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Summary - January 1966

At last!  The company got away from the drudgery of helping build Camp Radcliffe at An Khe and joined the rest of the battalion in Operations Matador and Matador II.  The search and destroy operation was in the vicinity of Pleiku, and the company traveled to Staging Area Stadium (the same place used in November, 1965) by CH-47 Chinook helicopter.  No contact was made, but numerous large trails were found in the the thick jungle and bamboo, indicating NVA forces were still operating in the area.

On January 13^th, the entire battalion air assaulted into LZ Straight and patrolled the area, and on the next day, patrolled around LZ Flush.  Both Flush and Straight were very small LZs that required the first troops to descend on a rope ladder, who then expanded the size of the LZ.  Both Flush and Straight had a battery of 105^mm howitzers from the 1/77^th Artillery on them. After one more CA on January 16^th, the operation ended, and the company returned to An Khe by truck over Route 19.  (Sources:  Combat Operations After Action Report, 1st Cavalry Division (Air) dtd 29 January 1966 and Annual Historical Report, Calendar Year 1966, 2/5 Cav, Operations in the Republic of Vietnam, undated, and 1st Cavalry Division G3 Journal.)

January 4 - 6

Along with the rest of 2/5 Cav, Charlie Company moved by truck from An Khe to Pleiku, then turned south another 15 kilometers to Stadium - a major staging area near the Catecka Tea plantation.  Once there, the company immediately went into "the weeds" and began search and destroy operations.  Though it made little difference to the men on the ground, the battalion came under the operational control of the 1^st Brigade.  (Source:  1st Cavalry Division G3 Daily Operations Journal)

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January 7

At 11:30 AM, Charlie Company combat assaulted into LZ Red, with the other companies of the battalion going into LZ Green.  (Webmaster note:  Later in the war, an LZ would not have been named "red" or "green".  Using the word "red" to describe an LZ would indicate there was enemy fire when the helicopters landed, whereas "green" was used to describe an uncontested landing.)

The company moved cross-country until meeting up with Companies A and B - no contact was made.

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January 14

PFC Steven Gabrel suffered five inch lacerations to his right forehead when he was hit by tail rotor of a helicopter.  (Source:  1st Cavalry Division G1 Daily Journal)

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January - Exact Date Unknown

Dr. Frank Lunati was the original Battalion Surgeon for the 2nd Battalion 5th Cavalry in Vietnam.  He hated snakes, but was always given the task of identifying them.  In this case, a very large python was shot and killed.  Dr. Lunati did an autopsy - and found a small deer in the snake's stomach.  We have no idea if the troopers standing around are from C Company.  (Lower picture is out of focus.)  In this instance, LT Jim Mullen of C 2/5 Cav brought in the snake. From an email from Jim Mullen: The real story as I remember it almost 36 years later was that we were in the middle of nowhere and I think my platoon was securing a company LZ.  I had a squad sized patrol out in front of the perimeter and they called in on the radio and said that they had come in contact with an alligator (this was in the Central Highlands don't forget) and were asking permission to shoot it. I thought this was a bit unusual however, not being an expert on the reptiles of SE Asia, I gave them permission - but I also told them they had better bring in a dead Gator. Needless to say, the big snake is what they brought in.  I didn't remember how big it was.  Why did we send it to the Bn. Surgeon? I have no idea.  What else would you do with a really big dead snake?  As far as the identification of the troopers standing around the snake goes, just look at the uniforms and how neat and clean they are. I guarantee this photo was taken at Camp Radcliff.

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Click on Photos to See Larger Version Courtesy Dr. Frank Lunati

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Updated September 10, 2006