The First Battle: Operation Starlite and the Beginning of the Blood Debt in Vietnam

by Otto J. Lehrack

Lehrack, a Marine who served in the Vietnam War, draws on interviews with Marines and with men who fought with the 1st Viet Cong Regiment to offer an account of the first major clash of America's involvement in Vietnam. Code-named operation Starlite, the August 1965 battle was a resounding success for the Marines and a cause for great optimism about America's future in Vietnam. The author has written a previous book on Vietnam. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, Ebooks, Military History, War, Asia

256 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2004

About the author

Otto John Lehrack is a retired Marine infantry officer, two-tour Vietnam veteran, former CEO of a small Silicon Valley computer company, blue-water sailor, and author of five books.

Three of his books have been Military Book Club Main Selections. He has received an award from the US Marine Corps Heritage Foundation for his first book, No Shining Armor: the Marines at War in Vietnam (1992), and a journalism award from the same organization. No Shining Armor was published under the Modern War Series of the University Press of Kansas.

He lives in Asheville, North Carolina, where he is working on a novel. He has an MA in history from the University of Hawaii, Manoa.

Reviews

[Brett C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good analysis and overview of the first offensive operation in 18-24 August, 1965 by the US Marine Corps. Otto Lehrack gave an introductory chapter on the history, escalation, and eventual full-scale US involvement in the Vietnam War. The narrative discussed the logistics & supplies, manpower, maneuvering, transportation (amphibious landing, helicopter-borne), and analysis of the USMC, the South Vietnamese Army, and the Viet Cong (VC).

Operation Starlite was seen as an American victory as it ensured continued operation for Chulai Air Base, which was vital for its runway and communications capabilities. Increased VC activity in the area caused military planners to activate the III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF) to enforce action against the enemy.

Enclave strategy meant that American forces would deploy in enclaves around major bases from which they would be permitted to conduct offensive operations within a fifty-mile radius. The enclave strategy was favored by name in the Marine Corps as being one of the first steps leading to pacification and population control. pg 18

The victory reinforced General Westmoreland's notion that carrying the fight to main force enemy units was the key to success in Vietnam. However, the battle taught the VC that they could adapt to deal with the Americans just as they had adapted to deal with the French. (pg 167)

Overall this was a detailed, highly informative, yet a quick read. It was 183 pages in text and read quickly. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Vietnam War history and specific battles from this conflict. Thanks!

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a short and concise account of the first major battle in Vietnam by US Forces. The more famous Battle of Ia Drang Valley would happen 3 months later. Up to this battle, there were many opportunities to leave Vietnam and avoid an additional 51,000 US and probably a million Vietnamese military deaths. After the battle, the idea grows that the US can win through attacks on the NVA and VC main forces-better known as “search and destroy”. At the time of this battle, the US was fully supportive of the effort.

For more than three decades America’s war in Vietnam has been characterized as a tragedy. It was an event that tore apart the country, felled a presidency, and changed America’s view of herself and the opinion of others about America. Almost no one born after the late 1940s remembers when the Vietnam War was regarded as a noble little war with scant promise of bursting the bounds of control and bearing tragic consequences.

It has almost been lost from memory that, in the late summer of 1965, the Vietnam War was not unpopular either with the American public or with the men who fought it. The men were nearly all young Baby Boomers, the sons of those who remembered the Great Depression. The Cold War and containment of communism framed the circumstances in which they were raised and which formed their beliefs. Most young males of this period expected to be drafted, or to volunteer, and to serve in their country’s uniform. Their fathers had won World War II and their grandfathers had fought the War to End All Wars. It was their turn to face down evil wherever and in whatever form it appeared, and they did not shrink from the task. Having eradicated fascism in Europe and Asia, America was needed by the world to deal with the Red Menace. And an America that was just emerging from its chrysalis of innocence believed it was equal to the task. We had confidence in our government and our armed forces. We had yet to learn that democracy is not an ideology easily exported to a country where our indigenous high priests were avaricious and corrupt while the other side’s, regardless of their political beliefs, were ascetic and nationalistic.

Moreover, at least to those who paid attention to such things, Vietnam had entertained us since the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. It was, after all, a small, quaint, tropical country with elephants and tigers, diminutive citizens in colorful dress, and—since the rather puzzling and fatal departure of our ally, President Ngo Dinh Diem, in November 1963—a land of rotating governments. We marveled at the fiery suicides of Buddhist monks, who all seemed to be named Thich something or other….

