Over the next two days, Honeycutt, believing that the enemy occupied the mountain top with a reinforced platoon and maybe even a company, attempted to push his battalion into positions where he could launch a coordinated attack on Dong Ap Bia with three companies, each going up the mountain from a different direction. However, it would be difficult going for the American troops as they trudged through heavy jungle and rugged terrain. The enemy continued harassing them every step of the way, and in some cases pitched battles broke out. Delta Company, which had been securing the battalion CP, took more than five hours to advance 500 meters in the face of heavy enemy fire. The thick foliage and close proximity of friendly troops inhibited the use of indirect fire, further slowing any progress.

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It was becoming clear that the Americans had grossly underestimated the enemy’s strength on the hill; it was much more than company strength, and was getting stronger every day as additional reinforcements arrived from Laos.

By May 13, the brigade commander realized that the hill was occupied by more NVA than the 3-187 could handle alone. Accordingly, he ordered the 1-506 north from its area of operations to assist Honeycutt by attacking cross-country to strike the NVA facing the 3-187 from the rear. Conmy expected that the 1-506, the “Currahees,” starting from their location some 4,000 meters south of Hill 937, would be in position to provide some relief to the 3-187 no later than the morning of May 15, but it would take 5 ½ days—until May 19—for the Currahees to reach a position where they could support the Rakkasans.

Not wanting to give the enemy a chance to reinforce and strengthen his position on the mountain, Honeycutt decided he could not wait for his sister battalion to arrive. On May 14, he launched a coordinated attack on Dong Ap Bia with three companies. He ordered Bravo to continue to attack up the main ridge while Charlie launched another attack up a small finger 150 meters south of Bravo. He ordered Delta to slide back down the ravine where it was located and attempt to launch a flanking attack up the north side of the mountain.

As the attack commenced, Bravo Company ran into heavy enemy fire from automatic weapons and Claymore mines. Charlie Company initially made rapid progress toward its objective, but the North Vietnamese counterattacked and in the ensuing fight, the unit lost its first sergeant, two of its three platoon leaders, the company executive officer, two platoon sergeants, six squad leaders and 40 enlisted men.

Meanwhile, Delta Company struggled to get into its assigned attack position, severely hampered by the difficult terrain and under constant enemy machine gun and RPG fire. It took until late afternoon for its troopers just to get off the ridgeline where they had spent the previous evening.

A dozen Rakkasans were killed and more than 80 were wounded in the day’s fighting. One of those killed and three of the wounded were victims of friendly fire, hit by helicopter gunships that mistook them for enemy soldiers.

By this time, both Honeycutt and Conmy realized that the North Vietnamese, who usually fought hard for a while before quitting the battlefield, were going to stand and fight on Dong Ap Bia. Honeycutt’s troopers had suffered heavy casualties, but had gained little ground in the bitter fighting. Knowing that his troops were heavily outnumbered, Honeycutt pleaded with Conmy to tell the 1-506 “to get their asses in gear!”

As dusk arrived on May 14, the survivors of the day’s fight assumed night defensive positions. After sundown, the Rakkasans could see enemy cooking fires, ominously dotting the mountainside above them—one trooper counting more than 100 of them running in three irregular rows all the way around the mountain. The enemy was still there and didn’t care if the paratroopers knew it; they would be waiting on the Rakkasans when they tried to take the hill again.

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