| Page 18 More From Alfred Krabbenhoeft Photos I Took During And Shortly After The 1968 TET Offense |
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| TET 1968 At Newport Terminal - By Alfred Krabbenhoeft |
| Morning After Battle - February 2, 1968 - Guards Expressing Affects Of A Long Night Fighting Charlie |
| The night of February 1, 1968, I was on the APC at Newport's front gate, along with PFC Hoffman, SP/4 Richard Morawa, SP/4 Warren Schaub and another soldier whom I can't remember his name. PFC Jerry Lyon and additional guards were manning the APC located between the old mess hall and the maintenance building. |
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| Left - Newport Guards At Front Gate - Right - SP/4 Warren Schaub Looking Out Main Gate Of Newport - Small Building To The Right Is Where The Majority Of Enemy Fire Was Generated The Late Hours Of February 1, 1968 |
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| Morning Of February 2, 1968 - Security Guard APC Positioned At Newport Main Gate - MP's Positioned Behind Sand Bags In Front Of APC - Newport Maintenance Building Is In Left Background. |
| On the main gate, with 3 MP's on the ground in front of the APC, we started experiencing incoming fire from across the highway from the entrance of Newport. PFC Hoffman opened up with the 50 Cal. on their position and a short evening of exchanging fire took place. We dumped a few hundred rounds of ammo into their position and things quieted down for a while. Although exchange of fire was taking place around Newport, there was a sense of trouble in the area. |
| Preparing Our APC's For The Night After TET |
| During the early hours of February 2, 1968, from the main gate we viewed what appeared to be ARVN soldiers walking across the Newport Bridge. It wasn't out of the ordinary to see this sight, but not by the number of men they were displaying and the types of weapons they were carrying. Being in high alert and no radio contact with any brass, we decided to fire on what we determined to be the enemy as they were descending toward the Saigon side of the Newport Bridge. |
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| February 2, 1968 Can Anyone Identify These Guys |
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| Driving Out Of Main Gate Day After TET |
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| Left - APC At Main Gate Of Newport February 2, 1968 - Right - Photo Taken From Main Gate You Can See Parts Of Saigon Burning In The Background |
| All hell broke loose as the VC started firing RPG's, mortars and automatic weapons at our positions. The men from the maintenance building had taken up positions behind their building and, along with our APC position just to the East of them, an impressive defense was appearing along the fence line. What seemed like an eternity and a fear for survival grew stronger among us. |
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| SP/4 Al Krabbenhoeft - February 2, 1968 |
| The VC outnumbered us, but their mass of soldiers appeared to move rather slow. They were fairly easy targets for us on the main gate, but the men along the fence line had a bad angle of fire to the towering bridge. It seemed as though the battle went on for a couple of hours with the VC slowly advancing toward the base of the Newport Bridge. Knowing that it wouldn't be long before we would be facing the enemy at the main gate of Newport, an ARVN tank came rambling down the road from the direction of Saigon. |
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| Left - February 2, 1968 - The Remains Of One Of The Guard Towers Located At The Old Mess Hall Near The Bridge - Note Almost All The Sandbags On The Tower Were Shot To Pieces - Right - Photo Taken From Back Perimeter Of Newport - More Fires In The Saigon Area |
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| Left - Leaving Newport For Camelot The Morning Of February 2, 1968 - Smoke In The Background Is From The 543TC That Was About Two Miles Or So North East Of Newport Just Off Highway #1 - Right - ARVN Tank On Newport Bridge Morning Of February 2, 1968 Probably One Of The Ones That Helped Us Out Just A Few Hours Earlier |
| Firing its machine gun and cannon, it proceeded up the bridge with the VC slowly retreating. Then the tank broke down, but another tank was following and held the VC on the bridge until gun ships with mini-guns and rockets forced the enemy to evacuate to the east. The VC, carrying wounded and dead, throwing bodies over the edge of the bridge into the Saigon River, were defeated and their attack on the Newport Bridge experienced a defensive power the VC had not expected to engage. The men of Newport were very valorous February 2, 1968, and history should dictate the valor of everyone who fought. |
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| Couple Of VC That Didn't Make It |
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| Left - Morning Of February 2, 1968 Most Of The Smoke In Background Is Ton Son Nhut Air Base Burning - Right - Photo Taken From Newport Bridge Also Looking Toward Ton Son Nhut Area |
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| Left - February 2, 1968 Photo Taken From DD#4 - Saigon Burning - Right - 543TC On Fire Same Day |
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| February 2, 1968 - Photo Taken From APC Position West Of Maintenance Building - The Discoloration On Right Side Of Concrete Railing Wall Of Bridge Is From Newport Personnel Firing At The VC - This View Gives You A Good Idea Where The VC Were When The Exchange Of Fire Began |
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| Left - Just After TET - Party At Sea Land - Notice 551st Jeep - Right - First Convoy Over Newport Bridge After TET - The Old Wood Mess Hall Is In Photo |
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| Seaman Bob Kopnicky On LST Cannon - His Ship Returned Fire On VC During The Early Morning Hours Of February 2, 1968 While Docked At LST Landing Site At Newport - Looking Down Cannon On Same LST |
| Tu Duc Cemetery Off Highway #1 - This Is Where The VC Stockpiled Weapons In Graves In Preparation For TET |
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| Left - Just After TET - Traffic Congestion On Road To Ton Son Nhut Air Base - Right - Area That Got Hit Hard On The Way To Ton Son Nhut |
| More Of The Same Area - Check Out The Variety Of Vehicles In This View |
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| Full Speed Ahead |
| White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane - 1967 |