The Ambush at Nhon-Nhin-Three; Command Decision (Part Two)

Previously, we found Second Lieutenant, Sargant First Class Bennett and a platoon of South Vietnamese soldiers outside the small village of Nhon-Nhin-Three preparing to ambush a group of high-ranking Việt Cộng political cadre and their guards. Due to an unforeseen delay, they had gotten into position after the VC had entered the village. They now faced a dilemma, attack and risk the lives of civilians, or develop another plan. Our story continues…

Paul faced a tremendous dilemma, what should he do? He turned to SFC Bennet and Bennet just looked at him and stated, “Sir, you’re the senior guy, it’s your call!”

“Sarge, if we initiate the ambush we might get them, but we’ll definitely kill or wound a large number of civilians in the process. I couldn’t live with that. Our job is to protect innocent civilians and not get them killed. I mean there are women and children serving as their human shields.”

“Sir, it’s your call, but you’d better hurry Suan is ready to initiate the attack!”

“Trung úy, I don’t advise you to initiate your operation. I believe that it would bring dishonor on our actions if a large number of civilians are killed or injured. I know that you have the right to do your duty, but should we risk the potential killing of innocent civilians? Perhaps we can follow these evil men down the canal in some of the sampans from the village; when they begin releasing the civilians that they’ve taken as hostages we can take our actions. Sir, you are in command, I can only advise you.

But Sir, I will use every tool that I have at my disposal to ensure that we bring all of these evil men to justice!”

“Thiếu úy (Second Lieutenant) Tyler, I understand your concern. A number of my men are from that village and some of their relatives are probably a part of the human shields that Chin has taken. I’m afraid that they wouldn’t follow my orders and fire into their own village regardless of the situation.

We’ll send some men across the canal in an hour and seize all of the sampans that we can find and follow them at a distance. But I will hold you on an obligation of honor that we will capture or kill every one of these evil men and release their captives.”

An hour after they watched Chin, and his hostages leave the village Suan had one of his men swim across the canal and bring a large sampan back to their position.

Paul contacted his boss, Captain West in Ap Bac, and informed him of the situation. He asked him to coordinate with Captain Donnavan on the provincial border and let them know what had happened. He asked him to remind Donnavan that they would be pursuing the fleeing Việt Cộng in sampans and to make sure that they weren’t paddling into a friendly ambush.

They loaded their men into the sampans and slowly tracked the fleeing men. At one point they spotted two old women and a few of the children along the bank of the canal. They’d been slowing the column down and had been sent back to the village. They were able to accurately explain the situation with the other hostages. They told them that two of Chin’s guards had been told to wait along the trail as a rear guard. They were just a few hundred meters from where they found the refugees.

Saun detached two of his best men and sent them along the trail in order to try and find and neutralize the two guards. The rest of the men continued along the canal slowly and quietly. About ten minutes later Suan’s men were spotted along the bank with two AK-47 rifles in their possession. They had found the two guards and quietly dispatched them. Two down twelve to go!

Further down the canal they spotted the old drunken Village Chief, Ông Day, and some of the children sitting along the bank. The children were crying for their parents. When they interrogated Ông Day, he explained that three guards had been left behind on the trail and that they were setting out booby-traps.

Once again Suan dispatched some of his best men and once again they managed to kill two of them and capture a wounded prisoner. Five down nine to go!

As they neared the Provincial Border LT Tyler contacted Captain Donnavan and gave him their location. Other hostages had been turned loose; they were slowing the Việt Cộng down. They informed Tyler and Suan that they had heard that they planned on getting to an old bunker complex just the other side of the border and hunkering down for the day, resuming their travel that evening. Paul relayed the intelligence to Captain Donnavan and was told that he had already moved his men into position to interdict them before they could get to the bunkers and hide.

Suan ordered his men to disembark and carefully follow the Việt Cộng along the canal trail and trap them between the two South Vietnamese forces. The trap was laid!

As they advanced up the trail they found small groups of refugees from the village. They showed them where the Việt Cộng had booby-trapped the trail. When they got within about three kilometers of the Provincial border they found a large group of villagers. The Việt Cộng felt that they no longer needed the hostages, and they were released. One of Saun’s sergeants, a resident of Nhon-Nhin-Three, indicated that he felt that all of the villagers had now been accounted for; they could proceed without worrying about civilian casualties.

