| The Incident
On 25 March 1971, then PFC
Manuel R. Puentes, Cpl. Richard J. Rossano, and SSgt. RD McDonell
were assigned as riflemen of a 12 man patrol conducting a combat
operation to interdict communist activity in the rugged jungle
covered mountains northwest of Khe Sanh, Quang Tri Province,
South Vietnam. The patrol leader during this mission was Jimmy C.
Johnson.
As the patrol moved through the
hotly contested area just east of a secondary road that generally
ran north/south through the mountains, it was ambushed by an
enemy force of unknown size. Surviving patrol members reported
that Richard Rossano was the first American to be wounded. After
being struck in the chest by shrapnel from a grenade, Cpl.
Rossano was seen clutching his chest, which was covered in blood,
before falling to the ground.
Shortly thereafter Manuel
Puentes was wounded. He was observed moving under his own power
in front of other patrol members' positions as he sought cover.
As the intense firefight continued, RD McDonell picked up an
enemy grenade that had landed near him. However, before he could
throw it back toward the enemy, it exploded in his hand killing
him instantly.
The radio operator reported the
rapidly deteriorating conditions in which the patrol found
itself. A reaction force was quickly assembled and sent to assist
the embattled patrol. Unfortunately before the reaction force
reached the ambush site, the survivors were forced to withdraw
under fire. As they withdrew, they were forced to leave PFC
Puentes, Cpl. Rossano, SSgt. McDonell and Jimmy Johnson, the
patrol leader, behind.
The reaction force made several
attempts to reenter the battle site, but well-entrenched
communist forces blocked each attempt. When American personnel
were finally able to enter the ambush site, they found Jimmy
Johnson badly wounded, but still alive. He had sustained several
serious wounds to his lower body. After medically evacuating
Jimmy Johnson, the team searched in and around the battle site
for RD McDonell, Richard Rossano and Manuel Puentes, but found no
trace of the missing riflemen. Likewise, they found no sign of
freshly dug graves. At the time the search effort was terminated,
RD McDonell and Richard Rossano were listed Killed in Action/Body
Not Recovered and Manuel Puentes was listed Missing in
Action.
The battle site was located in
heavily forested and rugged mountains approximately 9 miles
northwest of Khe Sanh, 9 miles east of the South Vietnamese/Lao
border, 21 miles south the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and 22 miles
east-southeast of Firebase Vandergrift.
For RD McDonell and Richard
Rossano, both of whom were known or believed to have died during
the firefight; and Manuel Puentes, who was last known to be alive
and moving toward cover, many questions remain unanswered. If
they are dead, each man has a right to have his remains returned
to his family, friends and country. However, if any of them
survived, they most certainly would have been captured by
communist forces who were in control of the entire area after the
battle and their fate, like that of other Americans who remain
unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, could be quite
different.
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