War Heroism Sacrifice

War – Heroism – Sacrifice

A Story from the Chronicles of the Vietnam War

By Jerry Berry

The early morning hours of January 31, 1968 heralded the beginning of the month-long infamous TET Communist Offensive of 1968. These attacks also included the city of Phan Thiet and LZ Betty—basecamp for the 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 506th Infantry (Currahees), 101st Airborne Division (Screaming Eagles), as well as the surrounding villages and hamlets within Binh Thuan Province, South Vietnam. Fierce battles raged in and around Phan Thiet, as the fighting rolled into the month of February.

The Battle at Xuan Phong Hamlet

On February 2, 1968, the Communist TET Offensive throughout South Vietnam was in its third day. My infantry company, Alpha Company, 3-506thcommanded by Cpt. Thomas F. Gaffney, conducted a combat assault to the northwest of Phan Thiet into an area soon to be called “Disneyland” in an attempt to block enemy retreats from the heavy enemy fighting within the city. Soon after departing our Landing Zone (LZ), Cpt. Gaffney received orders to proceed to Xuan Phong Hamlet, where intelligence had reported the location of the enemy.

Moving two platoons abreast (side by side), 2Lt. John Harrison’s 2nd Platoon and 2Lt. James Schlax’s 1st Platoon left the LZ and made their way cautiously toward the hamlet, with 2Lt. Len Leibler’s 3rd Platoon as rear security. As we approached the outskirts of the hamlet, enemy snipers fired on us in an attempt to pin us down and separate the lead two platoons as part of a “divide and conquer” strategy. Early in the firefight, 2Lt. Schlax’s RTOwas killed by an enemy sniper.

Platoon Sergeant SFC JAMES ALBERT BUNN

Sergeant First Class James Albert Bunn, a 32-yearoldnative of MiamiFlorida, was the platoonsergeant of Lt. Harrison’s 2nd Platoon. His second tour in Vietnam began on October 2, 1967, when he shipped out withthe rest of the battalion and arrived in country on October 25.

Photo Caption: Alpha Company leaves the docks at Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam on October 25, 1967.

SFC Bunn hadserved his first tour in Vietnamin 1965-1966 with the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry, 101st Airborne. In a letter written to his wife, Rachel, shortly after his arrival in South Vietnam, PSGBunn wrote, “The biggest job this time is not to fight, but to save the lives of mytroops. So far, I’ve been able to manage the situation by telling the platoon thatthey’re the best. Everyone says this is the best-trained battalion that has ever hitVietnam as a unit. These guys are hard and a great bunch of kids. I’m reallyhonored to know and lead them. We’ll do all right, but as you know, I’ve neverhad a man under me killed, and this time I know it’s got to happen. It’s going to

hurt, but I just hope I can stand up to it.”

As the lead platoon, Lt. Harrison and his men,including SFC Bunn, were the first to make heavy contactwith the enemy soon after arriving at theirdestination. Almost immediately, an intense battleensued. It continued fiercely throughout theafternoon and into the evening. Most of the enemycontact involved close-in fighting among thebuildings and houses within the hamlet. Lt.Harrison recalls, “We knew we were moving tocontact that day. It was a question of whereand when we hit the enemy, not ‘if’. There were

very loud battles going on all over the placethat day. We expected to hit a well-entrenchedenemy—and we did.”

Photo Caption: The photo on left is the actual hamlet which we combat assaulted next to. Photo on right is platoon leader, 2Lt. John Harrison (in front of RTO), 2nd Platoon, Alpha Co. with his RTO and other platoon members taking cover during the initial contact with large enemy force. PSG Bunn is believed to be at far right of photo.

Making their way into the hamlet, 2nd Platooncame upon an area with houses bordered by openrice paddies. The Currahees took shelter behinda low dike in the rear of a small house. In front ofthe small house, was a much larger two-storyhouse with a sizeable front porch. After searchingthe small house, Lt. Harrison sent a three-manfire teamtocheck out the large house for the enemy.When the fire team reached the large house,they discovered an old(elderly)Vietnamese couple inside. They let the team in and were talking veryexcitedly. As the teambegan to check things outPfc. Andrew Danielyelled ‘they’re here!’ Then the shootingstarted. There was a mad dash back to the frontdoor of the house. Two team members made it through the front door and around to theside of the house, but Pfc. Andrew Daniel wasshot as he made his way through the front doorand onto the large porch. By this time, the entirearea had erupted into heavy weapons fire, which prevented the Currahees from assisting Pfc. Daniel, who was badly woundedand calling for help.

/
Pfc. Daniel’s canteens can be seen on the porch where he fell.

Photos Caption:Shown on the right are Pfc. Andrew Daniel and Sgt. Stacy Raynor at Phan Rang shortly after we arrived in South Vietnam in 1967. Photo on right is the large house where Pfc. Daniel was hit and died. His two canteens can be seen on the porch.

