101st Airborne Division Vietnam Photo's

2044 photos in 402 sub-albums

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2139 photos in 529 sub-albums

24 photos

1 photo

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Battle Hill 309 23 March 1968

24 photos

As a prelude to Phuoc Yen, the classic cordon operation of the Vietnam war, paratroopers from the B/2-501 IN, D/2-501 IN, A/1-502 IN, A/1-501 IN, followed by two PF Platoons into the village of Thon Kim D. Immediately the village was sealed off allowing artillery and airstrikes to pound the enemy force. The first day yielded 21 enemy bodies. Illumination continued through the night as the trapped enemy unit tried to exfiltrate the village. The following day found airborne riflemen firing into the village while air strikes and artillery continued to batter the remaining NVA. The day's results were 47 NVA killed. The final day saw the 2nd Brigade troopers sweeping the village and raising the total body count to 95. The tactic of cordoning a village continued to develop through the 2nd Brigade and the coastal plains operations. The concept consists of keeping the companies in constant sweeping motions and still within striking distance of each other. Then when a lucrative target is found artillery and air strikes contain the enemy until additional airborne units are airlifted to the area sealing off any possible escape routes. The classic cordon of the Vietnam war occurred on April 28, around the village of Phuoc Yen. The Phuoc Yen battle began with units from the 2nd Brigade trapping the 8th Bn, 90th NVA Reg in the stocking area of the Song Bo River, 2 miles northwest of Hue. For four days, companies from three 2nd Brigade battalions, plus local Popular Forces (PF's), and the "Black Panther" Company of the 1st ARVN Division, lay siege to the stocking shaped village complex that intelligence sources said was harboring an NVA battalion. The paratroopers were joined by the batteries of the 21st Artillery, helicopter gunships, and Air Force fighter-bombers. By morning of the fifth day, the NVA body count reached 419, and another 107 became the NVA force to surrender in mass to an American unit in the history of the war.

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92 photos

2-502d Infantry Battalion - Departure and Arrival at Cam Rahn Bay - Operation at Cam Rahn Bay

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430 photos in 42 sub-albums

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61 photos in 5 sub-albums

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Was a former U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps base south of Hue, in Central Vietnam. On 30/31 January 1968, the base was hit by Vietcong mortar and rocket fire as part of the TET Offensive. The base was used to support U.S. and ARVN forces fighting in the Battle of Hue. The first relief force was dispatched from Phu Bai to the MACV Compound in Hue City. On 15 February 1968, General Creighton Abrams established MACV forward at Phu Bai to assume direct control of US forces in northern I Corps, which were then engaged in the Battle of Hue, the Battle of Khe Sanh and the TET Counteroffensive. MACV Forward ceased operation on 10 March 1968. IN 1969, the 85th Evacuation Hospital moved form Qui Nhon and was established at the Norwest end of the airfield, adjacent to Highway 1. The Headquarters of the 101st was moved to Phu Bai.

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On 30 September 1968, at the dedication of Pohl Bridge across the Huong River in Nam Hoa District, Thieu Thein, South Vietnam, close to where Rich was killed, Major General Melvin Zais, Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division, said: "Colonel Pohl was an extremely able, sincere, and dedicated Army Officer. His twenty-two years of military service reflect his dedication to his country, his high sense of honor, and his complete devotion to his soldierly duties. This remarkable and brilliant officer was truly destined for very high positions of responsibility in the Army. "His loss has been deeply felt by the 101st Airborne Division, the Army and his Vietnamese comrades. He loved the people and soldiers of the Vietnamese province in which he worked. It was his belief that we must free the people from aggression so that they may press ahead with the task of building their nation. "His service in Vietnam impressed upon the minds and hearts of all the men who knew him, that he was brave, honest, and gallant. Colonel Pohl will always be remembered as an outstanding American soldier, a gentleman, and a friend of the Vietnamese people. This bridge will help his memory to live." Those of us who knew Rich Pohl will always remember him as calm, imperturbable, self-contained, and happy. He was unselfish, a sincere friend, a devoted husband, a deeply dedicated father, and a truly outstanding Army Officer. On the day of his death in Vietnam he was doing what he was trained to do - doing what he wanted to do. General Andrew P. O'Meara, who was Rich's boss for three years, best expressed the feelings of all of us who knew him when in writing to Anne last July he said of Rich: "He was at the height of his powers, doing a job for which he was superbly equipped, and doing it in a fashion which was recognized as magnificent both by his superiors and his subordinates. The future was bright indeed and the present was full of satisfaction."

438 photos in 12 sub-albums

11 photos in 10 sub-albums