Tam Quan book picking up momentum

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Tam Quan book picking up momentum

Postby Jim Sheppard » Thu Feb 18, 2016 3:47 am

Some of you got to meet with Tom Kjos at our reunion in 2013. Tom is writing a book about the Battle of Tam Quan...and after years of sorting through collected ARchive materials and countless interviews...he has begun putting all the information into book form. Tom fought in the battle as a platoon leader with Company "D" of the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division.

Follow this link to a preview of his work. Tom has left hardly a stone unturned...and sorted through all the aforementioned material in order to give a much more accurate and detailed account than can currently be found via any single source. We know that many of the After Action Reports involving this stretch of firefights in December of 1967 were not always reported accurately. Tom is about to change all that.

I am proud to have been able to help in Tom's effort and look forward to the finished product!

http://sonoradesertdigest.blogspot.com/2016/02/bloody-bong-son-battle-of-tam-quan.html
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Re: Tam Quan book picking up momentum

Postby harley hawkins » Thu Feb 18, 2016 8:50 am

Jim

Sounds like this could be a great book.


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Re: Tam Quan book picking up momentum

Postby Randy Smith » Mon Feb 22, 2016 1:41 pm

I will be watching for the release of this book as I am sure all other participants of this battle will also.
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Re: Tam Quan book picking up momentum

Postby Jim Sheppard » Tue May 10, 2016 6:57 pm

Below is a note I received from Tom. He sent it to a partial list... I put together quickly...of men who might be able to contribute.

Please be in touch with Tom if you can help in any way.

Work on “Bloody Bong Son: The Battle of Tam Quan” is finally finding paper, with a Prologue and much of the 1st Chapter now in draft.

I still very much need whatever might be remembered by veterans of the 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry (Mechanized) who served any time during the battle’s various contacts between 6 December and 20 December, 1967. Jim Sheppard suggested that you might be able to help.

Although I need much more from 1/50 for the entirety of the period, of immediate concern is the afternoon and night of December 6 (which comprises the 1st Chapter), and December 7, (which is Chapter 2).

John Topper and Keith Large have been kind enough to be recently interviewed; they provided valuable insight, but brought home how much I am yet missing about the night of the 6th.

Other sources confirm that a platoon from 1/50 (4 tracks) participated in support of B company 1/8 and two platoons (blues) of 1/9th, assisting in recovering the wounded and extracting the two 1/9th platoons. There is a timeline, and report of a stuck track, and (that one or another) being damaged by either a mine or perhaps an RPG (it’s not yet clear which). In any case, the 113’s were essential in disengaging units pinned down by a large enemy force that night.

John Topper recalls that the “platoon” was likely “ad hoc,” and in any case it was led by Company XO 1st Lt. Denny Hinton.


Here’s an excerpt of some of John’s recall of the 6th :

“Third platoon of A...I think that’s right (that it was 3rd platoon sent to Dai Dong). 3rd platoon leader was Alnenez, Julio. Would have been third platoon leader throughout December.

However, I don’t think he was actually involved in this action, personally. Well, typically the CO stayed at Uplift when his company was on base camp defense. So that at the time would have been Captain Mike Dash. The XO at that time was Lieutenant Denny Hinton, Dennis Hinton. Hinton was a very hands on kind of guy, and he was in charge of bridge security. I’m kind of thinking that Alnenez was probably at English or Lowboy or someplace like that, but I’m not really sure and Denny was up and down the road taking care of bridges.

As I recall some of the troops were sitting on bridges near Dia Dong. When the 1st of the 9th inserted the first blue team they saw that action. And when the second blue team (actually a platoon of D/1/9) went in, they were monitoring radios and understood kind of what was going on. And I suspect at that point, is when Dennis Hinton went to that particular bridge. He was sitting there when the Brigade Commander, Col Don Rattan, flew in, Rattan and the Battalion commanders, who had been overhead. In their command and control ships (Dubia), (after the 1/8th was inserted?) (not correct sequence) clarified that it was Maj Stone, commander of A/1/9 at that time, not Dubia.

During that fight, of the 1st of the 9th , Rattan set down at the bridge, saw apc’s sitting there, and asked Hinton if he could get in there, with the PC’s, and Denny mounted four of them, as I recall. And went in to help in the fight. Two of them were knocked out, and I don’t know if they were both knocked out at the same time, I do know they came back..”

Though I have various entries from the 1/8th staff journal for that day that refer to the activities of those tracks, I don’t have anything directly from anyone from 1/50 who was on the ground that night with those four tracks.

Jim Sheppard was kind enough to suggest those of you addressed here as sources for any of the engagements in that time period, perhaps including the 6th and 7th.

If you can give me anything, no matter how little, please answer this email suggesting how I might best contact you. Email me at tomwkjos03@gmail.com Or you can call me at 480-352-2583 (Phoenix, AZ)

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