Photo trom Abel Collection Front an obsen'ation touvr in his company sector. Capt Charles S. Rohb. the son-in-law of Pmicknt Johnson and commander of Company l. 3d Battalion. 1th Marines, points out key terrain features to the South Vietnamese Chief n f the Joint General Staff. Gen Cao Van Vien. u'ho is on an official visit to Da Nan{^. MajGen Carl A. Youngdale, the neu' commander of the 1st Alarinv Division, is seen directly behind Rohb.

Early the following day, 19 August, a Viet Cong company attacked and overran Combined Action Platoon 2-4-3 northeast of Hoi An. At 2KX) that night, .30 to 40 VC attacked recon team "Trailer Park," atop Hon Coc Mountain, south of Go Noi Island. Only the quick intervention of a Douglas AC-47 Spooky gunship, with its potent, multiple Gatling guns, saved the team from destruction.

Following a battalion-sized VC attack on Combined Action Platoon 2-3-4 during the early morning hours of 20 August, Youngdale's view of the situation changed. In a report to General Cushman chat day, he estimated that the enemy could "close on principal targets in the First Division area in one night in launching his 3d phase offensive."'3

While the 5th Marines, under Colonel Paul G. Graham, pursued Communist survivors of the Battle of Chau Phong south of Da Nang," the 27th Marines continued final preparations for redeployment to the U.S. and the 1st Marines began arranging its move from Quang Tri Province to the Da Nang TAOR." It was a hectic period in the 1st Marine Division and the specter of the heralded third offensive continued to grow. General Youngdale made minor adjustments to the plan for the defense of Da Nang, reinforcing those sectors which appeared to be most in danger." His daily report for 21 August concluded that:

The enemy appears to have completed his preparation for his offensive. Small scale mortar attacks on Dai Loc and Thuong Due in the last 24 hours possibly reflect last minute registration. The enemy may launch his offensive at any time . . . .'5 The Stonn Breaks

The streams which drain the rugged mountains of central Quang Nam Province follow the slope of the land toward the South China Sea, growing in size and strength as they meet other streams. By the time they reach the flat coastal plain, the streams have become rivers which twist through the populated farmlands, branching and rejoining again in a crazy patchwork. In every area through which a river passes, the local Vietnamese give it a name, so that by the time it reaches the South China Sea, it has acquired many cities along the way. The river which flows along the southern boundary of Da Nang, separating the cicy from the fertile paddy region of the coastal plain, is called Song Cau Do, at least along that particular stretch. About

*See Chapter 17.

**From the beginning, the President had indicated that the deployment of the 27th Marines to Vietnam was temporary and in March he and his advisors directed that the reyiment return in July. This was later delayed until September. See Chapter 2" tor the deployment anil redeployment of the 27th Marines. See also Chapter 13 for (he initial deployment.