During World War II, no U.S. Army regiment fought in more battles over a longer period of time, from North Africa all the way to Germany. The regiment made four amphibious assaults and fought in such costly battles as Sicily, the Volturno River crossing, Anzio, southern France, the Vosges and the Colmar Pocket. In Korea, the 7th fought near Chosin Reservoir during the terrible winter of 1950-51 and then endured nearly three more years of continuous combat.

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Now, in 1968, on the verge of the Tet Offensive, the soldiers of the 7th Infantry were about to add another chapter to their colorful history. Proud as he was of the unit’s lineage, Gibler could think of none of that as he sat in his command post bunker at his battalion’s firebase just outside Binh Chanh in late January. He could not escape the sense that the enemy was about to attack somewhere, and soon.

Perhaps in his assessment he was influenced by the attitude of Lt. Gen. Frederick Weyand, an old Cotton Baler himself and one of the most noted American soldiers of the 20th century. An ROTC graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Weyand had served as an intelligence specialist in World War II. In Korea he commanded the 1st Battalion, 7th Infantry, in 1951, during some of the fiercest fighting of the war. In 1966-67, Weyand commanded the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam, before moving up to command of the II Field Force, Vietnam, the functional equivalent of corps command.

In the days leading up to Tet, Weyand became convinced that the enemy was about to strike the cities of South Vietnam. He vehemently and successfully urged Westmoreland to redeploy significant numbers of American troops so that they would be able to respond to such an attack. ‘Our radio intercepts began picking up the movement of units toward Saigon, which caused us to cancel a major multidivision operation we had planned to launch…about 100 miles north of Saigon,’ Weyand later recalled. ‘That really proved to be a stroke of good fortune, for if those units had gone north, the VC would have had a field day in Saigon.’

Gibler, meanwhile, was feeling spooked on the eve of Tet. He told his operations officer, Major James MacGill, to issue orders to every company to return to the firebase. MacGill wondered why. ‘I don’t know, I just want ‘em on their way back in,’ Gibler replied.

Late that afternoon, Gibler’s eyes kept wandering to a map of Saigon. He could not escape the sensation that a fight would soon break out there. That night he ordered his newly returned company commanders to immediately instruct their troops in the tactics of urban combat.

The Tet Offensive began the next morning. Main Force VC fired 122mm rockets at Long Binh, the main base of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, the 7th Infantry’s higher headquarters in Vietnam. The enemy also hit nearby Bien Hoa Air Base very hard. They infiltrated and attacked Saigon, including, most famously, the U.S. Embassy. The Cotton Baler compound near Binh Chanh remained quiet, but Gibler soon received word that the embattled forces in Saigon needed help.

Viet Cong attackers had captured Cholon, the western section of Saigon, including the strategically important Phu Tho Racetrack. This horse racing facility was located at the hub of many streets, and also made an ideal landing zone for helicopters. If the VC could hold the track, they would have a good chance of holding Cholon. Gibler’s Cotton Balers received orders to take it back.

For obvious reasons, this would not be an airmobile assault. It had to be executed on the ground, and it could only be supported by a limited number of vehicles. That meant only one company could go in at a time. Gibler chose his strongest company, Alpha, for the difficult task of going in first. Alpha was led by one of the toughest junior officers the Cotton Balers had in Vietnam. Captain Tony Smaldone, who hailed from Cohoes, N.Y., was already a veteran of three Vietnam tours and had been wounded four times. He was the perfect leader for an infantry company in combat-resolute, fair-minded, tough, smart, no-nonsense and brave. One general called him ‘the best damned company commander I’ve ever seen.’

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