Santos, Bernardo, Jr., Cpl

Communications

Service Photo

Service Details

Current Service Status
Family Member

Current/Last Rank
Corporal

Current/Last Primary MOS
2531-Field Radio Operator

Current/Last MOSGroup
Communications

Primary Unit
1968-1968, 2531, 3rd Bn, 1st Marine Regiment (3/1)

Service Years
1967 - 1971

Official Badges

Unofficial Badges

Military Associations and Other Affiliations


	1971, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Chapter 730 (Chairman) (Henderson, Nevada)

Additional Information

What are you doing now:
Sun, fun and travel!

I retired at an early age. We travel, read, write and do real estate.
I do what I wish. We look for business opportunities online.
We read a lot, Internet, Housework, travel, gardening and whatever.
In 2017, I was declared 100% Unemployable, because of my PTSD.
I have a DD-215, which is an updated DD-214, because of the added medals
to my record.

Other Comments:
Also write and photograph.

Remembrance Profiles - 1 Marine Remembered

Altefoot, Tom, PFC

Photo Album (More...)

IN PV 2012

Vietnam War/Tet Counteroffensive Campaign (1968)
From Month/Year January / 1968	To Month/Year April / 1968
Description This campaign was from 30 January to 1 April 1968. On 29 January 1968 the Allies began the Tet-lunar new year expecting the usual 36-hour peaceful holiday truce. Because of the threat of a large-scale attack and communist buildup around Khe Sanh, the cease fire order was issued in all areas over which the Allies were responsible with the exception of the I CTZ, south of the Demilitarized Zone. Determined enemy assaults began in the northern and Central provinces before daylight on 30 January and in Saigon and the Mekong Delta regions that night. Some 84,000 VC and North Vietnamese attacked or fired upon 36 of 44 provincial capitals, 5 of 6 autonomous cities, 64 of 242 district capitals and 50 hamlets. In addition, the enemy raided a number of military installations including almost every airfield. The actual fighting lasted three days; however Saigon and Hue were under more intense and sustained attack. The attack in Saigon began with a sapper assault against the U.S. Embassy. Other assaults were directed against the Presidential Palace, the compound of the Vietnamese Joint General Staff, and nearby Ton San Nhut air base. At Hue, eight enemy battalions infiltrated the city and fought the three U.S. Marine Corps, three U.S. Army and eleven South Vietnamese battalions defending it. The fight to expel the enemy lasted a month. American and South Vietnamese units lost over 500 killed, while VC and North Vietnamese battle deaths may have been somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000. Heavy fighting also occurred in two remote regions: around the Special Forces camp at Dak To in the central highlands and around the U.S. Marines Corps base at Khe Sanh. In both areas, the allies defeated attempts to dislodge them. Finally, with the arrival of more U.S. Army troops under the new XXIV Corps headquarters to reinforce the marines in the northern province, Khe Sanh was abandoned. Tet proved a major military defeat for the communists. It had failed to spawn either an uprising or appreciable support among the South Vietnamese. On the other hand, the U.S. public became discouraged and support for the war was seriously eroded. U.S. strength in South Vietnam totaled more than 500,000 by early 1968. In addition, there were 61,000 other allied troops and 600,000 South Vietnamese. The Tet Offensive also dealt a visibly severe setback to the pacification program, as a result of the intense fighting needed to root out VC elements that clung to fortified positions inside the towns. For example, in the densely populated delta there had been approximately 14,000 refugees in January; after Tet some 170,000 were homeless. The requirement to assist these persons seriously inhibited national recovery efforts.

My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year January / 1968	To Month/Year April / 1968

Last Updated: Nov 10, 2021

Personal Memories
Memories Afloat Phase from Aircraft carrier "Valley Forge". Dropped via helicopter into hot areas such as Qua Viet, Quang Tri, near Hue and south of Ka Shan, and north of Da Nang.

Units Participated in Operation
7th Marine Regiment
5th Marine Division
4th Marine Regiment
1st Marine Regiment
2nd Bn, 1st Marine Regiment (2/1)
1st Bn, 1st Marine Regiment (1/1)
MASS-3, MACG-38
VMA(AW)-242
2nd LAAM Bn, 3rd MAW
5th Marine Division
1st Combat Engineer Bn
HMM-262
VMA-121
3rd Bn, 7th Marine Regiment (3/7)
MWSG-17
2nd Bn, 7th Marine Regiment (2/7)
3rd Bn, 27th Marine Regiment (3/27), 27th Marine Regiment
HMM-165
26th Marine Regiment
3rd Amphibian Tractor (Amtrac) Bn
VMGR-152
1st Bn, 27th Marine Regiment (1/27), 27th Marine Regiment
L Co, 3rd Bn, 7th Marine Regiment (3/7)
3rd Marine Division
VMFA-115
VMO-2
4th Bn, 12th Marine Regiment (4/12)
VMFA-232
2nd Bn, 3rd Marine Regiment (2/3)
H&MS-16, MAG-16
HMM-361
1st Bn, 4th Marine Regiment (1/4)
2nd ROK Marine Brigade., Blue Dragons, ROK Marine Corps
VMGR-352
VMFA-122 (Crusaders)
12th Marine Regiment
9th Engineer Support Bn (ESB)