Operation Walker was a security operation conducted during the Vietnam War by the U.S. Army’s 1st Battalion,

503rd Infantry Regiment The 503rd Infantry Regiment, formerly the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment (503rd PIR) and the 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment (503rd AIR), is an airborne forces, airborne infantry regiment of the United States Army. The regiment served as a ...

173rd Airborne Brigade The 173rd Airborne Brigade ("Sky Soldiers") is an airborne infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) of the United States Army based in Vicenza, Italy. It is the United States European Command's conventional airborne strategic response force for Eu ...

Bình Định Province B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It r ...

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

from 17 March 1968 to 31 January 1969.

Background

Following the 173rd Airborne Brigade’s withdrawal from Operation MacArthur, the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment was assigned to defend

Camp Radcliff Camp Radcliff (also known as An Khê Army Airfield, An Khê Base or the Golf Course) is a former United States Army base in the An Khê District in central Vietnam. History 1965–67 Camp Radcliff was established in late August 1965 by the 70t ...

, the Brigade’s main base at

An Khê An Khê is a town (''thị xã'') of Gia Lai province in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam. As of 2003 the district had a population of 63,118. The district covers an area of 199 km². The district capital lies at An Khê. Locat ...

in western Bình Định Province and Route 19 that linked Pleiku with the coastal logistics hub at Qui Nhơn. The allied bases in the highlands depended on the large, slow-moving truck convoys that traveled back and forth from Qui Nhơn. Although the allies had used

Rome plow Rome plows were large, specially modified armored bulldozers used in South Vietnam by the United States military during the Vietnam War. Background The plows took their name from the city of Rome, Georgia, where they were made by the Rome Pl ...

s and defoliants to strip a wide belt of vegetation from either side of Route 19, there were still numerous places where the

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...

(PAVN)/ Vietcong (VC) could lay in wait. The PAVN/VC concentrated their attacks in the Mang Yang Pass, a narrow and twisting section of Route 19 approximately halfway between An Khê and Pleiku where the 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, passed off eastbound convoys to the 1/503rd Infantry, or acquired those coming west. The VC 5th Battalion, 95B Regiment and the 124th Mortar Company periodically tried to shut down the strategic pass.

Operation

On 10 April the 95B Regiment ambushed a convoy in the Mang Yang Pass, a unit of the

69th Armor Regiment The 69th Armor is an armored ( tank) regiment of the United States Army. The 69th Armor Regiment is part of the U.S. Army Regimental System with only two battalions, the 2nd and 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, existing in separate brigades ...

and infantry repulsed the attack killing 45 PAVN/VC and capturing seven crew-served weapons; U.S. losses were one killed. On 8 May a unit of the Battalion operating west-southwest of An Khê was attacked by fire, the unit returned fire supported by artillery and helicopter gunships and the enemy withdrew at 11:30 leaving 16 dead; U.S. losses were two killed. On 30 October at 02:00 Camp Radcliff was hit by mortar fire followed by a ground probe. Artillery and AC-47 ''Spooky'' gunship fire was directed onto the firing positions and the enemy withdrew after 20 minutes leaving one captured.

Aftermath

The operation concluded on 31 January 1969. PAVN/VC losses were 272 killed and 72 individual and 13 crew-served weapons captured. U.S. losses were 42 killed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Operation 1968 in Vietnam 1969 in Vietnam Battles and operations of the Vietnam War Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1968 Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1969 History of Bình Định province