This week we will honor a team of heroes
They are...
The marines of the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion
Part I
In the year 1966, thousands of American servicemen were stationed in the country of Vietnam. Among them were thousands of recon marines who were trained to scout out enemy positions deep in hostile territory. Usually, it was these men who would be the first into a fire fight. This story is about a small group of recon marines that faced a long and particularly violent night while outnumbered and outgunned.
In June of 1966, seven recon marine teams were sent into Vietnam's Hiep Duc region in order to occupy strategic positions around the valley. One team was led by First Sergeant Jimmie Howard. Howard was a veteran of the Korean War and highly decorated. He commanded a platoon of 15 marines and 2 navy corpsman. On June 13, Howard and his platoon were dropped into the Hiep Duc Valley. They were tasked with occupying a 488 meter barren knob named, Nui Vu Hill. It was designated as, Hill 488.
This hill was located at the furthermost outpost of the American perimeter. Anything further, was enemy territory. Hill 488 was also the tallest in the surrounding terrain. However, it was also dangerously exposed. The hill had almost no cover except for a large boulder that was the size of a small car. It was also only 75 feet wide at its widest point. This meant that defending this hill would be a very difficult task.
On June 13, Sergeant Howard and his platoon dropped into the valley and ascended Hill 488. Their mission was to use the hill to observe enemy movements and call in airstrikes. Upon reaching the top, Sergeant Howard and his second-in-command, Lance Corporal Ricardo Binns, quickly began to set up a perimeter. They decided that the large boulder at the top of Hill 488 would be the headquarters and rallying point incase they were attacked. For the next two days, Howard and his platoon observed and reported enemy positions back to headquarters. Unfortunately the North Vietnamese became aware of the marines on Hill 488 and decided to try and wipe them out. What followed would be one of the most legendary stands in military history.
Part II
On the afternoon of June 15, an American Special Forces unit spotted hundreds of Viet Cong and NVA soldiers advancing on Hill 488. Their orders were to assault and wipe out the American outpost on the hill, no matter the cost. The Special Forces quickly radioed Sergeant Howard and alerted him to the approaching danger. He organized his men into tight perimeter (only 20 meters across) and prepared for fierce combat. The assault began when darkness fell.
On the north blade of the hill, LCpl Binns spotted a bush moving towards them. He fired two shots at it and an enemy soldier fell out and rolled down the hill. Binns then threw a grenade and pulled back to a more secure position in the perimeter. Seconds later, a large volume of fire erupted from the darkness towards the marines. Before long, one marine was dead and another critically wounded. Sergeant Howard realized they were surrounded, outnumbered, and severely outgunned.
The marines then heard cracks in the bamboo thicket and opened fire. The NVA and VC soldiers returned fire and vicious firefight ensued. Soon a grenade severely wounded one of the two navy corpsman. Another landed between Binns and another marine named, Bob Martinez. Both men were severely wounded but were able to quickly kill the thrower. Before long, the second corpsman (Billy Holmes) was severely wounded while giving first aid to a wounded marine.
Another marine (Pfc. Thomas Glawe) was firing an M79 Grenade Launcher at the enemy. For a couple minutes he was able to inflict severe casualties on the North Vietnamese, until a machine gun round struck him in the head and killed him instantly. After he fell, Sergeant Howard crawled to his position, picked up the M79, and resumed firing. Soon a grenade landed near his position and detonated. Despite his severe wounds, Sergeant Howard crawled back to his command post at the rock and tried to make a radio call for help. He then quickly called for flares to be fired so he and his platoon could see the enemy. After the flares were fired, Howard quickly observed how dire his situation was and called for an evacuation by helicopter. However this was impossible due to the darkness and heavy gunfire. Sergeant Howard and his platoon would just have to hold on through the night until daybreak.
Part III
Sergeant Howard and his platoon had inflicted heavy casualties on the Viet Cong. By midnight, they had pulled back and decided to change their tactics. Instead of launching a direct assault, the VC went to hit and run tactics in order to probe for weak spots in the marines' defense. They proceeded to attack in small groups that would try to sneak up on an unsuspecting marine and kill them one by one. Their attacks would get especially vicious as soon as the flares went out. Sergeant Howard was forced to repeatedly call for flares to be fired in order to deter the Viet Cong from launching another devastating attack.
