"At 211130H [11:30 am, 21 Aug] at XD994484 the resupply convoy to Ca Lu was ambushed. The convoy consisted of three vehicles. One vehicle made it through to Ca Lu and the other two were destroyed. The convoy personnel were pinned down and requested assistance. The convoy was hit with intense SAF [small arms fire] and rockets of undetermined size.
At 1312H two tanks, two twin-40s, one platoon (rein) aborted patrol mission and moved to the ambush site arriving at XD994484 at 1330H. Artillery missions were called and air was on station.
Company "L" (-) departed 3/3 CP [Command Post] moving south with two twin-40s at 1330H and made contact at 1355H taking intense SAF and rockets. Both dusters [the twin-40s] were hit and the Company "L" CP group was surrounded at XD985508.
The remaining units of Company "L" moved out and were hit at 1400H.
One platoon from Company "K" and two tanks moved out of the 3/3 CP to support Company "L" at 1536H.
A platoon from Company "M" removed the casualties from the resupply run back to Ca Lu.
One tank with the platoon from Company "K" threw a track and repairs were in progress at 1605H.
The platoon from Company "M" proceeded back to the ambush site.
The WIAs from Company "K" were evacuated to 3/3 CP at 1713H.
At 1900H the platoon from Company "M" returned with their tanks to Ca Lu, retrieving the two trucks of the resupply run from the ambush site. Company "M" also brought in 3 wounded NVA of which only one lived.
The enemy broke contact at 1900H and Company "L" commenced to move back to 3/3 CP. Artillery missions were called throughout the entire engagement with excellent coverage of the target.
Air strikes were very effective and on target. 81mm mortar missions also were called. There were 109 confirmed enemy killed and 305 probable enemy killed."
__________________
Six Americans - two Marines and four soldiers from the Duster unit - were killed in the action:
L Co, 3rd Bn, 3rd Marines
Pfc Benjamin Romero-de-Jesus, New York, NY
M Co, 3rd Bn, 3rd Marines
Pfc Isidro Baca, Socorro, NM
C Btry, 1st Bn, 44th Artillery
CPL Juan Valenzuela, McAllen, TX
SP4 Billy F. Watson, Sherman, TX
CPL Larry R. Wiegert, McLoud, OK
PFC Roger C. Lewis, Caledonia, MN
Additionally, 29 Marines and 1 Corpsmen were wounded in action that day.
H&S Co, 3rd Bn, 3rd Marines
Cpl
RAYMOND C. BRYANT
RAYMOND C. BRYANTLCpl VICTOR M. MORALES
1stLT MERLYN A. SEXTON
Kilo Co, 3rd Bn, 3rd Marines
CplRONALD SALMON
RONALD SALMONCplNOBLE B. SMITH
NOBLE B. SMITHCplFRANK E. WILLIAMS
FRANK E. WILLIAMSLima Co, 3rd Bn, 3rd Marines
PFC JERRY A. ANDERSON
PFC GERALD T. BARYO
Cpl JOSEPH R. HEBERT
Cpl RICHARD W. HOLCOMBE
Gysgt ROBERT N. HOLT
CplROBERT I. HUNTER
ROBERT I. HUNTERCplLESLIE B. JOHNSON
LESLIE B. JOHNSONLCpl STANLEY E. KERLIN
CplMICHAEL E. LANGDON
MICHAEL E. LANGDONPFC EDDIE LLOYD
LCpl CLIFFORD EARL MACKEY
HN KENNETH H. MADFES
Cpl JACK MOHEDANO
Cpl MICHAEL E. ORLOSKI
Sgt ALFRED E. PRICE
Mike Co, 3rd Bn, 3rd Marines
LCplEDWARD H. BROOKS
EDWARD H. BROOKSPFCNEIL DEVIVO
NEIL DEVIVOLCplRAYMOND R. HOSKIE
RAYMOND R. HOSKIEPFC FRANK M. LEVYA (DOW 8/27)
Cpl ELLIOT H. OUTLAW
ELLIOT H. OUTLAWPFCTERRY J. RICE
TERRY J. RICEPFCCHARLES M. RICHARDSON
CHARLES M. RICHARDSONLCplPAUL K. SMITH
PAUL K. SMITHLCplEDWARD J. TRESSA
EDWARD J. TRESSA
Reminders of son's death always near
Wednesday, January 3,2001 Elaine D. Briseño / El Defensor Chieftain, Socorra NM
In their yard, on blocks, sits a white Chevy Corvair that has not had a driver since 1967 — the year Josie and Bennie Baca's son, Isidro, went off to defend his country in Vietnam.
The car belonged to Isidro. Over 30 years after Isidro died in the Vietnam War, Bennie said he still cannot stand the thought of seeing someone drive his son's car.
"I don't want to see someone driving that thing around town," he said.