Suan moved his men to within a kilometer of the border and took up a strong ambush position. Once again Tyler contacted Donnavan and explained their current placement to make sure that they didn’t create a ‘friendly fire’ situation. Donnavan acknowledged his location and indicated that they had spotted their adversaries and that they were about to commence firing.

Captain Donnavan’s men surprised the leading element and dropped five of them on the first volley. Four to go! Ông Chin was among the wounded. He was wounded, captured, and taken into custody by the District’s Cahn Sat, (Police Chief) and held for questioning. He would later be shipped to Saigon for intensive interrogation as a ranking member of the Việt Cộng infrastructure.

With the loss of their leader and the surprise attack to their front the other Việt Cộng officials and their remaining guard retreated to what they thought was the safety of the comrades that they left behind. They walked directly into Trung úy Suan’s men in their ambush position. Two tried to surrender but were mowed down by a revengeful Sergeant who had watched in terror as his family members had been marched from the village as hostages. One tried to swim across the canal and escape but was gunned down before he reached the far shore. The last man was wounded and captured. He was the last remaining of the political cadre.

At dawn a trio of US Navy PBR’s arrived and transported Paul, SFC Bennet and most of Trung úy Suan’s men back to Ap Bac. As they were passing Nhon-Nhin-Three they alerted the villagers to the location of their sampans. They explained that they had left a small group of soldiers at that site to guard their boats and that they were responsible for returning the soldiers back to Ap Bac as soon as possible.

As they disembarked from the PBR’s at Ap Bac, Captain West was waiting at the pier. He was accompanied by the District Chief, Đại úy (Captain) Phat, who was furious!

“Why didn’t you initiate the ambush like I ordered!” He demanded of Trung úy Suan. “Were you a coward? Why didn’t you follow my orders!”

Tyler tried to step into the conversation, but he was silenced by Captain West.

“Kid, this isn’t the time or the place. We’ll discuss this later!”

“But Sir!”

“I said LATER LT!”

“Yes Sir!”

Early the next morning Tyler, Bennet, Saun, and Captain West were summoned to the Provincial Capital at Moc Hoa. There they were met by Colonel Terry, the Province Senior Advisor and the Team-85 Operations officer.

They entered the ornate office of the Province Chief. Song was accompanied by Captain Phat and Lieutenant Saun. Colonel Terry accompanied by Captain West, Lieutenant Tyler and Sergeant First Class Bennet joined the Vietnamese officers in the Province Chief’s office.

Colonel Song was the first to speak.

“Lieutenants Song and Tyler, Đại úy Phat has brought serious charges against both of you. He is accusing both of you of cowardice and disobeying his direct orders to annihilate the Việt Cộng cell that was at the Nhon-Nhin-Three village last night. He claims that you failed to initiate the ambush as he ordered and as a result this important political group and their guards almost escaped. Colonel Terry I’m interested in what your Lieutenant has to say for himself. But I’ll hear from my officer first.

Trung úy Saun what do you have to say for yourself?” demanded Đại tá (Colonel) Song.

Lieutenant Saun came to attention and looked towards LT Tyler for support. He was immediately ordered to give his report to Colonel Song. He explained the events and indicated that because of the change in the situation that he had to make a command decision; the orders that he had been given needed to be modified, on site, in order to accomplish the mission. He explained that he had consulted with LT Tyler, his advisor, and that he had concurred with his decision.

Đại úy Phat immediately rose and berated his subordinate;” I gave you a direct order to ambush and kill these traitors to our nation did I not!”

“Yes, Sir but the circumstances changed when they made it into the village sooner than we expected and when they took….”

“So Trung úy Saun you violated my orders to engage them immediately? Who gave you the authority to change my direct orders?”

“Đại úy Phat had we engaged the enemy inside of the village there is a chance that many would have been killed or wounded in our attack. Some of the men under my command were from Nhon-Nhin-Three and their relatives might have been harmed. They were holding men, women, and children, as well as the elderly, hostage to serve as their human shields. The loss of life could have been terrible!”

“So Trung úy Saun you admit that you violated my orders?”

“Đại úy Phat, I felt that I had to protect…”

“Silence! Trung úy Saun you have admitted that you violated my orders, and you must be punished for such disobedience!”

