VN: What were the specifics that led to your unit’s going to Vietnam in 1965, after the Johnson administration decided to commit ground troops?

Rascon: Very likely it was the fact that the 173rd was one of the best-trained units at that time to handle jungle warfare. The 173rd is a self-supported brigade, formed about 1963 out of the 2nd Airborne Battalion Group, which had been based in Okinawa, Thailand and the Philippines. The 173rd had had jungle training. I believe it was one of the very few units with this kind of experience — except for some Marine units. So on May 5, 1965, the 173rd was committed to Vietnam. The 503’s 1st Battalion (1/503) landed in Vung Tau but eventually joined the rest of the brigade at Bien Hoa Air Base.

VN: Within a few months, though, your battalion was included in one of the most ambitious assaults of that period of the war, Operation Silver City, directed by the 1st Infantry Division. The 173rd’s after-action report shows how big the effort really was. It says, for example, that the VC forces there included three main force regiments, two main force battalions, one local force battalion and smaller security forces. It also says that the area was a ‘long established and well defended base camp for numerous VC units.’ Did you know at the beginning what a big job this was going to be?

Rascon: I did not realize how big Operation Silver City was until later. I have a clear memory of traveling into the area, including a difficult crossing of the Song Be River on pontoons and rubber rafts. Others flew in by helicopter and established a landing zone from which the 173rd could operate. The mission was to insert us into War Zone D and to destroy MR-7 headquarters. This involved a thorough screening of the area.

VN: Tell us what happened in the first few days.

Rascon: We started out on March 9, searching the area. On March 14 and 15 we found large caches of weapons and rice. On the 15th, one bag that we found was booby-trapped, and two recon soldiers were wounded and extracted by helicopter. This was a scary event because when we found these materials, despite the fact that there could be other booby-traps, we were ordered to retrieve them and bring them back to the battalion area base. Then engineers would go back in and blow up everything we could not carry out.

VN: It appears that this was an important find, however. Records of the 173rd show they later verified that this was a weapons depot for MR-7. The mission was considered a second major success for the brigade. In January, the 173rd had uncovered weapons caches for the VC’s MR-4 — the Saigon – Cholon – Gia Dinh Special Sector headquarters. What happened then?

Rascon: That night, around 1 a.m., our encampment was shattered by the sound of mortars and artillery. We did not know if these were the ‘bad guys,’ or if we were the targets. By daybreak, we could hear the 2nd Battalion in a massive firefight. We later found out they were engaged with two reinforced battalions of the regular NVA. We learned that they were surrounded in an oval-shaped area about the size of a football field in the middle of dense jungle. They were being hit from all sides. But we were still sweeping the area. One company had found another large ammo cache, and it would have to be retrieved, so we did this. By midday, however, it was decided that B and C Companies would assist the 2nd Battalion. Later that afternoon, the recon patrol was told to take the lead, with A Company bringing up the rear.

VN: Apparently, this fight was the second most significant action since the 173rd had come to Vietnam. What did you have to do to get to them?

Rascon: The area was covered by dense jungle, so we had to work our way on narrow paths, which were enemy trails. We could hear the fighting from about 200 meters away when we came to a stretch where, to our left, was a burned-out, napalmed area; on the right, thick jungle; and ahead, a fork where two other trails met the trail we were on. At this location, we found piles of bandages and bodies of NVA soldiers that had been stacked up. We later learned that the 2/503 was putting it to the NVA, and as NVA were killed around the perimeter of the fighting, their bodies were being removed.

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