1971 Scrapbook
The scrapbooks on this page are organized by month. Scroll down and click each scrapbook for additional pictures and information.
Note: The scrapbooks are not meant to tell the entire history but simply display pieces of the overall story. 100 percent accuracy is difficult to attain: division and brigade level reports do not contain details regarding the daily operations of the battalion (nor do articles); reports may have omissions and errors; soldiers who were at the same battle/event often remember things differently due to position, perspective, line of sight, fatigue and stress; and memories have often faded. With more information we become more accurate.
January 1971
January 1971 found the Rakkasans continuing with Operation Jefferson Glen in the mountains of I Corps Tactical Zone, west and northwest of FSB Rakkasan. Elements of the 3/187th were at and around FSB Granite and FSB Gladiator. Combat operations in early to mid-January were north of the Coc a Bo Mountains and South of the Ngon O Lau in an area of operation known as the Falls. During this time period, the Rakkasans found trails, bunkers, booby-traps and engaged in sporadic firefights or varying intensity with the NVA. The Rakkasans suffered multiple casualties as a result. Originally scheduled for extraction and a return to Camp Evans on January 18, 1971, the extraction was delayed due to an extended firefight that Charlie Company engaged in on January 17, 1971. As a result, the 3/187th remained in the Falls AO for several more days. By January 20, 1971 the Battalion had returned to Camp Evans for stand-down and refresher training. The time at Camp Evans (usually just a few days) was extended for several days. Unbeknownst to the Rakkasans, the 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) was gearing up for Dewey Canyon II/Lam Son 719. On the morning of January 30, 1971 Operation Dewey Canyon II kicked off. The rifle companies of the battalion were choppered out in mass from Camp Evans and inserted into positions in and around FSB Shepherd in Quang Tri Province. The 3/187th was securing the bridges and mountains along QL9 near FSB Shepherd as the highway was being reopened into Khe Sanh combat base. The 3/187th suffered one soldier killed in action in January of 1971 - Stephen Paul Krug, HHC Medic with Bravo Company.
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February 1971
In early February, the 3/187th continued Dewey Canyon II, in and around FSB Shepherd, in support of the reopening of QL9 into Khe Sanh Combat base. In mid-February of 1971, combat operations shifted slightly north, in and around FSB Scotch. Content under construction!
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March 1971
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April 1971
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May 1971
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June 1971
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July 1971
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August 1971
According to “3/187th Annual Report 1971" in early August of 1971, the 3/817th was moved to the Cam Ranh Bay area where it remained until early October of 1971. The report indicates the following: “On 4 Aug 71 the Rakkasans replaced the 4th BN, 503 Infantry of the 173rd Airborne Brigade as the Battalion security force under the control of the Cam Ranh Bay Support Command whose mission it was to conduct defensive operations in the rocket belt around the Cam Ranh Bay Peninsula. Beginning on 4 Aug 1971 the Rakkasans conducted successfully their move as an independent Infantry Battalion 370 KM south to Cam Ranh Bay. Utilizing Air Force C-130s, the Battalion, over a period of three days, moved each Rifle Company, staff and Headquarters section to Cam Ranh Bay Army Depot fully prepared to begin field operations”, page 23. The report indicates that after arrival, each rifle company was inserted into a different area of operation, while the Recon Teams operated in two areas on the Cam Ranh Bay Peninsula. The report indicates that "Rocket launching sites were the primary concerns of the Rakkasans as they worked the traditional rocket belt areas around Can Ranh Bay with the mission of halting stand off rocket attacks of the Can Ranh Bay installations", page 27. In late August, NVA sappers infiltrated the Tri-Service Ammunition Storage area and planted satchels charges which resulted in three large explosions causing damage to the ammunition area as well as buildings. Two Rakkasans lost their lives in the month of August. Floyd William Kotewa, Jr and Haywood Rodgers, but of Delta Company were killed in action on August 14, 1971.
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September 1971
In September of 1971, the 3/187th continued security operations in the Can Ranh Bay area.
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October 1971
In October of 1971, the 101st Airborne Division began to scale down operations in preparation for re-deployment back to FT Campbell, Kentucky. Operation OPORD 11-71 ran from October 9, 1971 to February 12, 1972. According to the “Combat Operations After Action Report, Operation OPORD11-71, (9 October 1971 – 12 February 1972), 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile)”, the concept of the operation was as follows: "Operation 11-71 was developed to provide a transition between the full brigade operations of Operation Jefferson Glen and redeployment of the 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile). The concept involved increased reliance upon ARVN capabilities to operate in the jungle canopy and a US role which was limited to defense of key US base camps and continued provision of combat support to the ARVN Divisions co-located in the division TAOI", pages 10-11. (Note: TAOI = Tactical Area of Interest). The key US base camps identified in the report were Camp Eagle, Phu Bai, Camp Evans and Tan My port facility. The Rakkasans returned to Camp Evans from Cam Ranh Bay over a three-day period in early October and began operations around October 10, 1971. The 3/187th Annual Historical Summary for 1971 indicates that the battalion's area of operation was about half the previous size. The summary indicates: "After the Rakkasans return to Camp Evans they began working their former AO, now shrunken to half it's former size. From FSB Jack to the Song Be between Evans and the 2nd ridgeline the BN went into three company sized AO's and began combined operations with the 1/6th RF Company Group of Phong Dien", page 29. The 3/187th specific operation for this time period was titled Operation Monsoon Dynamic Defense and activities were described as follows: "Upon return to Camp Evans, the 3rd Bn (Airmobile) 187th Infantry conducted defensive operations, intensive surveillance of infiltration routes, rocket belts assembly areas, and approaches to installations in the AO; combined operations with RF Group (Phong Dien) were also conducted", page 1 of "After Action Feeder Report, Operation Monsoon Dynamic Defense for Period 1 Oct 71 - 31 Oct 71, 3rd Battalion (Airmobile), 187th Infantry". Two Rakkasans lost their lives in the month of October. Irving John Brown Jr was killed on October 14, 1971 and Barry Alan Bowman on October 17, 1971. Barry Bowman was the last Rakkasan to lose his life in Vietnam.
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November 1971
In November of 1971, the 3/187th continued to conduct security operations in their assigned area of operation under Operation OPORD 11-71/Operation Monsoon Dynamic Defense. Sporadic contact with NVA/VC continued and booby-traps continued to cause significant problems. (Note: Operation OPORD 11-71 refers to the Division wide operation while Operation Monsoon Dynamic Defense refers to the battalion level operation). On November 21, 1971 at 4:24 PM, the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry ceased all combat operations and turned over control of all areas of operation to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. After four years of combat, the war in the Republic of Vietnam was over for the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment. The Battalion was packing up and heading home.
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December 1971
After ceasing operations on November 21, 1971, the Rakkasans continued to pack up and prepare for redeployment. The battalion colors were retuning to Ft Campbell, Kentucky.
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