Kham Duc!

Heroic Evacuation of the camp at Kham Duc.

Operation GOLDEN VALLEY, the reinforcement and evacuation of the US Army Special Forces/South Vietnamese Civilian Irregular Defense Corps (CIDG) camp at Kham Duc, may not be the most well-known operation of the Vietnam War, but it was definitely the most dramatic. On no other single day was there so much willingness for personal sacrifice to save the lives of others as there was during the final hours of the three-day operation. The evacuation of Kham Duc was a coordinated effort between elements of the United States Army, Air Force and Marine Corps as well as units of the South Vietnamese military. Though events sometimes seemed chaotic, potential disaster turned out to have a happy ending on that Mother’s Day, May 12, 1968.

The camp at Kham Duc was located on the western edge of Quang Tin Province some 75 miles west of Tam Ky. The mountainous region in which the camp was located possesses great natural beauty, with dense forests, rippling streams, cascading waterfalls and wooded ridges. Game abounded in the nearby forests, which is why the camp had originally been built there for South Vietnamese President Diem, who enjoyed hunting in the area. There were few native inhabitants in the remote region; the few civilians in the village were dependents of the CIDG troops in the camp, merchants, and assorted camp followers. A US Army Special Forces team arrived at the camp in September 1963 and found it to be an ideal location for border surveillance. An existing airfield made the camp even more valuable because it could be easily resupplied. But events in the region in late 1967 and early 1968 severely limited the value of the border camps. An increased North Vietnamese presence made some of the camps practically indefensible while some had already been overrun.  By May 1968 the camp at Kham Duc, A-105, was the only border camp remaining in Military Region I.

In early May intelligence sources learned during a prisoner interrogation that a large enemy force was on its way to attack and overrun the camp. Signs of an increasing enemy presence led MACV to direct a reinforcement of the garrison. On May 10 infantry and artillery troops from the 23^rd Division (Americal) were airlifted into Kham Duc. Eleven C-130 missions were complimented by a pair of C-124s which brought in two heavy bulldozers that were too large for C-130 lift. As the airlift was underway, a nearby forward operating post at an old French fort known as Ngok Tavak came under attack, thus beginning the three-day battle.

Ngok Tavak lay five miles downstream from the main camp at Kham Duc, on the banks of the Dak Mi River. The outpost was manned by a 113-man Mobile Strike Force and its eight American and three Australian advisors, along with a 33-man USMC artillery battery with two howitzers. At 0315 on May 10 the outpost was attacked by an NVA battalion supported by mortars and rocket fire. On the previous day, a CIDG platoon from Kham Duc had arrived at the fort after allegedly being ambushed while on patrol. Some of the CIDG troops moved toward the Marine artillery battery as the NVA assault began. They were shouting “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot! Friendly! Friendly!” As they drew near, they suddenly threw grenades into the Marine positions and ran into the fort. The enemy infiltrators continued their attack with carbines as they cut wires to the Claymore mines surrounding the camp and severed communications links. Though the defenders suffered heavy casualties, they stopped the main assault and killed the infiltrators.