Colonel Song interrupted Captain Phat and asked; “Colonel Terry what does your Lieutenant have to say for himself. He was Lieutenant Saun’s advisor on this mission, and he must have given the lieutenant some advice. Was he culpable in this situation, did he shirk his duty?”

“Sir, I’ve discussed this matter with Lieutenant Tyler, and I’ve found his account to be identical to that of Lieutenant Saun. They established the ambush as directed, but things had changed since the initial intelligence report. The change in the weather prevented them from moving as quickly as thought possible. When these Việt Cộng took hostages the entire scope of the mission changed on the ground.

Sir, you, and I both attended the US Army War College and weren’t we taught that an officer must often use discretion and be adaptable to changes in situation? I feel that both of these young officers thoughtfully considered the situation that existed on the ground and made wise decisions. It was a judgement call on their part. While they had Captain Phat’s instructions it appears that initiating the ambush would have resulted in a large loss of life. Even then the Việt Cộng could have easily slipped back into the swamps and evaded capture.”

“Trung úy Saun and Lieutenant Tyler what was the final outcome of the operation? Did you accomplish the mission even though it might been in contravention of the orders that you were given by Đại úy Phat?” asked Colonel Song.

Paul arose and spoke: “Colonel Song as the advisor I gave Lieutenant Saun all of the assistance that I was qualified to give him. I also asked Sergeant Bennet for his expertise in the matter and the three of us came up with a legitimate plan to accomplish the mission. As I understood the mission we were to attempt to kill or capture this infiltration cell and eliminate the threat if possible. When the situation changed, we had to modify our plans as well.

I was able to contact Captain Donnaven and seal off the Provencial border while Lieutenant Saun was able to closely follow the fleeing Việt Cộng and eliminate them a few at a time. We saved all of the hostages and killed or captured every one of the enemy soldiers and political operatives. We accomplished the mission and not a single villager was harmed in the process. Also, Sir, because of Lieutenant Saun’s tactical expertise none of his soldiers were harmed.

Considering the situation, Sir, I think that we accomplished the mission that Captain Phat had given us and the end results were exceptional.”

“Gentlemen,” directed Colonel Song I will take these matters into consideration. Colonel Terry and Captain West would you please stay. The rest of you are dismissed.”

West, Tyler, and Bennet, spent the night at the Team-85 headquarters. The following morning, they were called into Colonel Terry’s office. 

“Well gentlemen, first Colonel Song has dropped all charges against Lieutenant Suan. In fact, this may have been the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. You are all sworn to secrecy, but Colonel Song has had it with Captain Phat. He’s arranging Phat an honorable transfer to Saigon with his father, a general in the Ministry of War offices. Before the Tet ceremonies the announcement will be made. Lieutenant Tyler and Sergeant Bennet, Colonel Song is pleased with the results of your mission. He told me that he was appreciative that you managed to accomplish your mission and limit casualties, especially among the civilian population. Mister Day, once he sobered up, contacted Colonel Song and praised your operation. He was concerned that he and many of his villagers might have been killed.

Paul, you need to understand that Captain Phat felt that he ‘lost face’ because his plan wouldn’t work and might have resulted in significant civilian casualties. He was offended that you didn’t follow his orders exactly as given. Your plan worked and all of the men were either killed or captured – that’s success son!

But we all know that a plan is only valid until the first shot is fired in anger. You and Sergeant Bennet are to be commended for your actions.

A few days later Colonel Song and a delegation from Saigon flew into Ap Bac. The Colonel carried a transfer order for Captain Phat. It directed him to be prepared to turn his position over to another officer during the upcoming Tet celebration. In order to save face, Captain Phat, was told that his change in orders was at the direction of the Chief of the General Staff of the Ministry of War. But Captain West, Paul and others at higher levels of command knew that this ineffective Vietnamese officer was officially being removed from command. For once Đại úy Phat’s ego had gotten the better of him. He tried to attack two successful subordinates for taking the initiative and accomplishing the mission that he had actually sent them out to complete.

Tyler always remembered Colonel Terry final words to him in his office that morning. “Son, always remember that a plan is only valid until the first shot is fired in anger. After that you are often required to make changes an modify those plans to achieve success,”

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