Page:Airmobility 1961-1971.pdf/109

refugees. The rest of the rice bowl belonged to the enemy and was presided over by the 3d North Vietnam Army Division. Its three regiments—the 2d, the 18th, and the 22d—operated from mobile base camps hidden in the mountains. From there they sent small forces throughout the lowlands to terrorize the farmers, manipulate the cycle of rice growing and harvesting, and generally controlled the lives of the people of Binh Dinh.

The 1st Cavalry's initial major operation in this area was called MASHER in its first phase, and WHITE WING in its second, third, and fourth phases. The fighting covered a full circle around Bong Son. The 1st Cavalry Division, in close coordination with the 22d Army of the Republic of Vietnam Division, began with air assaults into the Cay Giep Mountains, then moved to the Bong Son Plains, the An Lao Valley, the Kim Son Valley, and finally back to the Cay Giep Mountains. As a result of MASHER-WHITE WING, the airmobile division and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam infantry forced the North Vietnamese Army regulars out of the area and temporarily broke their hold on the population. As it turned out, the 1st Cavalry would find itself preoccupied in this area on and off for a long time to come.

In the after action report of the 3d Brigade when it concluded Operation MASHER-WHITE WING on 17 February, they were able to report that 893 enemy had been killed by actual body count. A large quantity of equipment and small arms had been captured along with 24,000 rounds of ammunition. Friendly losses were 82 killed in action and 318 wounded.

The Brigade had been supported throughout this operation by the 133d Assault Support Helicopter Company with 16 Chinooks. The CH-47 Chinook had proved essential in moving artillery and resupplying the Brigade with ammunition and supplies. Night resupply was often required. On 28 January seven Chinooks made an emergency resupply mission during weather conditions consisting of extremely low ceilings and poor visibility, and six of the seven committed helicopters were hit by enemy ground fire. The company commander, Major Taylor D. Johnson, was killed while attempting to recover a downed OH-13 scout helicopter. Despite the weather and the enemy fire, the 16 Chinooks assigned to this company during the period 1 January through 31 January flew 526 hours transferring 3,212 passengers and over 1600 tons of cargo.

Lieutenant Colonel Max A. Clark, the commanding officer of the parent organization for this company, the 228th Assault Support Helicopter Battalion, made special note of the difficulty in supporting Chinook operations so far away from the An Khe base