Even with the flares on, the marines on Hill 488 were spared no rest. It wasn't long before short but deadly firefights began along the perimeter. Two marines (LCpls John Adams and Ray Hildreth) spotted an enemy machine gun being set up 30 meters away. Before they could neutralize it, three VC soldiers sprang out of nowhere and charged them. Hildreth was able to shoot one, while Adams killed the other two in hand to hand combat. Unfortunately, the enemy machine gun opened fire on both marines. The barrage missed Hildreth, but struck Adams directly in the torso and blew out his back. Although Hildreth quickly returned fire and killed the machine gunner, he was too late to save Adams who died less than a minute after he was hit.
The Viet Cong continued to launch unrelenting attacks on the marines. Before long all of the defenders were either dead or wounded. Sergeant Howard continued to fire the M79 until he ran out of grenades. He told his platoon to make every shot count as their ammo was fast dwindling. As he was speaking a bullet struck him in the side. Howard immediately lost feeling in his legs as the bullet struck his spinal cord (paralyzing him from the waist down).
By 2 AM, all the marines and corpsmen in Sergeant Howard's platoon had either been killed or wounded. The Viet Cong had also been badly mauled and decided to attempt a bit of psychological warfare against the Americans on Hill 488. They began shouting, "Marines, you die tonight! Marines you die in one hour!"
Binns heard these taunts and shouted to Howard, "Hey, Top Notch, ain't that a laugh?" Although Sergeant Howard had very little to be optimistic about he decided it was time to deliver a, "masterstroke in psychological one-upmanship". In a low voice he said, "All right Marines, give them the old horse laugh on three". On Howard's cue, all of the marines (even the ones who were near death) began laughing at the top of their lungs. This laugh caused a major amount of confusion and a drop in morale among the Viet Cong who began to think that the Americans on Hill 488 were insane.
Although their laughter had helped to demoralize the Viet Cong, Sergeant Howard and his marines knew that they could not hold out much longer. By now almost all of their ammunition was gone and many were starting to pass out from blood loss. By now, they had resorted to throwing rocks after they had run out of grenades and each man was down to his last 10 rounds. But then, they began to hear the familiar sound of helicopters in the night. Help was on the way.
Epilogue
The fighting went on for another 10 hours. It finally ended when the Viet Cong retreated from the area around Noon. Finally, the exhausted marines on Hill 488 were rescued. Six of Howard's marines had died in the fighting, and all of the remaining 12 were severely wounded. Only three of the group were not carried down the hill on stretchers. A further eight marines had been KIA while trying to rescue them. Although only 42 bodies of Viet Cong soldiers were located around Hill 488 after the battle was over, it is estimated that they had lost more than half of their force during their assaults on the hill.
Despite his severe wounds, 1st Sergeant Jimmie Howard survived and was able to regain his ability to walk. On August 21, 1967, he received the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Lyndon Johnson. Howard continued to serve in the US marine corps for another 10 years before he retired in 1977. He spent the rest of his days coaching high school football and attending reunions with his fellow veterans. He passed away on November 12, 1993, at the age of 64.
All of the men in Sergeant Howard's platoon were honored for their heroism at Hill 488. Lance Corporal Ricardo Binns and three others received the Navy Cross. Thirteen received the silver star and all received Purple Hearts. Binns survived the battle, but never fully recovered from his wounds. In 1971, he received a medical discharge. Efforts were made by his family and fellow veterans to get congress to upgrade Binns's Navy Cross to the Medal of Honor. Sadly, the recommendation was ultimately denied in 2014. Ricardo Binns passed away on November 10, 2018, at the age of 72.
The story of the Recon Marines on Hill 488 is one of the most legendary struggles in military history. Despite being cut off, surrounded, out-numbered, and out gunned, they continued to follow their commander and hold their ground. Not only did they survive, they were victorious. They showed some of the greatest courage and dedication that few have ever duplicated. I believe that their story should always be remembered.
The six KIAs from Howard's platoon:
Lance Cpl. John Adams
Pfc. Ignatius Carlisi
Pfc. Thomas Glawe
Lance Cpl. Alcadio Mascarenas
Pfc. James McKinney
Cpl. Jerald Thompson
https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=95316
In the year 1966, thousands of American servicemen were stationed in the country of Vietnam. Among them were thousands of recon marines who were trained to scout out enemy positions deep in hostile territory. Usually, it was these men who would be the first into a fire fight. This story is about a small group of recon marines that faced a long and particularly violent night while outnumbered and outgunned.
