TET 68 SAIGON
Attack on American Embassy

The following item was submitted by ARMIN WEBSTER a Marine stationed at a guard post about 5 blocks away.. His comments are in BOLD.

The following article was extracted from NAM - The Vietnam Experience 1965-75"
Published by Barnes and Noble Books, Copyright 1995

An eye-witness account of the attack on the American Embassy in Saigon 1968
by Tran Van Duong.

"When the Viet Cong broke cover and attacked, everyone thought that the gunfire was just the sound of bangers being let off, fireworks celebrate the Year of the Monkey. But the fact that the noise went on so long persuaded us that there really was fighting in the streets. At first nobody imagined that it was possible. Not here, right inside the capital. Then, once the sound of small arms became unmistakable, everyone thought it was a palace coup. It was Ky finally moving against President Thieu. But we were wrong again."

"What we did not know was that for months the Viet Cong had been infiltrating arm cashes into the city. They came in dribs and drabs: rifles, machine guns, grenades, explosives, and ammunition. Some weapons had even been smuggled into Saigon inside coffins. And then the unarmed fighters had entered the town, and filled up the hotels. And waited. People travel from town to town for Tet, staying near their family for the holiday. So no-one thought it strange that the hotels were filled with people from the
country side."

"So it was that in the early hours of 31 January the Viet Cong hit first target, the Presidential Palace. They then struck at all the other main public buildings, including the radio station. They hijacked cars to get themselves around town. They even attacked the American Embassy later that same morning, just before three o'clock."

"All over the country, similar attacks were taking place in every major city. In Saigon itself they even managed to sweep into the Chinese quarter of Cholon before the government forces counter-attacked."

"The six-story embassy building that towered over much of central Saigon had been a constant reminder of the US presence, and a symbol of its prestige and power. The Americans felt so safe on this little patch of US soil more than 10,000 miles from home that they only had a handful of Marines on Guard." (Actually, I believe there were 4 or 5 Marines on duty with 2 US Army MP's as external security.)

"There was no warning. A sapper squad of 19 Viet Cong blasted its way through the outer wall and was all set to storm into the building itself, armed with mortars and grenades." (Actually they were armed with AK-47's, grenades, and RPK rockets.)

"But the Viet Cong only managed to get as far as the compound before their leaders were all gunned down by the guards. With their commanders gone, the other guerrillas wandered aimlessly around the embassy grounds until they were forced to take cover when the US reinforcements arrived. It was that close."

"But it still took six hours for the Marines to win back total control of the compound. The scene afterwards was like a picture of hell. Embassy staff, covered in blood, were being treated by doctors. Humble clerks had changed their pens for guns. There were dead bodies everywhere--some American, but mostly Viet Cong. They lay in heaps on the lawn, staining the green grass red with their blood. They were draped across the concrete flowerpots, among the peaceful palms. Chunks of stone and concrete were strewn about and the once beautiful white walls of the embassy were now full of bullet holes."

KIA
1 Marine (Jim Marshall) and 2 US Army MPs.

19 Viet Cong in the compound and 1 outside the compound in the street in front of the embassy.

I Was There......

I knew Sgt. Jim Marshall, he was an MSG and a good friend of mine. The other two were US Army MP's from 752nd (I believe) MP Bn.

Jim was on duty at Nordom Compound (Consulate Section) which was separated from the main embassy by only a 8 foot cinder block wall. The two MP's were on duty at the vehicle gate at the opposite side of the compound. The VC blew a hole in the outside wall of the embassy compound and killed the two MP's before they knew what was going on.

Jim must have heard the explosion and climbed to the roof of the Consulate building (one story) and began firing on the VC with his 9mm Beretta sub-machine gun. Someone called the Marine House that the embassy was under attack and a reaction force of Marines went to the embassy. They were armed only with shotguns, pistols (38's) and 9mm Beretta's. When the MP's arrived at the embassy, they gave the Marines M-14's and two M-60 machine guns. By this time the VC had complete control of the embassy compound including the Deputy Chief of Mission's house. He was home and held until the Marines and MP's could get him out.

Jim was killed shortly after the attack began, he was shot thru the throat and died on the roof of the consulate. He was the first MSG ever killed in actual defense of an embassy and the MSG BN building (Quantico) is named after him. It took about six hours for the Marines and MP's to regain control of the compound. The big problem was the flower planters that were in the compound. The VC hid in them and it was almost impossible to get them out. What was discovered after the attack was some of the VC were embassy drivers and the whole concept of that attack was to gain access to the embassy and remove classified documents to the North. The VC did fire at least two RPG rockets at the main doors which were made of cherry Wood and strong as hell. Two MSG's inside were wounded from flying concrete. One MSG made it to the roof and was shooting at the VC from there with a shotgun. A helicopter from the 82nd Airborne did drop some ammo (M-16) to him, but he did not have anything to shoot it with. The ground fire was too heavy for them to land.

We did regain control of the compound and all of the VC in the compound were killed and one which was to drive the documents out of Saigon was killed when he ran a road-block at the end of the street.

A. Webster