Department of Defense (USMC) Photo A571336 A Marine Al4cf
tank mores in one direction on owe of the //ruin/streets nj modern Hue. u'hile a
yinip of South Vietnamese citizens flee the jighting in the other direction.
Marine tanks from the 3d 'tank Battalion supported the first Marine units to
enter the city
any helicopters in there . . . .' According to Gravel, this 'was a terrible longshot . . but it worked . . . .'12
With the tanks in the lead, then Company A, the battalion headquarters group, and Company G following in trace, Gravel's makeshift command made its way toward the MACV compound, arriving there about 1515. By this time, the enemy attackers had pulled back their forces from the immediate vicinity of the compound. Lieutenant Colonel Gravel met with Army Colonel George O. Adkisson, the U.S. senior advisor to the l st ARVN Division. According to Marine accounts, Adkisson told the Marine battalion commander that the 'Citadel was in fine shape,' but that they needed assistance in evacuating American nationals.'
This contradicted an earlier telephone conversation between the South Vietnamese I Corps and the III MAF command centers, both located at Da Nang. General Lam, die I Corps commander, had heard that the ARVN troops in Hue were surrounded and out of ammunition. The Task Force X-Ray commanding general. Brigadier General LaHue, remembered that reports came in that the 1st ARVN Division was 'in
trouble' and 'we were ordered to go across the river to relieve some of the pressure.' He relayed these orders to Lieutenant Colonel Gravel.''�
Leaving Company A behind to secure the MACV compound, the Marine battalion commander took Company G, reinforced by the three tanks from the 3d Tank Battalion and a few South Vietnamese tanks from the ARVN 7th Armored Squadron, and attempted to cross the main bridge over the Perfume River. Gravel left the armor behind on the southern bank to provide direct fire support. As he remembered, the American M48s were too heavy for the
*In a personal letter co Captain Barcheller, Lieucenant Colonel Gravel expressed his anger about the order: 'We proceeded to the MACV compound then were gifted with the most stupid idiotic mission to cross the Perfume River Bridge and yo to the aid of the CG 1st ARVN Division.' He stated that he told 'Task Force X-Ray' about his concerns, hut was ordered to '^'o anyway.' LtCol iMark Gravel Itr to Capt Gordon l). Batcheller, dtd 24Feb6y, End to Batchcller Comments, hereafter Gravel Itr, Feb6y.
