Biên Hòa --- Around 9 p.m. on January 17, Captain Reginald V.
Maisey of our 3rd SPS here at Biên Hòa Air Base,
stopped by the chapel in his jeep and picked me up. Earlier in the
day I had asked if I might join him that night on his inspection
round of the perimeter guard. "Love to have you, Father" he said. "The
men are a bit jumpy. They'll appreciate seeing a chaplain." While
accompanying Captain Maisey on his security inspection trip that night,
I noted that the men were much more reassured by seeing Captain Maisey
than by seeing an unarmed chaplain. I know why now.
That night I spent about four hours with Captain Maisey, being briefed
at the Command Post, driving around the perimeter of the base, and
visiting all the posts. His presence visibly reassured the men we
visited in their isolated locations. At one stop, he climbed the ladder
to visit a guard in his lonely watch on a metal roost some 30 feet
above the ground. At other stops he checked the security of a bunker
or the placement of a machine gun. Along the road he halted the jeep
frequently to chat with a K-9 sentry. You could see that Captain Maisey
troubled himself for his men. He was a professional.
At 3 a.m. on the 31st of January, the communists launched their 'Tet
Offensive' against Biên Hòa AB. It commenced with a ten minute
rocket bombardment that sent men scurrying for protective shelter.
The bombardment was followed by enemy sapper teams breaching the perimeter
of the Air Base on the east end.
The next time I saw Captain Maisey I did not recognize him. I can't
recall just what time it was during the eventful morning hours of
the 31st of January that I conditionally absolved and administered
the Last Rites to an officer who was dead on arrival at the dispensary.
I do remember someone at one time informing me that Captain Maisey
had been killed at Bunker Hill-10.
Bunker Hill-10 is a reinforced concrete structure, built many years
ago by the French. It is situated on the edge of the east perimeter
road, a few hundred yards beyond the end of our runway. Immediately
after the rocket attack the morning of the 31st, a large number of
well-armed, pajama-clad communist troops penetrated the fence northwest
of Bunker Hill-10. They spilled out into the fields to the left and
front of the old French bunker. The enemy subjected Bunker Hill-10
to the most intense fire imaginable, using their automatic weapons,
as well as the devastating and destructive RPG-2 and RPG-7 rockets.
At the outset of the battle, Bunker Hill-10 was manned by two Security
Policemen, Sergeants Neal
Tuggle
and Marshal
Gott
, and an augmentee, A1C Neil Behnke.
When the enemy attack started, Captain Maisey was at the western
end of the base. He immediately sped in his jeep to the Central Security
Command Post. Realizing how critical holding Bunker Hill-10 was, Captain
Maisey volunteered to go there to direct the defense of that area.
Shortly thereafter, he arrived at the bunker and took charge of the
small band of men from the 3rd SPS in the vicinity
of Bunker Hill-10. The communists attacked the bunker with a vengeance.
They knew it was the key to overrunning the east end of the field
and the maintenance hangers, and other vital areas of the Air Base.
The enemy hit Bunker Hill-10 with everything they had. About 12 direct
rocket hits at pointblank range were recorded by the enemy. On top
of the bunker, one rocket put Sergeant Tuggle's machine gun out of
action. Sergeant Tuggle went below, grabbed another weapon, and continued
to fight from within the bunker. The augmentee, A1C Behnke,
remained on top of the bunker, and continued to fire his M16 at the
enemy enveloping the bunker.
Captain Maisey seemed to be everywhere. To direct and concentrate
the fire power of the 20 or so Security Policemen in the general area
on the enemy that was within 200 feet of the bunker, he constantly
exposed himself to danger. To communicate by radio with the Security
Command Post, Captain Maisey had to leave the relative security of
the bunker and expose himself to enemy fire. He did this throughout
the battle. Above the noise of the battle, he yelled orders and directions
to the men around him. His voice instilled confidence and bolstered
the moral of the beleaguered defenders of the bunker.
At a time when bravery was common, Captain Maisey's bravery under
fire was uncommon and contagious. Though the small band of men did
not know it, their position at times was surrounded by VC. Captain
Maisey and the other men continued firing. They kept the enemy pinned
down not too far from their original point of penetration. No one
knows how many enemy were killed by the men defending Bunker Hill-10. After the battle, over 60 dead VC were found nearby. [Official
Records later recorded 153
NVA KIA, and 25 taken POW]
The bravery of the men in Bunker Hill-10 was matched by the incredible
valor of other men of the 3rd SPS. Sergeants
William
Piazza
and James
Lee
did the impossible. Through a withering field of enemy
fire, they drove a truck back to the base armory, loaded it with needed
ammunition, and returned to their exposed position on the north perimeter
road. From there, they proceeded to drive south across what would
seem an impassable field - a field alive with VC. The men
dauntlessly drove right up to the besieged Bunker Hill-10, and under
constant enemy fire resupplied the defenders of the bunker with enough
ammunition to enable them to continue the fight. When one knows the
terrain these men passed through, and remembers the confusion at the
time, and the danger of their cargo, he stands in awe at their courageous
feat. It seems impossible. But brave men made the impossible possible.
At 4: 30 a.m. that morning of the 31st of January, while Captain Maisey
was outside the bunker, a direct rocket hit ended his life. He fell
on the field of battle. But his men fought on. They never gave up.
When the battle ended around noon, the men of the 3rd SPS still held Bunker Hill-10. The enemy never overran this pivotal
point of the base's defense.
Some men have asked whether an Air Force installation has ever before
been exposed to such a sustained and severe ground attack. That question
is best left for Air Force historians to answer. Unquestionably, it
was a brutal, savage fight. Because of the valor and courage of a
few uncommonly brave men, the fight never progressed beyond a few
hundred yards of Bunker Hill-10. The 3rd SPS
suffered only two men killed in action, and 14 wounded.
What would have happened if Bunker Hill-10 had fallen? Would
the enemy have gained control of a part of the base, or penetrated
the center cantonment area? I don't know. I don't think
anyone really knows. Thanks to the bravery and courage of men like
Captain Maisey, we shall never know the answer to that hypothetical
question.
The courage under hostile fire of the men of the 3rd SPS at Biên Hòa AB, under command of Lt Colonel K.D. Miller
and especially the valor of the men at Bunker Hill-10, is known to
only a few. I doubt whether future military history texts will devote
many pages to this episode. It will never have the dramatic impact
of the American assault on Heartbreak Ridge during the Korean war.
But the battle of the 31st of January will be long remembered by those
of us who were at Biên Hòa that fateful morning.
Was Captain Maisey a particularly religious man? I don't
know. "Greater love than this no man has that one lay down his life
for his friend. " (Jn. 15,13). If Christ measures all by
charity, then Captain Maisey was too big a man to stand measuring.
I wear my Air Force uniform just a little more proudly these days
because of men like Captain Maisey.
Ch, Capt. Donald J Sheehen
Biên Hòa Air Base
