On February 1-2 the 1/501 had operated out of LZ Jane to relieve the ARVN district chief at his compound at Hai Lang. But on the afternoon of 2 February the CG, 1st Cavalry Division, MG Tolson, had told me that the next day I would move our brigade command post to Camp Evans and take command of the 2/501, which was still split between Hue-Phu Bai and Camp Evans, and that we would leave the 1/501 at LZ Jane to be opcon to the Cav’s 1st Brigade.

The morning of Feb 3 a supply convoy from Quang Tri to Camp Evans was stopped by enemy north of Hai Lang, and General Tolson ordered the 2d Bde to reopen Highway 1. The 1/501 at-tacked with B Company, followed by D Company, and then A Company. The enemy was well dug in. SFC O’Connor, in Blood Brothers, has written: “During the assault all three companies were turned back. Captain Shive (A Company commander) gave orders for the Third Platoon to attack and for the First and Second Platoons to give them cover fire. As soon as the First Platoon started into the village all hell broke loose. The sky above was loaded with flying lead… We could see that the First Platoon was running into a meat grinder…” From the 1/501 Journal:

“Bn commander advised that the situation was bad. Bde CO told CO 1-501 to pull back and call in artillery… The requested air strikes to support 1-501 were cancelled at 1535 hrs due to rainy misty weather.” The 1/501 would attack 4 February with B, C, and D Companies and well-coordinated artillery support.

And so it did, to clean the enemy out of Hai Lang. B Company fought its way into the village and set up a blocking position, while C Company attacked through the village from the south and D Company from the west. By nightfall Hai Lang belonged to the 1/501, which had four men killed and 40 wounded, 20 of whom returned to duty. That day, the Cav division cancelled the move of the 2d Brigade to Camp Evans; we would remain at Jane. The rest of the week the 1/501 com-pleted opening Highway 1 and kept it open. Captain Gordon Mansfield, commanding C Company, received the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions February 4.

The 2/501, which had moved by truck from LZ El Paso to Phu Bai, could not continue to Camp Evans; the roads were cut. Because of marginal weather and a C-47 shortage (one C-47 lifting troops was shot down, no casualties) the 2/501 did not complete its move until February 7.

C/1/502 had been left behind on 24 January protecting the division command post; the night of Tet, it had air assaulted to the rooftop of the US embassy in Saigon. Opcon to the Cav’s 1st Bri-gade and operating with Cav Hueys and gunships, and with artillery and air support, the 1/502 (-) had since Tet been fighting continuous search and destroy missions around Quang Tri with ex-cellent results. On 5 February it reported a B Company ambush of an NVA mortar platoon. The night of February 8-9, the enemy struck back with a rocket and 40 round mortar attack and pene-trated the battalion night defensive position, causing 9 KIA, including the A Co forward observer and first sergeant, and 25 WIA, including the company commander.

On 9 February, the 1/502 was helilifted to LZ Sharon; its foxhole strengths (A -91, B -104, D-136 and E-107) were evidence of its days of heavy fighting. C Company would join it from the south the next day. By nightfall February 10 the 1/502 would move by CH-47 to LZ Jane and we would be a two battalion brigade.