Lt. Harrison recalls, “Daniel was hurt. The porch would be a bitch to get toand then get away from. I can’t begin to tell you how frustrating that day was orhow many different ideas we talked about to get Daniel off that porch.” Theplatoon leader decided that PSG Bunn would take another fire team and attempt toclear the large house of the Viet Cong inside to facilitate the rescue of Pfc. Daniel. The

plan was to make their way to the rear of the house and enter it from a back door.

PSG Bunn and his fire team made their way around the barbed wire fences thatseparated the two houses and slowly approached the back of the large house. Justbefore reaching the back of the house, PSG Bunn left the fire team and proceeded tothe corner of the house. The enemy fire became intense once again, with heavy firecoming from all directions. With bullets striking all around him, PSG Bunn reached theback door, threw a hand grenade inside the house, and followed up with several burstsfrom his M-16 rifle. At the doorway, PSG Bunn was shot several times by enemy firefrom an enemy soldier hidden under a haystack in the backyard of the house. PSG Bunn died almost instantly from his wounds, but the heavy enemyfire and the intense battle that raged on throughout the afternoon prevented his menfrom recovering his body until later. A volunteer group of Currahees, led by Lt. Harrison,returned that night and retrieved his body from the hamlet still heavily infested with theenemy.

Photo Caption: Left Photo – A photo I took during the battle of an F 104 Phantom making its run on the enemy’s position near Lt. Harrison’s platoon. Shown in the foreground in photo on right is a one of the hidden enemy bunkers beneath piles of hay or other debris which PSG Bunn and the Currahees encountered that day.

Lt. John Harrison continues, “Jim was a professional soldier who could not standthe thought that young men would die when he could have been there to help them. So he had volunteered to go back to Vietnam to train a young inexperiencedLieutenant, when he could have stayed in the States for at least another two years. He had been fun to be around and to learn from. I miss him to this day.”

At the time of his death, James Bunn had written a letter to his wife, Rachel, buthad not yet mailed it. In his letter dated February 1, 1968 (the night before he waskilled), PSG Bunn wrote, “When TET started, we were mortared and moved outafter them [the enemy] the next day [January 31]. Overall, the battalion hasbroken up the attempt [by the enemy] to take this airfield [LZ BETTY]. We aregoing to try to cut them off tomorrow [February 2] on the other side of PhanThiet. We’ve got a big job to do tomorrow, but try not to worry—I’ll be okay.”

Epilogue

First and 2nd Platoons continued to move forward into the hamlet, despite the constant enemy sniper fire. As the Currahees maneuvered into better positions, Lt. Harrison’s 2ndPlatoon had made full contact with a reinforced Viet Cong/NVA company that was guarding the 482ndViet Cong Battalion Headquarters at Xuan Phong Hamlet. Lt. Schlax’s 1stPlatoon and Lt. Liebler’s 3rdPlatoon were immediately pinned down by enemy fire, unable to maneuver their men in support of the beleaguered 2ndPlatoon. An intense battle ensued, raging on throughout the afternoon. The paratroopers sustained heavy casualties as a result of the close-in fighting among the buildings and houses of the hamlet. Relentless heavy weapons fire within the area severely hampered the ability to get medevac helicopters in for the wounded. Other seriously wounded could not be rescued from the killing zone because of the murderousenemy gunfire. 1SGT Philip Chassion and PSG James Bunn lost their lives during the battle, as they attempted to rescue Pfc. Andrew Daniel, who had been seriously wounded early on in the battle.

By late evening of February 2, 1968, the battle-weary soldiers of Alpha Company withdrew from the hamlet and formed a Night Defensive Perimeter in the vicinity. Later that night, a fifteen-man volunteer patrol, led by Lt. Harrison, returned to the enemy-infested hamlet to recover the bodies of those paratroopers who could not be rescued during the heat of battle. It took three grueling hours to retrieve the bodies of 1SGT Chassion, PSG Bunn and Pfc. Daniel. It had been a long, hard day for the men of Alpha Company, especially

There are more stories aboutVietnam Veterans that should be told for the sake of posterity. PSG James Bunn and those who fought with him are true patriotic heroes. True heroes often go unrecognized unless their specific stories are told, and there are many other fine soldiers that served in Vietnam who deserve to have their stories told. I have told the stories of other members of the Currahee Battalion-officers, NCOs and enlisted men in my books titled "They Called Us Currahees", “My Gift To You” and most recent “Twelve Days In May”. These books include true stories such as this one, along with pictures and personal interviews with fellow paratroopers during and after battles. It documents the serious side of war, as well as the humorous side of our tour of duty in Vietnam. The books are completely factual, without hype, and tells of the many heroic and ultimate sacrifices that the men called "Currahees" like PSG James Bunn made for our country. They fought the battles, remained steadfast in their dedication to duty, and suffered in silence as our nation diminished their role in an unpopular war.

Berry, a paratrooper, served with PSG James Bunn in Vietnam as both a rifleman and as the Battalion Combat Photographer and Reporter (PIO). After completing his tour of duty in Vietnam, he began his thirty-year career with the U. S. Forest Service, retiring as a Staff Wildlife Biologist in 1997. Berry currently resides in Libby, Montana and continues his dedication to the legacy of the 3-506 by maintaining an active Internet website () for his fellow Currahees.