History from USS Tripoli - LPH 10
This is where I spent my summer in 1972....I found this acticle while surfing looking for pictures of the Helicopter's I worked on in the U.S. Marine Corps. Today (Nov.10th) is the USMC Birthday.
History from USS Tripoli - LPH 10
1972 on the USS Tripoli
April 30: Stars and Stripes: The Pentagon opened the possibility that Marine troops might be landed back in Vietnam to protect American support forces if they were threatened by the North Vietnamese invasion. Spokesman Jerry W Friedheimýs statement appeared to be a reversal of a position he took last Monday, when he was asked about the possible landing of Marines during the current offensive. There are about 5,000 Marines afloat in amphibious ships in the South China Sea, The two reinforced Marine battalions have available to them helicopters and landing craft.
The 31st Marine Amphibious Unit, which includes a Marine battalion landing team, is on the helicopter-equipped amphibious assault ship Tripoli. Traveling with the Tripoli is the Duluth, an amphibious transport vessel which carries assault boats for over-the-water landings.
May 1: Off the coast of Vietnam. More Communist attacks around Saigon, the Central Highlands, and the DMZ. Quang Tri City falls to the NVA. Marine amphibious units in position offshore. Two composite squadrons, HMM-165 on the Tripoli and HMM-164 on the Okinawa, from the 9th MEB had arrived to support Vietnamese Marines.
Marine helicopters and crews on each Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) stood by with 300-man reaction forces on a 48-hour standby to rescue downed crews or escaping American Prisoners of War.
June 29: HMMýs 164 and 165 from the 9th MAB, aboard the Tripoli and Okinawa, lift two battalions of South Vietnamese Marines from Tam My to the rear of the enemy lines, in the vicinity of Quang Tri City. 1,400 Vietnamese Marines are transported. As Lam Son 72 progresses, Tripoli remains off shore, evacuating casualties and waiting should the reserves be required.
July 11: As part of Lam Son 719 Phase II, HMM 164 from the Okinawa and HMM 165 from the Tripoli landed a reserve South Vietnamese Marine battalion, picking them up near Route 553 and landing them behind enemy lines, about a mile and a half north-northwest of Quang Tri City.
A CH-53 was shot down, and two CH-46ýs crashed but were recovered. Lots of bullet holes on all the helicopters, as 28 of 34 helicopters were hit, and one CH-53 loaded with Vietnamese Marines was hit by an SA-7 missile and destroyed on impact. Theyýve been bringing in wounded air crews and South Vietnamese Marines all day now. Among the wounded brought in was our combat photographer, with third-degree burns on his face and hands, a broken right shoulder, and shrapnel in the butt.
Posted by Wayne Wienke
