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Jan. 1 - The recon element and D Company of 1/506 discovered a smoldering cache near FB Mexico that included the barrels of seven individual weapons and one crew-served weapon along with the remains of $400,000 in VC tax scrip - receipts to be given villagers by the enemy for seizure of rice and other commodities.
Jan. 2 - In an ambush near Old Hickory, A/2/327 killed three enemy while the No Slack recon element - the Hawks - killed another after a combat assault. Recon craft of D/1/1 Cav killed three enemy in the Ruong Ruong Valley east of the A Shau.
Jan. 3 - Seven enemy were killed and two captured in action in the AO.
Jan. 4 - While searching an area 7 km southwest of Hue, C/1/502 picked up one Viet Cong officer and three weapons. In two contacts near FB Quick, Charlie Company accounted for two enemy killed and four weapons captured.
Jan. 5 - Paratroopers of 1/501 supported the initiation of 2/54 ARVN soft cordon of the northern end of Vinh Loc Island.
Jan. 7 - The 1st Brigade initiated a new operation in the Ruong Ruong Valley aimed at the enemy's rear supply and base areas. The operation started with an air assault by 2/502 into an LZ northeast of the valley and the establishment of FB Dagger.
Jan. 9 - Twenty NVA engaged an ambush patrol of B/2/327 near the Nuoc Ngot Bridge. The troopers killed seven and captured one prisoner and seven AK-47s and a pistol. Near the coast, artillery fire called in on two enemy sampans killed two Viet Cong. Screaming Eagles accounted for 18 other enemy dead elsewhere in the AO.
Jan. 11 - Gunships of 2/17 Cav with air support accounted for four enemy killed and an RPG launcher captured 20 km southeast of Hue. One prisoner was captured in another contact. Elements of 3/506 killed three enemy and captured documents near Phan Thiet.
Jan. 12 - Early in the morning, Camp Eagle and Gia Le received seven to ten 122mm rockets, causing light damage and no casualties. In light action, five enemy killed and one weapon were added to Nevada Eagle totals. A/3/506 discovered an enemy supply point near Phan Thiet and destroyed seven structures and eight tons of rice.
Jan. 13 - Delta Company paratroopers of 2/327 killed three and captured their weapons when they ambushed an eight-man rice carrying element near the South China Sea coast. Enemy movement of supplies was further foiled when Currahees of C/2/506 killed one enemy and sank two sampans on the Song Bo as the communists tried to move south. The soft cordon on Vinh Loc Island was terminated with the extraction of the 1st Battalion Geronimos. The 3rd Brigade's operation ended with good results as 1/506 and two 1st ARVN Division battalions were extracted from locations in Nam Hoa District. The two-week operation resulted in 12 enemy killed and 26 individual weapons captured.
Jan. 14 - Near Phan Thiet, 3/506 Currahees killed three while supporting gunships killed eight.
Jan. 16 - In the day's only heavy contact, an element of C/2/327 engaged 25 NVA soldiers attempting to cross QL-1 near Thua Luu Bridge. The No Slack platoon allowed the enemy to get within 30 meters of their position before opening fire. As the North Vietnamese soldiers fled to the south, artillery was called in to block withdrawal routes. An initial sweep revealed 12 enemy killed and six weapons. Six more enemy dead and four more weapons were found the next morning.
Jan. 17 - As enemy activity continued in the 1st Brigade AO, B/2/327 engaged an enemy squad, killing five and taking a prisoner and five weapons, including a B-40 rocket launcher.
Jan. 18 - C/1/501 Geronimos sank four sampans on an unauthorized waterway, killing two VC and capturing their AKs. Paratroopers of 2/501 completed air assaults into landing zones north of the Khe Lo Moi Valley.
Jan. 19 - As the battalion invaded enemy areas, B/2/501 killed three and captured two weapons. Paratroopers of D/3/506 killed two VC with claymores near Phan Thiet.
Jan. 22 - In an air strike supporting ARVN Black Panthers southwest of Leech Island, an F-4 Phantom crashed and its pilots were attacked by enemy ground forces. While covering the evacuation of the airmen, 4/77 Arty ARA and gunships from D/101 AHB killed three NVA. Elsewhere, gunships killed two enemy soldiers who fired at sniffer aircraft.
Jan. 23 - D/2/327 paratroopers engaged 12 enemy near the coast with small arms and artillery, killing two and capturing three AKs.
Jan. 24 - The 3rd Brigade initiated a new operation in the western part of the AO, again aimed at the 6th NVA Regiment base area. It began with air assaults by Rakkasans of 3/187 into LZs Barbara and Mexico and continued with 2/506 and 1st ARVN assaults into Carol, Haidi and Davis.
Jan. 25 - Continuing a new Screaming Eagle series of offensives in enemy base areas, elements of the 2nd Brigade initiated an operation aimed at cutting off enemy movement out of the A Shau along Highway 547A. Air assaults were conducted into FB Bastogne. Elsewhere in the AO, 101st paratroopers accounted for 18 enemy dead, one prisoner, one Hoi Chanh and four captured weapons. A/2/501 discovered a sizeable grave complex containing 16 enemy bodies in the Leech Island area. Part of Delta Company of 3/506 Currahees encountered two VC on a paymaster team. They killed one of them and captured 45,000 piasters.
Jan. 26 - The 2nd Brigade operation continued with air assaults into LZ Son. In the area, the CO of the 101st AHB spotted several NVA and a 37mm antiaircraft gun. Delta Company gunships were called in, resulting in two NVA killed and the AA gun destroyed. In the 3rd Brigade operation, C/2/506 discovered a cache of 24 SKS rifles, three RPDs, one RPG launcher, 30 60mm mortar rounds and 30 RPG rounds in an elaborate hut-bunker complex in the mountains west of Camp Evans. The 1st Brigade's operation continued near FB Quick II with light contact. The 2/502 Recondos engaged an NVA platoon, killed two, and later found a cache of four weapons.
Jan. 27 - Screaming Eagle offensives continued, with 11 enemy killed and one prisoner captured. 2/502 killed six enemy while 1/327 troopers killed two enemy near FB Anzio. A Ranger team operating east of FB Strike had three contacts resulting in two enemy killed.
Jan. 28 - Three contacts by 2/502 in the 1st Brigade operation were reported, with two enemy killed. The pointman of Charlie Company engaged five VC, who fled leaving behind two weapons. Elsewhere in the AO, seven enemy were killed.
Jan. 29 - Strike Force troopers accounted for three enemy killed near FB Quick II. Near Phan Thiet, 3/506 paratroopers killed three VC.
Jan. 31 - Screaming Eagles killed three enemy and captured one weapon, with B/2/327 killing one and taking a weapon in a clash northwest of the Nuoc Ngot Bridge. Two prisoners and another weapon were picked up the next morning. Operation McLain, conducted by 3/506 Currahees near Phan Thiet, terminated. The battalion, under the operational control of Task Force South if I Field Force, accounted for 831 enemy killed, more than 300 detained and 490 weapons seized. The operation lasted nearly a year.
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