Isidro died when his convoy was attacked as he was returning from R and R, a time of rest and relaxation away from the war, in China. He had served almost a full year of a 13 month tour of duty when machine gun fire killed him in August of 1967. He was 19 years old.
Isidro was the first Vietnam casualty in Socorro County. As a result, local leaders came together and created a memorial. That structure stands in what has now become Isidro Baca Memorial Park, located between the Plaza and the courthouse. The memorial became not only a dedication to Isidro, but to all the men in Socorro County who died in the Vietnam War.
When the park was dedicated, it had little grass and no trees. The original monument was a square brick structure. It was replaced with the prism on a rectangular structure in the 1980s according to Bennie.
The government did not draft their son, he went willingly as a Marine, his father said. Isidro came from a line of military men. His grandfather served in World War I and his father, Bennie, in World War II.
"We have been military all our lives," Bennie said. "I followed my dad and my son followed me."
However, Josie was not so accepting of the idea that her son wanted to join the military during war time.
"The recruiter would call and say 'May I speak to Isidro,'" she said. "I would say 'He's not here!' and hang up the phone."
Eventually, he was home and the 1964 graduate of Socorro High School did sign up.
The Bacas said the day they were notified of their son's death seems like yesterday.
A few weeks before his death, Josie said they did not hear from Isidro for a month. They feared the worst had happened. When they finally heard from him, they received three letters. Shortly after that, the letters stopped coming.
"When they notified us, Josie was home alone," he said.
Josie said a Marine and a priest came to her house and she knew then.
"When I answered the door I said 'Is my boy dead?'" she said. "You can lose your mom or your dad, but oh, not a son."
Bennie agreed that the pain from the death of a child stays with people.
"You never get over a thing like that," Bennie said. "When he was killed, our world collapsed."
And his world was still collapsing even years later. He said his anger was so great that he could not stand the sight of a Vietnamese person.
"We were invited to the dedication of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC," he said. "We went down for breakfast and we had a Vietnamese waiter. I started yelling at him about how his people killed my boy. A few years later I realized I was wrong, but for a while I could not stand the Vietnamese."
He said every day gets better. In the end, reluctantly Baca gave into his wife's wishes and agreed to sell the car. But not to anyone in Socorro. However, another day sets and no one turns the key and revs the engine. The car serves as its own memorial to a life cut short.
As for dealing with it now, Josie has her own way of coping.
"In a way I don't feel that bad," she said. "He was an altar boy and I know his soul is OK."
[ PFC Isidro Baca served with Mike Company 3/3 and was KIA 21 August/1967 in a Rte 9 ambush. ]
Bennie and Josie Baca, parents of Isidro Baca. "You never get over something like that," Bennie said.
August 31, 1967 Rte 9
On 31 August, 1967, a squad of Marines from India Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines was detailed to provide security for a small convoy that was making a medevac run of civilians from Ca Lu to the Rockpile. Much of the firepower for the convoy was provided by U.S. Army vehicles, commonly called “Dusters,” each of which mounted twin 40mm rapid-fire weapons.
The officer in charge of the Dusters called down to the Marines on either side of his vehicles to jump aboard and ride rather than walk. The Marines readily agreed and mounted the vehicles.
The convoy had not gotten very far from Ca Lu when a shot rang out, hitting Corpsman Jackie Eisenhauer in the stomach. This shot was the signal to spring a North Vietnamese Army ambush on the Americans. Pfc Tom Busam lay his body over Doc Eisenhauer and then shot the enemy soldier who had shot the Doc. Then he began helping the Doc dress his wounds. Pfc Busam was wounded in the leg with a gunshot fired by another enemy soldier. He returned fire and killed the NVA.
Suddenly, a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) slammed into the duster, wounding the gunner. Corporal Buddy White moved to help the gunner he looked back to see that the blast had wounded Pfc Larry Horn and blown him off the Duster and onto the road. The wounded Horn got to his feet and began running, trying to catch up with the Duster. Pfc Busam yelled at the driver to slow down and then exposed himself to enemy fire in order to grab Pfc Horn and pull him aboard the Duster. While Busam was pulling Pfc Horn aboard, Doc Eisenhauer was wounded a second time. Once Horn was safely on the vehicle, Busam once more lay atop Eisenhauer, protecting him, and returned fire at the enemy until the convoy was out of the ambush zone. Though wounded, Pfc Tom Busam’s courage and presence of mind undoubted saved Pfc Larry Horn’s life. His willingness to shield a wounded comrade with his own body is in the highest tradition of the Marine Corps.
As of September 2012 Busam has never received any official recognition of his valor on August 31st. Furthermore, although this was the second time that Pfc Busam was wounded in combat, he was never awarded a Purple Heart for his first, field-treated, shrapnel wound earlier that month (due to apparent deficiencies in reporting paperwork).