In June of 1966, seven recon marine teams were sent into Vietnam's Hiep Duc region in order to occupy strategic positions around the valley. One team was led by First Sergeant Jimmie Howard. Howard was a veteran of the Korean War and highly decorated. He commanded a platoon of 15 marines and 2 navy corpsman. On June 13, Howard and his platoon were dropped into the Hiep Duc Valley. They were tasked with occupying a 488 meter barren knob named, Nui Vu Hill. It was designated as, Hill 488.
This hill was located at the furthermost outpost of the American perimeter. Anything further, was enemy territory. Hill 488 was also the tallest in the surrounding terrain. However, it was also dangerously exposed. The hill had almost no cover except for a large boulder that was the size of a small car. It was also only 75 feet wide at its widest point. This meant that defending this hill would be a very difficult task.
On June 13, Sergeant Howard and his platoon dropped into the valley and ascended Hill 488. Their mission was to use the hill to observe enemy movements and call in airstrikes. Upon reaching the top, Sergeant Howard and his second-in-command, Lance Corporal Ricardo Binns, quickly began to set up a perimeter. They decided that the large boulder at the top of Hill 488 would be the headquarters and rallying point incase they were attacked. For the next two days, Howard and his platoon observed and reported enemy positions back to headquarters. Unfortunately the North Vietnamese became aware of the marines on Hill 488 and decided to try and wipe them out. What followed would be one of the most legendary stands in military history.
Part II
On the afternoon of June 15, an American Special Forces unit spotted hundreds of Viet Cong and NVA soldiers advancing on Hill 488. Their orders were to assault and wipe out the American outpost on the hill, no matter the cost. The Special Forces quickly radioed Sergeant Howard and alerted him to the approaching danger. He organized his men into tight perimeter (only 20 meters across) and prepared for fierce combat. The assault began when darkness fell.
On the north blade of the hill, LCpl Binns spotted a bush moving towards them. He fired two shots at it and an enemy soldier fell out and rolled down the hill. Binns then threw a grenade and pulled back to a more secure position in the perimeter. Seconds later, a large volume of fire erupted from the darkness towards the marines. Before long, one marine was dead and another critically wounded. Sergeant Howard realized they were surrounded, outnumbered, and severely outgunned.
The marines then heard cracks in the bamboo thicket and opened fire. The NVA and VC soldiers returned fire and vicious firefight ensued. Soon a grenade severely wounded one of the two navy corpsman. Another landed between Binns and another marine named, Bob Martinez. Both men were severely wounded but were able to quickly kill the thrower. Before long, the second corpsman (Billy Holmes) was severely wounded while giving first aid to a wounded marine.
Another marine (Pfc. Thomas Glawe) was firing an M79 Grenade Launcher at the enemy. For a couple minutes he was able to inflict severe casualties on the North Vietnamese, until a machine gun round struck him in the head and killed him instantly. After he fell, Sergeant Howard crawled to his position, picked up the M79, and resumed firing. Soon a grenade landed near his position and detonated. Despite his severe wounds, Sergeant Howard crawled back to his command post at the rock and tried to make a radio call for help. He then quickly called for flares to be fired so he and his platoon could see the enemy. After the flares were fired, Howard quickly observed how dire his situation was and called for an evacuation by helicopter. However this was impossible due to the darkness and heavy gunfire. Sergeant Howard and his platoon would just have to hold on through the night until daybreak.
Part III
Sergeant Howard and his platoon had inflicted heavy casualties on the Viet Cong. By midnight, they had pulled back and decided to change their tactics. Instead of launching a direct assault, the VC went to hit and run tactics in order to probe for weak spots in the marines' defense. They proceeded to attack in small groups that would try to sneak up on an unsuspecting marine and kill them one by one. Their attacks would get especially vicious as soon as the flares went out. Sergeant Howard was forced to repeatedly call for flares to be fired in order to deter the Viet Cong from launching another devastating attack.
