In the north, Anderson’s 1st Platoon had been largely left alone. Given this opportunity, it had extended its line west toward the river. From that vantage point Anderson could see the A Company troops clearing the embankments. He was on the phone reporting this news when five enemy soldiers ran out of the village and straight toward him. Anderson shot them all.

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The NVA inside the village were finally getting organized. The fire against A Company in and along the river increased steadily. Another group of NVA had filtered through the seam between A and B companies and was blasting away at Alpha’s LZ. The 3rd Platoon of Bravo at the southeast corner conducted a ‘mad minute’ (firing all available weapons). When they stopped, the NVA replied with a three-minute-long ‘mad minute’ of their own.

It was at this seemingly inopportune moment that Root ordered a halt to the fighting. The men on the ground protested, but they complied, and at 11:30 a.m. a Huey with a loudspeaker arrived over the village. A taped announcement told those below that the Americans would cease firing for 45 minutes and that all civilians should leave the village. The NVA, of course, were not obligated to adhere to the cease-fire and they did not, maintaining such a racket that many American soldiers could not even hear the loudspeaker. Remarkably, 171 villagers did listen, and headed for the American lines and safety.

During this interlude the balance of A Company arrived and immediately came under fire from the trench line. As the 3rd Platoon fanned out and returned fire, a cluster of old men, women and children stumbled between the two forces. Lieutenant Donald Grigg, the platoon leader, stripped off his gear and ran out to them. Lifting up the two children, he led the group to the relative safety of his lines.

Elsewhere, the first two platoons of C Company under Captain Darrel Houston landed at the extreme northwest corner about 400 meters from the main village area. For the next three hours, Houston’s men swept toward the village, crossing open rice paddies and clearing a number of outlying huts on the way. They were met by sporadic sniper fire and collected a dozen prisoners.

During this period, Colonel Hyle, the brigade commander, and Root huddled on the ground at the A Company command post. Something, unseen and unheard in the din, nicked Hyle in the stomach. Hyle dismissed it, the meeting broke up, and both men returned to their respective command birds. Only after he was airborne and tuned back into the radio networks did Root realize that the danger had been significantly closer than either colonel sensed.

In the brush immediately behind where both men had been sitting was an NVA lieutenant. He had his rifle aimed at Root’s back when he was killed by Sergeant Delbert Jennings. Jennings would later win the Medal of Honor for his actions during the defense of LZ Bird on December 27, 1966.

At 3 p.m., C Company began to move into position between A Company and Bravo’s 1st Platoon. With a number of civilians still wandering about, C Company held its fire and crawled forward toward the northwest corner. This move displaced Anderson’s 1st Platoon, which was ordered to march south through the village and rejoin B Company.

Anderson’s men came out shooting and pitching grenades at any possible enemy position. They kept this up all the way, taking only three wounded at the very beginning of the 45-minute movement. The casualties came when Sergeant Jim Owens threw a grenade into a bunker, only to have it thrown back out into the middle of his squad. After that, only continuous enemy sniper fire met the advance. Anderson’s assault south through the village was largely unopposed.

Root was concerned. He was certain that at least an NVA battalion was in the village, yet a single American platoon had just walked through essentially unmolested. It did not make any sense. Root had been considering asking for additional companies. Now he began to reconsider his next move, figuring that his battalion alone might be enough.

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