In a war where acts of heroism go often unnoticed by the public, it is unlikely many will hear of the battle of Duc Lap and the men in it. Because of their part in this battle, three men of the 403rd Special Operations Detachment, 5th Special Forces Group - SSG Danny Hall, SGT James Alward, and SP5 Donald Childs - each has been presented a Silver Star Medal for Valor.

403rd SOD: The Battle of Duc Lap

Duc Lap, Camp A-239, is a remote Special Forces camp located about 42 miles southwest of Ban Me Thuot, three miles from the Cambodian border. It is of critical importance because it sits aside a main enemy infiltration route.In addition to the three men of the 403rd SOD, the camp is occupied by a 12-man Special Forces detachment, a similar South Vietnamese Special Forces group, and 350 Montagnard tribesmen and their dependents.

Late one night last August the enemy decided they were going to take Duc Lap. They opened up on the camp with a barrage of heavy mortar, rocket, and small arms fire. The three men of the 403rd SOD manned their defensive positions.

SSG Hall and SGT Alward returned the fire with their 81mm mortar and continued firing until the barrel overheated. They quickly cooled the barrel with cold water and their hands and then fired again. This procedure was repeated throughout that long night. In the meantime, SP5 Childs, although earlier wounded by enemy mortar fire, began to guide the Montagnard dependents into the safety of the bunkers to encourage the men of the tribe to remain on the perimeter defense.

As daybreak arrived U.S. tactical aircraft began to pound the enemy positions. Bad weather conditions shrouded the targets, yet Air Force pilots flew dangerously low to give as much help as possible. During one strafing, an F-100 Super Sabre was shot down. The pilot ejected from the plane safely but parachuted down perilously close to enemy-controlled territory. SSG Hall, SGT Alward, and SP5 Childs joined other Special Forces soldiers to fight their way to the downed pilot. Through a rain of sniper fire, the pilot was escorted to the relative safety of the camp.

A chronological account of what followed is not possible. For the next three days and two nights, the defenders of Duc Lap faced incessant fire and repeated human wave of assaults. Duc Lap is situated on two small hills. After repeated assaults, the enemy gained control of the north hill and most of the saddle between the two hills. At one time they were within 50 meters of the operations bunker on the south hill.

During one fierce assault on the perimeter of the camp, the Montagnard defenders drifted away from their positions. SP5 Childs rallied them back to the perimeter and led a 10-man force into the enemy held portion of the camp in an attempt to drive the enemy from the bunkers. SP5 Childs and a Vietnamese medic waded into hostile territory destroying enemy bunkers with hand grenades as they went. As the two continued their sweep, the Montagnards, who had been providing protective fire, were forced from their positions.

This left SP5 Childs and the medic alone in the face of an assaulting enemy squad. The young green beret single-handedly confronted the entire enemy squad and at a distance of five meters killed them with his M-16. The two men retreated up the hill but once on top noticed some enemy B-40 rockets and launchers abandoned on the side of the hill. Both men then went back down the hill and destroyed the rockets and launchers.

After the rockets were destroyed, the enemy resumed their fire. As the two allies went up the hill the medic was hit and fell less than half-way to the top. SP5 Childs made it to the top of the hill before he realized the medic had been wounded. Immediately, he descended the slope a third time. As SP5 Childs remarked later, "I couldn't lift him, I was just too beat to carry him and my equipment back up the hill." Instead, he returned to the top of the hill, stripped off all his equipment and descended once more carrying only his pistol, but now was repulsed by heavy enemy rifle fire. Two Vietnamese then volunteered to assist in the medic's rescue. As the two descended, SP5 Childs covered them with smoke grenades and a rain of .30 cal. machine-gun fire. The wounded medic was finally dragged to the relative safety of the perimeter.

As the fighting reached a fever pitch on the third day, a fresh group of Montagnard tribesmen fought their way into the camp to relieve the besieged Americans, South Vietnamese, and Montagnards. At the cost of half their force, the Montagnards helped recapture the North Hill and Duc Lap was held. When the fighting was over, nine U.S. and South Vietnamese Special Forces were wounded and more than 150 Montagnards were dead or wounded. The toll on the enemy was worse. More than 800 were killed during the three-day battle.

In addition to the Silver Star Medals, SSG Hall and SP5 Childs were awarded Purple Hearts for their actions. All three of the men were awarded Bronze Star Medals for Valor for their heroic actions. SP5 Childs had only five days left in country at the time of the battle.

The battle of Duc Lap is only one of many participated in by the men of the 403rd Special Operations Detachment. During the past two years this distinguished unit has received a host of awards and decorations for heroism in combat. Twenty-one of these 403rd SOD Green Berets have received the Purple Heart. One man gave his life.

The battle of Duc Lap, a place that few have ever heard of and even fewer will remember, graphically demonstrates that Radio Research soldiers have those characteristics vital to success in conflict - discipline and courage under fire.

SSG Danny Hall, SGT James Alward and SP5 Donald Childs, green berets of the 403rd SOD, personify the best of the U.S. Army.

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403rd SOD: The Battle of Duc Lap: Epilogue
by Darnoc
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I was TDY on Duc Lap from the 4th Inf Div just after this event occurred. The pilot of the shot down F-100 that Danny saved did a victory roll and left breaking the sound barrier a few days later and nearly made us all shit in our pants as we weren't expecting it.

I lived on that hill for two months and dug up bodies of NVA killed during that fight so we could move them to get rid of the stench. I loaded fucking duds with the demo guy onto the back of a trailer and drove over bumpy roads to dispose of the shit by exploding it. I went on Medical Action Programs with the medic into the nearby villages cuz I could speak the language. No fucking protection. The SF Chaplain that came up to give us 'faith' stole my flak jacket off my cot when we got hit one Sunday with 75MM fire (NVA tanks) . I never got it back.

The next Sunday after that, our own choppers (Snakes) hit our own 100 man Mike Force patrol off the hill in Cambodia where they were looking to interdict NVA supply lines. Fucked them up bad. I spent that day filling body bags. All of us became instant medics trying to keep the two GI's and the surviving Montagnards alive til Dustoff could get them to Ban Me Thuot. You would not believe what a minigun from a Cobra can do to a man.

This brings back memories. I replaced a linguist named Mike McGee who went on leave (and later got killed I heard). I bunked with an old Sgt Major named Pappy who ran the cross border ops. I guarded that fucking hill in pouring rain when it was pitch black and I couldn't see my dick to piss .Scared shitless the whole time. I remember every fucking piece of grass,every fucking rat that ran across my chest in my underground Conex container room in the bunker,and every meal in the team house.....but I ain't thought about it til you sent this. A-239....one of the most incredible experiences a 19 year ole should ever have.
-- by Darnoc