Welcome to a "Virtual Tour" of A Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Infantry while on a combat patrol near the village of Nui Tron and Observation Post 1 (OP1). Nui Tron was a large, friendly village located at the base of OP1 and just north of the Song Tra Khuc River. Other companies from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Infantry were also on a constant patrol in areas near the village and around OP1. Usually, there was only one company patrolling this area at a time.
The following tour is about a "search and destroy" mission on September 15, 1970, performed by elements of A Company, which was commanded by then Captain Alan G. Vitters. The pictures were taken by Dave Eckberg, the Medical Platoon Leader, who had been sent from FSB Hill 4-11 to investigate a "Friendly Fire" situation in which several locals were wounded by mortar fire from A Company.
During this mission, the Command Post (CP) and Weapons Platoon from A Company had setup their operations in a permanent defensive position that was located on the outside edge of the Nui Tron Village. Other elements of A Company were on manuevers just north of the Song Tra Khuc River.
There were three Kit Carson Scouts assigned A Company: Kim, Tom, and Van. Van, who had "chieu hoi'ed" some years before, had received some information from the locals that NVA/VC supplies were in a nearby ville.
Based on that information, members from the CP and Weapons Platoon went on a "search and destroy" mission to locate the suspected enemy ville. Dave Eckberg went along and took these pictures.
You can read more about this mission in an article from On The Firing Line published in the Bronco Tribune newsletter for Friday, September 25, 1970.
Photograph by Dave Eckberg
This is where the Command Post (CP) and Weapons Platoon from A Company setup their operations while defending the Nui Tron Village. The company had been setup here for several days when a young girl and her grandmother were wounded by one of the mortars used in a fire mission called in by one of A Company's platoons. Notice one of the red and white aiming sticks used to aim the mortar.
Photograph by Dave Eckberg
Here are some soldiers from the CP and Weapons Platoon setting out towards a suspected VC ville between Nui Tron and the Song Tra Khuc River. They soon linked up with the First Platoon in the ville. Willy Wilson (from Mariba, Kentucky), the radio telephone operator (RTO) for the artillery forward observer (FO), is shown here in the foreground.
Photograph by Dave Eckberg
Upon reaching the ville, nothing looked out of the ordinary. However, the soldiers and the Kit Carson scout began searching the hootches.
Photograph by Dave Eckberg
In this scene, troops from A Company are looking for buried supplies or equipment in the suspected enemy ville.
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