![]() They brought them back to a hill top in SVN. Short version, they did, took several hits while extracting the bn, and a couple of US and indigenous were wounded. He was correct, but GEN Stillwell then had his aide call the Marine Air Group Cdr, to send CH 46s to do the job. When the CH 47s arrived, we briefed the crews, and the CWO who was lead, info med us he could not fly the CH 47s into Laos under any circumstance. He was briefed and then told his aide to get CH 47s up to assist with the extraction of the Bn. While this was under way, GEN Richard Stillwell, CG XXIV Corps choppered in to MLT 2. (NOTE: Both were ultimately relieved and reassigned out of CCN.) Meadows unit reentered USMC lines due to the EXCELLENT coordination by the LNOs with the forward units of the USMC. The battalion was left under the command of a young LT, can’t recall his name at this time. ![]() Jones had a bandage above his left eye, and he said he was the one. When the slick RTB’d, Moore and Gary Jones got off the slick. The medevac got into the site, under fire. We ginned up a medevac, loaded extra water, rations and ammo aboard. Moore called in that he had taken casualties including an American. Meadows diversion had the desired effect, and some immediate pressure was taken off the battalion. USMC had a strong distrust of indigenous troops. This was done to insure a smooth reentry of the Meadows team. I briefed and assigned 3 of our CCN officers, including Randy Givens to the Marine units on line. I coordinated with the Marine Regt in our sector, regarding the insert of this team, and that upon accomplishment of the mission, the team, under command of Meadows, would cross friendly lines in their sector. Meadows and his team were to be inserted to the south of the Battalion, to create diversions to convince the NVA that we had inserted a large force to relieve the Battalion. Isler talked to Meadows, and re-prioritized his mission. Isler saw Dick Meadows training a recon team from CCS, for insert into a target the next day. The Americans were not able to get the troops moving in spite of Jack Isler’s prodding to Moore. The 2 companies, referred to here after as “Battalion or bn,” got spooked by NVA making noises that had unearthly connotations to the Bhuddist and animistic troops. Moore went in with the 2 companies, commanding the ground unit, and Gary Jones was his XO. Because of the close coordination required with the USMC, Jack Isler decided to go to the MLT, and took me as his CCN Ops officer to the site. The support of USMC Operation Dewey Canyon went this way: Jack Deckard was the MLT commander at Quang Tri. Finally, the weather broke enough to get us all out of the area – still under 122mm fire. I managed to get the USMC to donate some C Rations and had them flown over to our company across the valley, during one of the rare breaks in the clouds. We were socked in most of the time (for about 2 weeks) and they were out of food. With a company being inserted on a ridge line across the valley from our location at Firebase Cunningham. We finally extracted the whole operation. Dick and his folks then walked out and linked up with a USMC unit at some hilltop, which then marched overland to another USMC firebase for extraction. By the way, SOG also inserted a platoon from OP34 up at Monkey Mountain, commanded by Dick Meadows, off on the (I think Northern) flank to pull the NVA away from our two companies. During one fight, Cpt Gary Jones was on the radio with me when he said “I am Whiskey India Alpha!!” Then, he continued on with the operation and was later extracted, but not killed. They started a breakout attempt, to walk back to friendly lines, with a Recon Team on point … it was wiped out. Maj Moore, the S-2, was inserted as the Task Force commander. An NVA regiment closed in and surrounded the CCN forces. The CCN mission was to protect the flank of the 3rd MAR DIV. The other Cpt and I maintained constant radio contact and acted as radio relay to MLT-2 – while our location was being frequently plastered by 122mm artillery fire. It had a battery of 155mm and about a Battalion of Marines. I was sent out, with another Cpt, to be the Liaison Officer to the 9th Marine Regiment on a hilltop, near the Ashau, called Fire Base Cunningham. CCN ended up inserting Co A and Co B on top of a Recon Team, with (I think) about two more Recon Teams inserted. On March 1969 the USMC launched Operation Dewey Canyon.
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