Fun History by John Haseltine: Forgotten Battle 20

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This month's Forgotten Battle is...

The Attack on the US Embassy in Saigon

Intro

The Attack on the American embassy in Saigon occurred on January 31, 1968. It fought between American marines and military police against 19 Viet Cong sappers from the C-10 Sapper Battalion. This shootout was a small yet significant firefight that took place during the Tet Offensive. It would have far reaching consequences for the course of the Vietnam War.

Part I

On January 30, 1968, the Tet Offensive erupted across South Vietnam. Thousands of NVA soldiers and Viet Cong guerrillas launched surprise-attacks on dozens of military and civilian command and control centers across the country. For the next two months, vicious fighting raged around the country (most of it centered on the ancient city of Huê) and took the lives of thousands on both sides.

Following the attack on the marine base at Khe Sanh, more than 50,000 American soldiers and marines had been relocated to that area. This left many of South Vietnam's cities undermanned and vulnerable to attack. When the Tet Offensive began, many Americans and South Vietnamese soldiers within the cities were caught off-guard and struggled to control the outbreak of violence. One of the cities that was targeted was South Vietnam's capital-city of Saigon.

On January 30, 35 battalions of Viet Cong guerrillas and soldiers from the NVA 7th Infantry Division launched attacks on American outposts and the airbase at Bien Hoa and Long Binh. Both of these attacks were repelled with the attackers suffering heavy casualties. The NVA and Viet Cong attacks had cost them more than 500 KIA while only killing 11 Americans. However, the attacks had succeeded in diverting the Americans' attention away from the real target of the operation. Shortly after midnight on January 31, a 19-man squad of Viet Cong sappers infiltrated Saigon and headed towards the American embassy.

Part II

The American Embassy in Saigon was first established in June of 1952. On March 30, 1965, Viet Cong members detonated a car-bomb in-front of the embassy. The detonation killed 22 people (including 2 Americans). Following the attack, US Congress ordered a new embassy to be constructed in a different location in Saigon. The new building was to be built at the corner of Thong Nhut and Mac Dinh Chi street.

The new embassy was comprised of two separate compounds. One was the consular compound that was sealed off by a separate wall and a steel gate. The other was the embassy compound with the chancery. This one included a parking lot and a two story compound used by a mission coordinator. The embassy had two entry gates, one for pedestrians and one for vehicles. The chancery building was six stories high and contained 140 offices. It even had a small helipad located on the roof in case of emergency evacuations. The wall that protected the embassy was eight feet all and six inches thick.

During the attacks on Long Binh and Bien Hoa, a group of 19 Viet Cong guerrillas from the C-10 Sapper Battalion infiltrated Saigon and gathered at a safe house. Just after midnight on January 31, they got into two vehicles and drove towards the embassy. Their mission was to seize the embassy grounds, occupy the chancery building, and take hostages. After this they were to try and hold the embassy until relieved by more NVA and Viet Cong battalions.

Part III

Just after 2 AM, the Viet Cong sappers arrived at the embassy. They then opened fire on two MPs (military police) located by the main gate. The two MPs were Specialist 4 Charles Daniel and Private First Class William Sebast. They quickly returned fire before locking the gates and radioing for help. The sappers then set explosives by the perimeter wall. At 2:47, they blasted a small hole in the wall and began to enter the embassy grounds.

The first two Viet Cong sappers who entered were shot dead by Daniel and Sebast. But more quickly took their place and pinned the two MPs down. Daniel was last heard begging for help on his radio before he and Sebast were killed. However, the two of them had successfully bought enough time to alert other MPs and nearby marines who quickly rushed to defend the embassy. Inside the chancery building were three marines and a handful of American and South Vietnamese civilians who barricaded themselves inside. They then prepared for a potential break-in by the Viet Cong.

However, the two Viet Cong sappers that had been killed were the leaders of the squad. Unsure of what to do next, the remaining sappers decided to take defensive positions around the embassy grounds and circular planters. Within minutes of this, the fighting resumed. In the thick of it, was Pfc. Paul Healey. He climbed on top of a jeep and looked over the embassy wall. From there he successfully shot down 4 of the sappers. As dawn broke, Healey ran through a gauntlet of enemy fire and shot the locks on the embassy gate. From there he personally led a group of MPs and marines into the compound and successfully dispatched all the remaining Viet Cong.

However, they then heard calls for help coming from a two-story villa at the rear of the embassy grounds. Inside was a recently retired army colonel named, George Jacobson. Jacobson shouted from a window to the MPs that he'd heard movement downstairs. After spotting a blood trail, Healey tossed Jacobson a gas mask and a loaded pistol. He then fired teargas into the villa. Jacobson then noticed a Viet Cong coming up the stairs. The Viet Cong fired and missed. Colonel Jacobson returned fire and killed him. With that the attack on the American embassy was over.

Epilogue

By 9 AM, the embassy was declared secure. Four American MPs and one marine had been killed during the fight. By contrast, Viet Cong sapper battalion had suffered a 100% casualty rate with 18 killed and one captured. Like the rest of the Tet Offensive, the attack had ended in a military disaster for the NVA and the Viet Cong. However, the images of dead Viet Cong sappers within the embassy grounds shocked the American public and caused many more to turn against the war in Vietnam. In the aftermath of the Tet Offensive, thousands more American citizens joined the anti-war movement and would eventually cause the US to begin withdrawing its forces from the country. The tide of the war had now turned.

For his valor during the attack, Private First Class Paul Healey received the Distinguished Service Cross. The 716th Military Police Battalion received the Presidential Unit Citation. Later, a small plaque was dedicated to the five Americans who fell in defense of the embassy on January 31, 1968.