Upcoming Events at
Fri Mar 13, 9:00 PM - Sat Mar 14, 9:00 PM
A Shau Valley Road, Fort Campbell, KY 42223
Community: Belltown
Description
GORUCK Tough - Battle for A Shau Valley
Event Details
"Looking back on the battle, Adkins said it was the toughest he can recall. "It was just not my time to die," despite being "blown from mortar pits on several occasions." Asked how he could keep going with 18 wounds, he replied "You just do. Quitting isn't an option. That's what you train for. In the jungle environment, we became better than some of the North Vietnamese soldiers”
— SGM Bennie G. Adkins, 5th SFG
The Battle for the A Shau Valley was located 2km east of the Laos border and directly adjacent to the PAVN’s (People’s Army of Vietnam) most strategic logistics route to the Ho Chi Minh Trail which supplied men, weapons, and equipment from Communist-led North Vietnam to their supporters fighting in South Vietnam. The battle lasted three long arduous days in March of 1966 involving 17 Green Beret’s from the 5th Special Forces Group (5th SFG) and some 400 South Vietnamese soldiers defending a Special Forces A-Camp against over 2000 enemy soldiers. The fighting which included major assaults, mortar barrages, and hand to hand combat resulted in the Camp being overrun and the death of five 5th Special Forces Group (5th SFG) soldiers, three aircrew from an AC-47D “Spooky 70” Gun Ship, 288 South Vietnamese soldiers, and an estimated 800 enemies. The aftermath included 2 Medal of Honor awardees for their selfless acts of heroism. One for Major Bernard F. Fisher after he landed his A-1 aircraft on the airstrip rescuing MAJ D.W. Myers after he was shot down in his aircraft and another for Green Beret SGM Bennie G. Adkins for distinguishing himself by personally killing an estimated 175 enemy combatants all while being wounded 18 times during 38 hours of close-combat fighting. Even though the SF A-Camp was attacked and overrun by superior numerical forces the 17 Green Berets and 400 South Vietnamese soldiers fought to the last possible moment defending the key terrain that they knew could affect the outcome of the war. Let’s commemorate the ultimate sacrifice of the 5 Green Berets, 3 Air Crew and their 288 South Vietnamese Brethren.
— SGM Bennie G. Adkins, 5th SFG
The Battle for the A Shau Valley was located 2km east of the Laos border and directly adjacent to the PAVN’s (People’s Army of Vietnam) most strategic logistics route to the Ho Chi Minh Trail which supplied men, weapons, and equipment from Communist-led North Vietnam to their supporters fighting in South Vietnam. The battle lasted three long arduous days in March of 1966 involving 17 Green Beret’s from the 5th Special Forces Group (5th SFG) and some 400 South Vietnamese soldiers defending a Special Forces A-Camp against over 2000 enemy soldiers. The fighting which included major assaults, mortar barrages, and hand to hand combat resulted in the Camp being overrun and the death of five 5th Special Forces Group (5th SFG) soldiers, three aircrew from an AC-47D “Spooky 70” Gun Ship, 288 South Vietnamese soldiers, and an estimated 800 enemies. The aftermath included 2 Medal of Honor awardees for their selfless acts of heroism. One for Major Bernard F. Fisher after he landed his A-1 aircraft on the airstrip rescuing MAJ D.W. Myers after he was shot down in his aircraft and another for Green Beret SGM Bennie G. Adkins for distinguishing himself by personally killing an estimated 175 enemy combatants all while being wounded 18 times during 38 hours of close-combat fighting. Even though the SF A-Camp was attacked and overrun by superior numerical forces the 17 Green Berets and 400 South Vietnamese soldiers fought to the last possible moment defending the key terrain that they knew could affect the outcome of the war. Let’s commemorate the ultimate sacrifice of the 5 Green Berets, 3 Air Crew and their 288 South Vietnamese Brethren.
