17th Cavalry Regiment (United States) - History - Vietnam

Vietnam

Troop A 17th Ground Cavalry (Recon Scouts) for 1st Brigade 101st Airborne 1965, Awarded Valorus Unit Award for Operation Harrison Tua Hoa Vietnam, Meritorious Unit Citation, and later after being employed for Recon Scout Patrols in the Tou Moroung battle to save a special forces outpost, and the Vietnamese company on the edge of complete destruction A Troop deployed with Famous Captain Bill Carpenter (Lonesome End West Point Football) who wound up calling in Air strikes of burning hellish NAPLM on his own overrun infantry position. Departing from this battle A Troop Patrols were asked to rescue and reinforce Colonel David Hackworths Tiger Force of 45 Men who had been overrun and outnumbered 40 or more to 1. The 80 men of A Troop were at that time Deployed in reconnaissance efforts along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and throughout the Dak To Province Each of the 12 Patrols rendezvoused with a chopper flight to fight their way in to rescue and re-enforce Tiger Force . The Scouts Radio frequency was changed to Tiger Force as it did every time the scouts officially attached to another unit in all of the battle of the 1st Brigade of the 101st June 2nd June 22nd 1966 Operation Hawthorne A Troop was Awarded The Presidential Unit Citation for Extreme Heroism during this battle by Lyndon Johnson . They were also awarded as Attached Reinforcements Under the Command of Colonel David Hackworth the South Vietnamese Presidential Citation. 8000 Combat Helicopter missions were assigned and flown during this three-week battle while the A Troop Recon teams earned a Combat Infantry Badge.

Troop D Armored was attached to the 199th LIB Vietnam as a Recon Element from 1966-70. At first, the Troop operated with Jeeps, but then transitioned to Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs). In November 1969, the Troop began utilizing M551 Sheridan tanks along with Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicles (ACAVs).

Troop E, 17th Cavalry was assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) in March 1963 and followed the 173rd to Vietnam winning a Presidential Unit Citation, a Meritorious Unit Commendation with the brigade as well as a separate Valorous Unit Award for Troop E's actions at Ben Cat.

Troop F, 17th Cavalry served as the brigade recon element for the 196th LIB 1968 - 1969 at First with Jeeps mounted with 106mm Guns Then APC's and in November 1969 Sheridan Recon Tanks along with APC's and Scout Vehicles (M114) and APC's with 106mm Guns Mounted one per platoon, turned into Acav's (Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicles).

Troop H, 17th Cavalry served as the brigade recon element for the 198th Infantry Brigade. H Troop, 17th Cavalry was drawn from units of the 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions, Fort Hood, Texas. On October 22, 1967, Military Sea Transports brought the 198th and Troop H to Da Nang. Upon arrival, the troops and equipment boarded troop ships and headed for Chu Lai. The Troop operated in the Brigade's area of operations. The troop performed its mission with the goal of finding the enemy and defeating him wherever he was found. H-Troop 17th Cav was also known as the "Hell Cats."

In 1973, after the Vietnam War, the First squadron was assigned to the 82nd Airborne at Ft Bragg, NC and called the 17th Airborne Air Cavalry and became a part of the division's rapid deployment package. It consisted of 'Alfa' troop, a jeep mounted recon company and three air cavalry troops, 'Bravo', 'Charlie' and 'Delta'. Each troop was made up of a scout platoon w/ 10 ea. OH-58A helicopters fitted with mini-guns, a gun platoon w/ 9ea. AH-1G 'Cobra' helicopters and an aero recon platoon, w/ 5 ea. UH-1H 'Huey' helicopters w/ recon specialists. The Second Squadron was similarly equipped and assigned to the 101st Air Mobile Division, Ft Campbell, KY.