular point on the
road. Everyone in the squadron knew exactly where it was, even without a
map.
6 The tank commander who spotted the enemy crew setting up the
recoilless rifle thought the men were from South Vietnamese forces who had
come to help. When the muzzle was pointed right at him, he blew the weapon
and crew apart at point-blank range with canister. Canister is a tank main
gun round containing 1,280 shot or 5,600 to 10,000 darts. It is similar in
action to a shotgun shell.
7 The 2d Battalion, 2d Infantry (M) , was one of three infantry
battalions that had deployed dismounted and was subsequently mechanized in
Vietnam in early 1967. The other units were the 2d Battalion, 8th Infantry
(M), and the 4th Battalion, 28d Infantry (M) . Interestingly, the 2d
Battalion, 2d Infantry, was a part of the 1st Infantry Division, which had
been denied its mechanized battalions before deploying in 1965.
8 Loading the APC with sandbags as a false floor helped, but often
created other problems, When the 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry, arrived, the
cavalrymen put two layers of sandbags in all M113's, plus all the other
equipment, troops, and ammunition. Within forty-five days, they broke
fourteen transmissions from overloading. Most units used a layer or two of
ammunition boxes.
page created 17 January 2002
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