Library
of Congress Catalog Number: 75-23360
First Printing
For
sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402
This
picture comes from Pat Maloney's album onsite.
In
January 1968 the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile)
was alerted for immediate movement north. The 45th
EngineerGroup was given responsibility for the additional
engineer support during the movement and for sustained
support in the I Corps area. Located at Qui Nhon at
this time, the group prepared to move north at the
height of the enemy Tet offensive and in the midst
of the monsoon season. The movement toward the base
camp near Hue was complicated by weather that made
helicopter flight unreliable and by enemy activities
on the ground that made convoy travel extremely hazardous.
The
first unit of the 45th to start north was the 35th
Engineer Battalion (Combat). Its immediate mission
was to move overland, preparing Route 1 for heavy
traffic north. The operation was not an easy one considering
the level of enemy activity in the northern provinces.
The battalion left a landing zone thirty miles north
of Qui Nhon on 8 February 1968 to begin the trip up
Route 1 toward Da Nang. After reaching DA Nang, the
battalion pushed north in an effort to open the Hai
Van Pass and the road north of DA Nang as far as Phu
Loc. On 12 February advanced units of the 35th reached
Ap Nam O, five miles north of DA Nang. Movement farther
north became more costly as each mile was opened.
Bridges and culverts had been destroyed at many points
on the road. Enemy sappers constantly disrupted repair
efforts with sniper fire and random mines and booby
traps. With assistance from units of the 101st Airborne
Division and the 502d Infantry Regiment, the 35th
was able to remove the obstacles and replace the damaged
bridges by 24 February. On 29 February one company
of the 35th linked up with elements of the 32d Naval
Construction Regiment working to open the road south
from Phu Bai. On 1 March convoys were rolling from
DA Nang to Phu Bai for the first time since the beginning
of the Tet offensive in early January.
The
14th Engineer Battalion (Combat), located at Cam Ranh
Bay, was withdrawn from the 35th Engineer Group to
head north. The unit had originally been instructed
to prepare to move by sea to Quang Tri where it was
to provide support for an over-the-beach logistic
operation, but plans had been changed when it was
learned that conditions on the beach would not allow
the landing of LST's. Fortunately, the 35th Battalion
had already opened the road north of DA Nang enabling
convoy travel to reach the northernmost areas of I
Corps. The 14th was then ordered to travel by convoy
to Wunder Beach, just south of Quang Tri. Once the
battalion reached its destination, one company was
sent inland to provide combat support for the 1st
Cavalry Division located at Camp Evans. From the base
camp, the remainder of the battalion built roads and
performed other engineering tasks essential for the
movement of supplies in preparation for Operation
PEGASUS, which was aimed at lifting the siege at Khe
Sanh.
The
27th Engineer Battalion, the fourth and last engineer
battalion to arrive in I Corps, was assigned the task
of providing support to the 101st in the Hue area.
Teaming up with the 591st Engineer Company (Light
Equipment), the 27th prepared to move from a site
known as Blackhorse, thirty miles east of Saigon,
by any means of transportation available. Wheeled
vehicles were moved by sea to DA Nang, where they
were met by drivers flown there by C-130's. The vehicles
then were driven in convoy to Gia Le, south of Hue,
via the newly opened Hai Van Pass. Heavy equipment
was moved by LST directly to Tan My and driven overland
to Gia Le. The remaining troops of the 27th were flown
directly from Saigon to the Phu Bai airfield near
Gia Le. The entire unit reached Gia Le by the middle
of April.
The
first major task of the 27th Battalion was to support
a joint operation by the 1st Cavalry, 101st, and a
South Vietnamese airborne brigade up the A Shau valley
on Route 547. This task included clearing and opening
Route 547 for vehicle traffic and removing all jungle
vegetation within three hundred meters of the roadway.
The clearing was accomplished through the coordinated
work of platoons of Rome Plows.
The
construction of the winding, mountainous Route 547-known
as the A Shau Expressway is an excellent example of
the cooperation and coordination involved in the lines
of communication program. Route 547 was begun in March
1969 when I Corps tacticians decided the 101st Division
needed an all-weather land supply link from the division's
base camp near Hue into the A Shau valley, a notorious
enemy stronghold. The 27th Engineer Battalion and
seven attached companies were assigned to the project
and designated the 45th Engineer Group's Tiger Task
Force.
Various
parts of the road construction job were distributed
all along the proposed route. Company C of the 27th
installed culverts behind the initial effort of the
59th Land Clearing Company, assisted by helicopters
from the 101st Division. The culverts were assembled
in the base camps where men and equipment could work
freely, and then transported, dangling by hook and
line from Chinook helicopters, to the construction
site.The engineers in Vietnam relied upon innovation
and ingenuity, which often were the only means of
solving the myriad construction problems they encountered.
Land clearing teams along Route 547 had to clear areas
bordering the roadway which sometimes dropped off
sharply to 60-percent grades. Engineers devised an
unusual method of tandem dozing to deal with this
situation. Referred to as yo-yo dozing, this method
used two dozers; one was positioned on the roadway
as an anchor and the other was hooked to the first,
rear end to rear end, then lowered over the edge of
the slope with its plow pointed straight down to clear
a swath through the trees and brush. When the dozer
with the plow reached the bottom of the grade, the
two dozers reversed their winches and the anchor dozer
drew the second dozer back up the grade to begin a
new cut. The procedure was repeated until the required
200-meter strip was cleared.
Farther
down the road other elements of the battalion constructed
a Bailey bridge spanning the Song Bo River. Nearly
every facet of road construction was exhibited in
the building of Route 547, which was a crucial link
in the road system and not merely a military convenience.
After the U.S. forces have left, 547 will remain as
a valuable commercial artery for the city of Hue and
the people in the surrounding areas.
Army
engineer operations now encompassed every province
in South Vietnam. From the marshy rice paddies of
the Mekong Delta to the mountainous highlands along
the demilitarized zone, engineers were hard at work
applying their expertise in support of combat operations
carried out by the allied military forces and in assisting
the Vietnamese people in their efforts to build a
new nation.