I like this book for its first-person accounts of the battle. Mainly from the US side but the author researched both sides and includes some VC accounts. The Marines had ideas about being awarded a Purple Heart:

The VC opened fire with rifles and automatic weapons. Dutch-born Cpl Jake Germeraad, an 81mm mortar section leader, watched as an amtrac crewman came down out of his hatch for a moment. A Marine who was curious about what was going on moved up into the crewman’s seat and stuck his head and shoulders out to take a look. He was immediately shot through the shoulder and fell back into the tractor, spurting blood. The wounded Marine had collected a Purple Heart Medal sometime before under questionable circumstances.

Many Marines were superstitious about Purple Hearts. They thought that if they accepted one they did not truly deserve that they would earn it later by getting hit with a serious wound. This incident did nothing to dispel that philosophy.

This battle reveals strengths and weaknesses of each side. The US Marines moved much faster, using helos and an amphibious assault, than the VC expected. The Marines did not expect the VC to stand and fight--they had usually faded away when faced with strength. Not here.

Hard to imagine how tough the VC were to stand and fight when faced with US technology:

Mike Jenkins halted the attack and requested additional air strikes against Hill 43. F4 Phantoms from VMFA-513 and VMFA-342 pounded the hill with high-explosive bombs and napalm. When the Marines were lucky, they got Snake Eye bombs, which were particularly effective when used with napalm in a “snake-and-nape” attack. The napalm would drive the enemy into the open and render them vulnerable to the fragmentation bombs that quickly followed. The Snake Eye bomb was especially developed for close air support. When Snake Eyes are released from an airplane, their large fins open to make a distinctive “pop” and slow the descent to the ground. This gives the plane time to get away and avoid being hit by the fragments of their own bombs. If you were a Marine on the ground, and close enough to hear the fins pop open, you were getting close air support indeed. Napalm is simply gasoline mixed with a thickener that jells the fuel. It not only burns with the heat and intensity of gasoline, it sticks to its targets. It creates a fiery hell and is a terrifying weapon.

The war was ugly-probably more than most-but experience in how to handle yourself in battle would come:

Having suppressed the enemy fire in and around An Cuong 2 India Company was able to move across the streambed cross the trenchline, and come up onto a flat spot. Staff Sergeant Jean Pinquet was going through the area, putting bullets into the heads of the VC on the ground with his .45 pistol, to make sure they were dead. Word had it that Pinquet was either a former French Foreign Legionnaire or had been in the French Resistance in World War II. Whatever his past, he was regarded as being a very tough Marine. Captain Webb ordered him to stop shooting the VC, saying it was inhumane.

Private First Class Glenn Johnson was a few feet from Captain Webb, who was talking on the radio, when he saw a flash of light, Johnson yelled, “Grenade!” swung his arm out, and hit Pfc Freddy Link, who was right behind him; he swept himself and Link backward into a trench. When the two got back up they found that the captain and his radio operator were both down.

One of the VC who was thought to be dead had rolled over and thrown a grenade at the India Company command group. The Marines quickly killed the enemy soldier, but Webb and other Marines were nonetheless casualties. (The Capt and the radio operator suffered fatal wounds)

The Marines were mostly inexperienced although there were some WWII and Korean War veterans mixed in. Regardless of previous exposure, all would find the battle confusing at times:

After the Marines had dug for about twenty minutes and put some fire out to their front, enemy activity trailed off. The India Company Marines got up to resume the attack. The intensity of the fighting rose and fell for no discernible reasons. Sometimes it seemed to be going on all sides at once. At other moments, there was very little gunfire at all.

The Marines quickly learned a practical lesson that all warriors have known since ancient times. Theoretically, one is supposed to line up in an assault or other planned formation and fight that way. But once battle is joined the formation rapidly degenerates into a series of isolated small actions. In Starlite, as in most battles, it seemed that the fights generally meant that four or five men on one side would be heavily engaged with a similar number on the opposite side. Each combatant became so preoccupied with taking care of his situation that he often had little knowledge of and didn’t really care what was going on a few yards away. Throw in the sounds, the smells, and the fear and you have the notorious “fog of war” that explains why such widely differing accounts describe the same battle.

There were two Medals of Honor awarded for actions during the battle.

