Photograph provided by Dave Eckberg
This is one of the burned-out areas, along the river, after the operation was over.
Photograph provided by Dave Eckberg
Flattened 55 gallon drums (orange) can be seen among the burned-out banana trees and foliage.
Photograph provided by Dave Eckberg
In nearby areas, there were tunnels and evidence of supplies buried in 55 gallon drums that had been hidden by the VC.
Photograph provided by Dave Eckberg
The Chinooks were not known for their pin-point accuracy. One load of napalm was dropped on the wrong side of the river and into some rice paddies belonging to a friendly ville. LTC Luke, the Battalion Commander, and Dave Eckberg, the Civil Affairs Officer (S-5), flew out to this area to assess the damage. They found that drums of napalm had been dropped into this rice paddy and others in the nearby area. When they arrived, an old papa-san was standing in the middle of it all, smoking his cigarette! They got him to safely put out his cigarette. Then they drained the napalm from the paddies and flew back to Hill 4-11.
The road to Hill 4-11 was re-opened soon after this operation. Although the pucker factor was high on the first few convoys, the 3rd/1st never suffered any additional losses to mines on that infamous red dirt road.
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