Episode 6 of Military Tales recounts the harrowing Battle of Lang Vei, a Green Beret camp near the Laotian border that was overrun by North Vietnamese Army (NVA) tanks. Located on Highway 9, a crucial paved road into Laos, Lang Vei had been overrun about seven months prior to the events described and was being rebuilt. Despite the earlier attack, the Army made the decision to move the camp 1500 meters closer to Laos during its rebuilding phase. Navy Seabees had constructed a reinforced underground Tactical Operations Center (TOC) with a five-foot-thick reinforced steel concrete ceiling guaranteed not to blow up or collapse.

The speakers, including one who served as a lieutenant in the Mobile Strike Force (Mike Force) and a door gunner on a rescue helicopter, describe their experiences. The Mobile Strike Force’s mission at Lang Vei was twofold: to conduct long-range patrols while the camp was being rebuilt and to help defend it if it was attacked again.

An early warning came from the NSA, indicating an enemy attack was planned around the first of the year, though it did not mention tanks. Preparations were made, including moving the Mike Force inside the perimeter and interlocking them with the Montagnard tribes who were known for being fierce and ferocious and had little fear of death due to their native beliefs. The Montagnards were intentionally mixed with a Special Forces A-team company so that the Montagnards would prevent the A-team’s soldiers from running if they tried to. The Montagnards were described as intelligent but uneducated, belonging to between 18 and 38 different tribes with many different languages.

A complex situation arose involving the Laotian 33rd Battalion, which was paid and supplied by the State Department and also worked for the CIA. The speakers believed this battalion was also working for the North Vietnamese. An incident occurred when the speaker’s boss ordered him to stop and disarm this battalion when they appeared on the highway with 2200 civilians and new AK-47s; disarming their commander nearly resulted in the speaker being fired.

Days before the main attack, a mission was undertaken to search for a captured Special Forces liaison team member, John Young, in a village near Khe Sanh. This search inadvertently resulted in the speaker’s Montagnard company wiping out an NVA battalion during what was described as “pop time,” a period around noon when Vietnamese soldiers would typically be resting and cleaning weapons. This incident confirmed the speaker’s conviction that the NVA were useless against his Montagnards and NCOs.

The NVA learned that a Mobile Strike Force had been moved inside the perimeter, which changed their plans. Initially, the tanks were intended for Khe Sanh, but the discovery of the Mike Force led the NVA command in Hanoi to order the use of tanks at Lang Vei as a “shock and awe” tactic. The NVA had meticulous intelligence, possessing a drawing of the camp’s perimeter that was as good, if not better, than the defenders’, having measured distances to key positions like mortars and the Quad .50 caliber machine gun from the wire. This intelligence was gathered by sappers who would crawl through minefields and barbed wire. The NVA plan involved bringing tanks down Route 9 and others across the Sepone River, using an underground bridge.

The battle began around 5 PM with the NVA prepping the objective by shelling the camp with rockets and mortars. This had been happening daily for about three weeks, so the initial shelling on the night of the 6th didn’t immediately raise alarms. However, around midnight, the phone in the TOC rang, and a guard reported, “We got tanks in the wire“.

The defenders, including the speaker, scrambled from their sleeping positions. Attempts were made to destroy the tanks using Light Anti-Tank Weapons (LAWs), which were disposable rockets. The speaker recounted hitting one tank with multiple LAWs from the side, destroying it, but another misfired. The LAWs were not consistently effective against the NVA tanks, described as PT-76s.

The battle intensified, and the focus shifted to defending the TOC, the primary communication hub. The NVA successfully destroyed the camp’s generator and antennas, cutting off communication and plunging the underground bunker into darkness. They began attacking the TOC directly, throwing grenades, including incinerary and white phosphorus, and using a flamethrower, which set the inside of the bunker on fire and filled it with toxic smoke. Inside the TOC, wounded men fought for survival. A desperate radio call was made for help, heard by circling aircraft.

A previously established plan called for Marines from nearby Khe Sanh to reinforce the camp with a hundred men if it was overrun. However, when Captain Willoughby contacted the Marine commander at Khe Sanh, he was told they were not coming because there were only eight defenders left alive, and more Marines would be killed trying to rescue them. This news was met with anger and despair by the survivors in the bunker.

Facing imminent death, the speaker had a moment of personal reflection, discarding his dog tags and ID card and preparing for a final stand. After a profound personal experience, described as a bright light and a voice asking, “What are you going to do now?“, the speaker decided he could not die trapped in the bunker like a “worm” and resolved to go out fighting “like a man”.

He convinced the others in the TOC, including Captain Willoughby, to leave. They exited the bunker, using the blown-out risers as makeshift steps. As they emerged, they heard A-1 aircraft and artillery still active. The NVA were using the old fighting positions for cover. The speaker encountered enemy soldiers robbing bodies, his rifle jammed when he tried to fire, and he was wounded in the ankle. He lay on the ground, unable to move, and experienced a moment of apparent divine intervention before getting up and making his way to the rendezvous point.

Meanwhile, a rescue force was being organized at Phu Bai. Major Cuomo and Lieutenant Fleming led a Hatchet Force, primarily composed of Montagnards and a few Americans, attempting to get aircraft support. An Army slick (UH-1 helicopter) piloted by Ray landed at Phu Bai, and Tim Kirk, a member of the Hatchet Force, boarded it, not knowing it was separated from the main rescue group coming in Chinooks. Ray described the chaos at Lang Vei upon arrival, seeing people running and bodies. Despite no “secure LZ” clearance, Ray’s pilot landed the helicopter. They began loading the wounded and the speaker’s Montagnard counterpart, who was also severely wounded. Civilians and Laotians who had earlier fled now tried to get on the helicopter, but were pushed back. Ray recounted a civilian hanging onto the skid during takeoff and having to force him off. The helicopter sustained numerous bullet and shrapnel holes, including a critical hit to a push-pull tube controlling blade pitch, but managed to make it back to Khe Sanh.

The battle was a desperate fight for survival against overwhelming odds, involving tanks, sappers, and intense direct assault, highlighting the bravery of the defenders and the challenges faced in coordinating rescue efforts.