Two more encirclements were completed this week. Documents captured at last week’s encirclement at Phuoc Yen revealed that the trapped 8th Battalion, 90th NVA Regiment, had called for reinforcements to move into Ap Pho Nam, a hamlet two kilometers north of Phuoc Yen. So the 2/501, its command post at Quang Dien, began a cordon with a combat assault by B/2/501 at 1215 May 3. B Company made immediate contact in hamlet Ap Nam Phu, north of Ap Pho Nam and across a stream, tributary of the Song Bo River, that separated the two hamlets.

C/2/501 then combat assaulted south of the two hamlets and established a cordon line with its left flank on the stream, and the 2/501’s recon company was inserted north of the stream to link up with the right flank of B/2/501. Brigade chopped C/1/501 to the 2/501 and it made a combat assault to an LZ north of the two hamlets where, with its left flank on the stream, it could link up with B/2/501’s left flank. Then A/1/502, having been pulled out of the Phuoc Yen cordon on 1 May and returned to LZ Sally, was inserted to be placed along the stream with its right flank alongside C/1/501’s left. A combat assault by D/2/501 south of the two hamlets where it could fill the space between C/2/501 on its left and A/1/1502 across the stream on its right, completed the cordon. The enemy attempted to break out, without success; we had turned on the lights. We were getting good at this.

The next day, May 4, the 1/502 returned from duty with the 1st Brigade and, with its command post at Quang Dien replacing the 2/501, assumed responsibility for the cordon. B/1/502 relieved D/2/501 and the 1/502’s recon platoon replaced that of 2/501. Artillery and 20 sorties of tactical air pounded the enemy during the day and illumination was overhead during that night. The trapped enemy fired small arms and 60mm and tried to escape; he could not. (We had learned that to block escape through water routes troops securing river banks must “have one foot in the water’” and must explode grenades and M79 rounds in the water as well.) The next day we swept both hamlets. US losses: 2/501, 2 KIA and 13 WIA; 1/502, 1 KIA and 1 WIA. Enemy: 33 NVA/VC KIA, 2 POW.

On 5 May Huong Tra district reported that an NVA force had holed up in La Chu, eight kilometers SE of LZ Sally. 2/501 from its command post at FSB Pinky nearby used D/1/501 to establish contact with the NVA force at the hamlet’s north. By nightfall 2/501 had air assaulted C/2/501, B/2/501, and C/1/501 to join D/1/501 in a four company encirclement, which the enemy was again unable to break. On May 6 brigade brought in the 2/17 Cav (with now an attached tank platoon from the 5th Mech Division). After pulling back the rifle companies on the cordon’s east, west, and south sides, and after an artillery preparation and four air strikes, the 2/17 attacked south, D/1/501 on the right and B/2/17 (with tanks) on the left. A/2/17 swung around to attack the hamlet from the east.

An after-action report: “Progress was slow as the troops made a thorough search of a vast network of bunkers and trenches, A Troop came abreast of B Troop [and with D/1/501] … at 1930 met heavy resistance… Intense fighting continued under continuous illumination as the units advanced slowly and attacked the well-entrenched enemy… By 2400 only a small pocket remained to be cleared. However, the remnants of the die-hard enemy fought stubbornly and it was not until approximately 0100 that the final series of bunkers had been overrun... all firing had ceased at 0200. A sweep of the area at first light revealed that a force consisting of elements of the C115 Local Force Company and the 9th Battalion, 90th Infantry Regiment had been destroyed.” US casualties: 2 KIA,14 WIA, Enemy losses: 53 NVA/VC KIA, 2 POW; 26 indiv/crew weapons captured.