In the meantime, Lance Corporal Paul’s attempt to protect the wounded was coming under heavy pressure. On top of the fire from mortars, recoilless rifles, and small arms, the Viet Cong added a barrage of white phosphorous. (WP)rifle grenades. WP burns with an intense heat and will continue to burn, even under water, until it consumes itself. It easily burns through human flesh. Paul raced across the paddy, placed himself in an exposed position between the casualties and the enemy, and poured out a torrent of automatic rifle fire in order to divert the enemy long enough to permit the casualties to be evacuated. Tenaciously protecting the casualties in the face of certain death, he was hit several times but refused to quit until the wounded were pulled to safety. After the other casualties were safe, Tonucci picked up Paul and put him on a medevac chopper. He hoped that Paul would live, but the fearless Marine didn’t make it. Joe Calvin Paul, the quiet kid from Kentucky, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, and the U.S. Navy later named a frigate, the USS Paul (FF 1080) in his honor. https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/joe-...

One area that could have been expanded was including more accounts of the VC in the battle.

It has always annoyed me, a little thing but important. The media says the President is awarding the Medal of Honor to a service member. No he doesn’t, he does this: “The President of the United States in the name of the Congress takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to:”

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Operation Starlite, one of the first American Battles of the Vietnam War, is interesting on a number of levels. The Marines claim it as a victory, but so do the Viet Cong- and some Correspondents in Saigon reported it as a loss at the time. It's also a real example of combined arms use by the US Marines- as the Corps Used Aircraft (the whole operation was part of clearing the Chu Lai Air Base Area) ,Tanks, Amtracs, Helicopters, Landing Craft and Naval Gunfire to prepare and influence the battlefield. Otto Lehrack, a 24 year Marine with two tours in Vietnam re-examines the battle- in the light of the best available information in 2004. The result is really interesting.

The operation was meant to clean up three VC Infantry Battalions, about 1500 men. Caught with their leaders away at a Command meeting- the Vietnamese fought hard. But the three Battalions of Marines- one Company inserted stealthily the previous day- some men coming ashore from the sea- some being inserted via Helo- Some with Tanks and "Ontos" vehicles - all converged to push the VC out- in some very confused struggles that often devolved into Man to Man combat. We follow all the groups- and the Support Artillery, Helos, and Air elements that get involved. We also get the VC reaction- as the author clearly talked to their vets too.

There are some adult themes and political elements- and some frank casualty discussions, so this is best for the Junior Reader over about 12. For the Gamer/Modeller/Military Enthusiast, this is a goldmine. Lehrack goes over orders, force packages, and support units- as well as his regard for the VC side of the action. My only complaint is that there are not enough maps/diagrams of the action- but there is a lot of prose that explains it well. I can see this helping Scenario and Diorama development - and the higher level tick-tock- of a whole battle all the way through is really engaging for the Enthusiast. This is a really good candidate for any Vietnam/Cold War library.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

An exacting look at the first battle (Operation Starlight) involving a Marine landing force in Vietnam from the point of the men on the ground. Gives a good overall glimpse into General Westmorland's battle strategy for the entire war.

[Justin Berman · Rating 5 out of 5]

One line review: Operation Starlite was the first company size battle between US and North Vietnamese forces in Vietnam. The marines were victorious in achieving their objectives but suffered losses in having to adapt to the unfamiliar terrain / climate and with the Viet Cong fighting tactics. The author does a good job pulling information from archives, interviews, etc into a story of what occurred. It is a sad war, but the book was a good read.

[Jack Marino III · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite book's on the Vietnam War, anyone who has an interest or is a veteran of the Vietnam War or any War, or Branch of Service I highly recommend reading the "First Battle" by Otto J. Lehrack a former US Marine Officer and Two Tours in Vietnam really put this book together with Great accuracy and great care in detail, it's a Must read, for Vietnam War Buff's.
Jack Marino III

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author spends the first part of The First Battle pointing the political finger of responsibility for America's involvement in the undeclared Vietnam War. Once past that, he gives a good description of the first American offensive ground action which was a US Marine operation. He dissects operation Starlite.

[Brian Reagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a decent account of the beginning of Marine Corps action in Vietnam during Operation Starlite. Lehrack has an excellent style as a researcher that brings the account to life. However, his editor was careless and missed obvious errors and duplications throughout the text.

[J Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my review here: http://tobeortodo.com/2012/08/24/the-...

[J Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent; review forthcoming.

[Chad Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative!

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good chronology and OOB