Even with the flares on, the marines on Hill 488 were spared no rest. It wasn't long before short but deadly firefights began along the perimeter. Two marines (LCpls John Adams and Ray Hildreth) spotted an enemy machine gun being set up 30 meters away. Before they could neutralize it, three VC soldiers sprang out of nowhere and charged them. Hildreth was able to shoot one, while Adams killed the other two in hand to hand combat. Unfortunately, the enemy machine gun opened fire on both marines. The barrage missed Hildreth, but struck Adams directly in the torso and blew out his back. Although Hildreth quickly returned fire and killed the machine gunner, he was too late to save Adams who died less than a minute after he was hit.
The Viet Cong continued to launch unrelenting attacks on the marines. Before long all of the defenders were either dead or wounded. Sergeant Howard continued to fire the M79 until he ran out of grenades. He told his platoon to make every shot count as their ammo was fast dwindling. As he was speaking a bullet struck him in the side. Howard immediately lost feeling in his legs as the bullet struck his spinal cord (paralyzing him from the waist down).
By 2 AM, all the marines and corpsmen in Sergeant Howard's platoon had either been killed or wounded. The Viet Cong had also been badly mauled and decided to attempt a bit of psychological warfare against the Americans on Hill 488. They began shouting, "Marines, you die tonight! Marines you die in one hour!"
Binns heard these taunts and shouted to Howard, "Hey, Top Notch, ain't that a laugh?" Although Sergeant Howard had very little to be optimistic about he decided it was time to deliver a, "masterstroke in psychological one-upmanship". In a low voice he said, "All right Marines, give them the old horse laugh on three". On Howard's cue, all of the marines (even the ones who were near death) began laughing at the top of their lungs. This laugh caused a major amount of confusion and a drop in morale among the Viet Cong who began to think that the Americans on Hill 488 were insane.
Although their laughter had helped to demoralize the Viet Cong, Sergeant Howard and his marines knew that they could not hold out much longer. By now almost all of their ammunition was gone and many were starting to pass out from blood loss. By now, they had resorted to throwing rocks after they had run out of grenades and each man was down to his last 10 rounds. But then, they began to hear the familiar sound of helicopters in the night. Help was on the way.
Epilogue
The fighting went on for another 10 hours. It finally ended when the Viet Cong retreated from the area around Noon. Finally, the exhausted marines on Hill 488 were rescued. Six of Howard's marines had died in the fighting, and all of the remaining 12 were severely wounded. Only three of the group were not carried down the hill on stretchers. A further eight marines had been KIA while trying to rescue them. Although only 42 bodies of Viet Cong soldiers were located around Hill 488 after the battle was over, it is estimated that they had lost more than half of their force during their assaults on the hill.
Despite his severe wounds, 1st Sergeant Jimmie Howard survived and was able to regain his ability to walk. On August 21, 1967, he received the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Lyndon Johnson. Howard continued to serve in the US marine corps for another 10 years before he retired in 1977. He spent the rest of his days coaching high school football and attending reunions with his fellow veterans. He passed away on November 12, 1993, at the age of 64.
All of the men in Sergeant Howard's platoon were honored for their heroism at Hill 488. Lance Corporal Ricardo Binns and three others received the Navy Cross. Thirteen received the silver star and all received Purple Hearts. Binns survived the battle, but never fully recovered from his wounds. In 1971, he received a medical discharge. Efforts were made by his family and fellow veterans to get congress to upgrade Binns's Navy Cross to the Medal of Honor. Sadly, the recommendation was ultimately denied in 2014. Ricardo Binns passed away on November 10, 2018, at the age of 72.
The story of the Recon Marines on Hill 488 is one of the most legendary struggles in military history. Despite being cut off, surrounded, out-numbered, and out gunned, they continued to follow their commander and hold their ground. Not only did they survive, they were victorious. They showed some of the greatest courage and dedication that few have ever duplicated. I believe that their story should always be remembered.
The six KIAs from Howard's platoon:
Lance Cpl. John Adams
Pfc. Ignatius Carlisi
Pfc. Thomas Glawe
Lance Cpl. Alcadio Mascarenas
Pfc. James McKinney
Cpl. Jerald Thompson
https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=95316
https://www.historynet.com/long-night-hill-488.htm
https://vietnam-war-history.com/post/the-battle-of-hill-488
https://sofrep.com/news/jimmie-howard-recon-legend/
https://www.newsbf.com/news/1105/27ric_binns.html
https://vietnam-war-history.com/post/the-battle-of-hill-488
https://sofrep.com/news/jimmie-howard-recon-legend/
https://www.newsbf.com/news/1105/27ric_binns.html
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