Tan
Son Nhut Air Base, Tet 1968 by Dan
McKegney |
The B&W bunker photos are of the 377th Combat SPS standing atop O51 Bunker, which was immediately inside the TSN Air Base perimeter. O51 Bunker, just after the initial assault, was the concrete bunker which took the brunt of the TET 1968 offensive on TSN. As I saw things, I understood that the enemy had overrun and taken the bunker. The large visible gaping holes in it are owing to air strikes against what became an enemy position on the base. Now, almost [40] years
have passed since TET! Sgt Coggins was among those five
SP's on Bunker O51 stood firmly between me and the enemy
at the beginning of TET. My thanks to him, however belated
they may be, as well as my grateful appreciation to those
guys who perished in the defense of TSN. "Thanks" and
"grateful appreciation" are words which are really insufficient
to express my feelings for them and about what they did. Sgt Alonzo J. Coggins, who was severely wounded and medevaced immediately out of Vietnam, has been located and will receive the Silver Star 12 Feb 1999, at Lackland AFB, Texas! VSPA is the "official sponsor" of the Alonzo J. Coggins Silver Star award ceremony at Lackland! Watch for Sgt Coggins' story here at VSPA! Major Bender was also awarded the Silver Star for organizing and rallying the base's second line of defense and personally killing eight enemy soldiers despite being him repeatedly by enemy fire, resulting in 54 separate wounds. 157 enemy were killed inside the installation and over 350 more outside the base. USAF email follows,
along with VSPA's suggested reading for the battle at
Tan Son Nhut Air Base.
From: Joyce Thomas
F Maj HQ AETC/SFI
Sent: Thursday, January 14, 1999 2:25 PM Subject: Alonzo Coggins Silver Star Ceremony Here's the package I sent up to General Newton at HQ Air Education & Training Command. He's approved the ceremony for Friday, 12 Feb 99, at 1000 during a Lackland AFB Basic Training graduation. We're building the itinerary so if anyone wants to get in, let me know. Medal Presentation
Ceremony for Alonzo J. Coggins
Purpose
* Conduct a medal presentation ceremony for a security policeman who fought and was wounded in a battle 31 years ago and earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart medals for his valor and gallantry. Why?
* Alonzo J. Coggins never received his medals. He was rushed from the battlefield, medevaced to a stateside hospital to convalesce for six months, and medically discharged from the Air Force. Instead of a formal ceremony, Mr. Coggins received his citations in the mail (minus the actual medals). Background
* A1C Alonzo J. Coggins, along with four other sentries, manned an old French bunker (bunker O51) at the west end of the main runway at Tan Son Nhut Air Base on 31 January 1968. At about 0320 hours, his position was struck by an intensive barrage of mortar, artillery, and rocket fire in preparation for a massive ground assault by 1,500 North Vietnamese regulars and Vietcong guerrillas. Bunker O51 was primary to the security police defensive strategy and a major objective for the enemy as they intended to neutralize air power over Saigon in an all-out attempt to destroy U.S. forces and establish a Communist government in South Vietnam (Tet Offensive). Machine gun fire from Bunker O51, flanking positions, and repeated strafing runs by AC-47 and Cobra helicopter gunships failed to blunt the enemy's forward progress. As Communist forces closed with and enveloped Bunker O51, A1C Coggins' four comrades were killed. The badly wounded airman hid among their bodies when enemy soldiers sprayed the inside of the bunker with AK-47, automatic fire and took over the position. A1C Coggins continued to survive for the next eight hours while U.S. and ARVN forces attempted to retake the bunker. A1C Coggins endured repeated 105 and 155mm artillery barrages, air strikes, and another ground assault by security police and U.S. Army main-battle tanks. At around 1100 hours, A1C Coggins escaped during the confusion of a partial enemy withdrawal and found his way back into friendly lines. Recommendation
* HQ AETC/CC present medals to Mr. Coggins during a basic military training graduation ceremony at Lackland AFB. 2 Atchs Maj Joyce/AETC/SFI/7-2961/11 Feb 99 As Webmaster for VSPA, I strongly recommend a boo k called "TheBattle for Saigon" which really tells the Air Force SPS's side of the battle! Don Poss "The attack force
(against TSN AB) numbered 2,665 VC and NVA. The 350-man
269th F Battalion
 spearheaded the attach on the O51 Bunker... the 267h MF Battalion and the 1st Battalion, 271st
Regiment were in column formation behind it. The attack
was 'on a very narrow front,' noted a U.S. after-action
report. The lead battalion's mission was to effect a
(base perimeter) penetration, the second battalion in
the line was to exploit the penetration, and the third
battalion in line was to destroy the equipment and facilities
of TSN...." Nearly twelve hours after the attack began, the lone survivor of the five men O51 Bunker, Sergeant Alonzo Coggins, was released by the four VC who (still) held the bunker. "... The fire on the bunker came to a screeching halt. It resumed when the delirious, burned, and badly wounded airman proceeded down the perimeter road... the guerrillas did not surrender... (and Tech) Sergeant [Bernard C.] Gifford [Silver Star] of the 377th SPS... peeled off his flak jacket... popped up to hurl a third grenade, which exploded in midair right in the doorway. The O51 Bunker was thus retaken.... Four of the five 377th Security Police at O51 Bunker were KIA. Sgt Coggins, the 5th sentry, was so badly wounded the NVA disregarded him as they spun the post's M60 toward the flight line and opened fire...."
WILLIAM
JOSEPH CYR SGT - Air Force
- Regular
LOUIS
HAROLD FISCHER SGT
- Air Force - Regular
CHARLES
EDWARD HEBRON SGT
- Air Force - Regular
ROGER BERTHA MILLS
SGT -
Air Force - Regular |
Tan Son Nhut, 1967-1968
Đà Nàng Air Base reported "condition red" early that morning
of TET 1968. But, Đà Nàng being under attack by the enemy
was as routine as just daily brushing your teeth. I thought
nothing extraordinary was occurring. And then in short
order, spaced maybe five minutes apart, one-by-one moving
from north to south, Air Force installations made radio
contact with me, each saying they were in condition red."
TSN was the last in line before the Delta, and it was
soon evident that TSN was also condition red, or under
attack, as a horrendous fire-fight started at O51 Bunker.
Air Force installations in the Delta soon reported attacks.
Security Police Sergeant CYR, with the 377th SPS, died
while defending that bunker. I knew him, as he and another
Sarge would routinely stop at our 1877th Communications
radio compound during their jeep rounds of the perimeter
prior to TET. They stopped by for coffee, for a quick
hand or two of poker sometimes, and just for a little
BS. It was CYR's misfortune to have been assigned to
that bunker on the night of TET1968.
The 25th Infantry Division
charged to the rescue and stumbled across the huge force
of NVA in the process of attacking the base. The 25th
suffered heavy casualties, initially, but as their tanks
and einforcements arrived, they gained a toe hold and
broke the back of the attack---literally saving Tan Son
Nhut Air Base.
The savage storming of O51 Bunker by VC and NVA was temporarily
successful, but cost tremendous casualties for the NVA,
and ultimate defeat. The valiant defense of O51 Bunker
delayed enemy advance and provided time for the 377th's
SP Response Team to get in line and block the enemies'
flight line attack, which gained time for the 25th's arrival.
When O51 Bunker was overrun, firing was so intense from
the captured bunker that base defenders asked and received
permission to fire on the bunker, as everyone assumed
the five SPs were dead. The concrete bunker, with Sgt
Coggins inside and very much alive, was hit several times.