Santos, Bernardo, Jr., Cpl

Communications
 
 Service Photo 
 Service Details
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Service Status
USMC Veteran
Final Rank
Corporal
Last MOS
2531-Field Radio Operator
Last MOSGroup
Communications
Primary Unit
1968-1968, 2531, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines (3/1)
Service Years
1967 - 1971
Corporal

 Official Badges 


 Unofficial Badges 


 Military Associations and Other Affiliations
Chapter 730
  1971, Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH), 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
 Photo Album   (More...



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 Battalion, 1st Marines (2/1)

1st Battalion, 1st Marines (1/1)

Marine Air Support Squadron 3 (MASS-3)

Marine Attack Squadron (All Weather) 242 (VMA(AW)-242)

2nd Light Antiaircraft Missile Battalion (2nd LAAM)

1st Combat Engineer Battalion (CEB)

Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 262 (HMM-262)

Marine Attack Squadron 121 (VMA-121)

3rd Battalion, 7th Marines (3/7)

Marine Wing Support Group 17 (MWSG-17)

2nd Battalion, 7th Marines (2/7)

3rd Battalion, 27th Marines (3/27)

Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 165 (HMM-165)

26th Marine Regiment

Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 (VMGR-152)

1st Battalion, 27th Marines (1/27)

L Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines (3/7)

3rd Marine Division

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115 (VMFA-115)

Marine Observation Squadron 2 (VMO-2)

4th Battalion, 12th Marines (4/12)

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 (VMFA-232)

2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines (2/3)

H&MS-16, Marine Aircraft Group 16 (MAG-16)

Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 361 (HMM-361)

1st Battalion, 4th Marines (1/4)

2nd ROK Marine Brigade., Blue Dragons, ROK Marine Corps

Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352 (VMGR-352)

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122 (VMFA-122)

12th Marine Regiment

9th Engineer Support Battalion (9th ESB)

Marine Attack Squadron 323 (VMA-323)

2nd Battalion, 5th Marines (2/5)

H&S Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group (1st MLG)

Marine Observation Squadron 3 (VMO-3)

Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 (HMLA-367)

9th Engineer Battalion

 
My Photos From This Battle or Operation
VietNam 1968

  5971 Also There at This Battle:
  • Abdul-Haqq, Talib, Pvt, (1967-1970)
  • Abplanalp, Mark, Cpl, (1968-1970)
  • Adams, Billy W., LtCol, (1953-1979)
  • Adamson, Phillip, Sgt
  • Aguiar, Bob, LCpl, (1968-1971)
  • Albertini, Robert, LCpl, (1968-1969)
  • Aldrich, Stanley, HM2, (1966-1970)
  • Alexander, Jim, Cpl, (1965-1969)
  • Alexandre, Rogers, LCpl, (1967-1973)
  • Allbritton, Steve, Cpl, (1965-1969)
  • Anderson, David, Sgt, (1967-1969)
  • Anderson, Earnest, SSgt, (1966-1990)
  • Anderson, Eric, LCDR, (1966-1998)
  • Anderson, Eric, Sgt, (1966-1969)
  • Anderson, Kenneth, CWO2, (1966-2001)
  • Anderson, Lewis, Cpl, (1966-1968)
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