The video has no narration. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Supported videos include: The enemy fire was situated across Highway 1A, directing a heavy concentration of fire into the 12th Group and II Field Force compounds. Long Binh Post was situated East of Bien Hoa and approximately 20 miles northeast of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City.) At that time, the air base security forces reported that they had lost contact with the enemy reconnaissance element which withdrew east toward Thai Hiep. One of the larger battles of the Vietnam War had been fought right in front of me, and I never saw the enemy. I immediately detected signs that all was not right. 1 minigun and a jumble of spilled ammunition. Soldiers lined inside the building waiting for their number. Surely neither the Viet Cong nor North Vietnamese Army would attempt such a suicidal mission. A three-second burst would saturate an area the size of a football field. The last pocket along the An Tan ridgeline proved more difficult and Company L, 3/7 Marines suffered numerous casualties forcing it to withdraw. Binh chng c cng c nhim v tp trung nghin cu, tham mu cho B Quc phng Vit Nam xy dng v pht trin cc lc lng . United States Army soldiers exchanging MPC currency at their headquarters in Long Binh Vietnam. It was used as a base of operation for the increased ambush and reconnaissance patrols conducted in the uninhabited eastern end of the TAOR. Carpenter set it down in a full shuddering stall. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. I consider the fact that the aircraft was able to fly at all a miracle, Carpenter said. The gunship, situated on the lawn of the museum, was dedicated in October 2004. This was teh first time the M551 Sheridan was in action in the Blackhorse Regiment. Then came a sound akin to that of large paper sacks tearing, as AH-1 Cobra helicopter gunships began strafing the battlefield with 7.62 mm minigun bullets fired at the rate of about 4,000 rounds per minute. Sound: No. Tran Van Thiet, 19, had been left behind. Convoy of M-113 ARCs and M-551 assault vehicles move out of camp and drive along road. Well, not everybody had departed. Levitow and one of the gunners, Sgt. I couldnt walk. (Vietnam War period). Dailymotion, By 15:00 the 36th Ranger Battalion moved into the village attacking the PAVN/VC force. Following the employment of the supporting fires, the 36th Ranger Battalion moved back into the village. Levitows hometown, Glastonbury, dedicated a memorial to him on the town green May 31, 2004. [2][3], Since early February 1969, the 1st Marine Division had noted an upsurge in PAVN/VC activity around Da Nang. It was another hot February day in 1969 at the sprawling Long Binh logistics base about 20 miles northeast of Saigon. Capt. A 70-strong VC force attacked the 2/1 Marines command post 6km south of Marble Mountain losing 17 dead. On December 1, 1969 at 8:13 P.M. EST my birthday was randomly drawn as Number 36 for the draft in the first National Lottery . A battalion of the 274th Viet Cong Main Force (VCMF) Regiment of the 5 North Vietnamese Army (NVA) Division, attacked the southern perimeter of Long Binh Post. Soldiers of the 221st Signal Company Vietnam have military payment certificates (MPC) exchanged at their headquarters in Long Binh Vietnam as part of a country wide general order. Photo courtesy of Corpman Bill Luppeti HM3 [Rach Soi 1967-1970] The villagers told the ARVN forces how they were driven out of their homes and confined to an area near a creek running alongside the village. After years of Army training one cannot help but itch for a shot at the enemy, especially when all the advantages are on ones own side. It was Feb. 24, 1969, and the second day of the Tet counteroffensive. Despite his wounds, Levitow helped secure the airplane on the way back. My driver arrived at the usual time, a little before sundown, on Feb. 22, for my 12-hour graveyard shift at the 1st Logistics Command headquarters. These units made occasional contact, often with PAVN or VC who fought stubbornly from trenches and spider holes. 472.6.9 Records of the U.S. Army Garrison, Long Binh Post, Vietnam (Provisional) And that they would already have been shot three or four times before they got there. Terms & Conditions | Most estimates put the Viet Cong deaths at over 100. Stephen Hugh Lane SP5 Lead Clerk Jan 1969 to Sep 1970, MOS 67N20 has checked in and joined the 3/4 Cav Chapter. As of 1969 Lieutenant General Do Cao Tri's III CTZ . [4]:99, To the west of Da Nang, shortly after midnight on the 23rd Company M, 3/7 Marines ambushed a PAVN force killing 10 and later that night a larger force was spotted and artillery fire was called in. I am the historian for the 11th Armored Cavalry Veterans of Vietnam and Cambodia (11th ACVVC). He flew as a crewman on C-130s for a short tour, then went to Vietnam to fly on AC-47s. The VC attacks on Bien Hoa and the Long Binh complex were abject failures, due in part to the fact that on January 31, 1968, they had run into the Panthers of the 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry. Soldiers walk around outside the headquarters. About 11:30 p.m., the gunship was diverted from patrol over the village of Lai Kai, north of Long Binh. At that instant the flare separated and ignited in the air, but clear of the aircraft.. Very seldom did we ever fire fast rounds at 18,000 rounds a minute because it had a tendency to turn the airplane. Vimeo, The Air Force Scientific Advisory Boarda group of experts and researchers the department taps for independent advice on key science and technology effortsis undertaking four studies in 2023, including two that will likely inform the services approach to Secretary Frank Kendalls operational imperatives. Shrapnel and jagged shards of metal ricocheted through the cargo bay, and a shock wave from the explosion swept the interior of the airplane. License Agreement | The basic course at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland allocated one week in the field for brushing up on combat skills. Investigation reports of the Postal Inspector Division, 1971-73. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. Sorry, Dad, I couldnt make that happen.. About Us | To the Air Forces embarrassment, a hero was not eligible to re-enlist. Once the sun came up, a troop of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment found 139 dead enemy soldiers, Stars & Stripes reported. Part 2 nya min . It had been flying in Vietnam since 1964, first with the air commandos and after that with the special operations squadrons. See Long Binh photos and images from satellite below, explore the aerial photographs of Long Binh in Vietnam. Jim Van Eldik is a retired Army lieutenant colonel. From there, I had a good view of the perimeter and the rapidlyunfolding battle. The Air Force sent a C-54 to Hartford to pick up him, his wife, and his parents and take them to Washington. I was a ticket office supervisor with several Vietnamese and Chinese-Vietnamese women reservations/ticket agents. The typist soldier types on the form with a type-writer. It was another hot February day in 1969 at the sprawling Long Binh logistics base about 20 miles northeast of Saigon. [4]:97, After midnight on 23 February Company K, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines and Company D, 1st Military Police Battalion detected VC approaching the Song Cau Do river bridges and attacked them killing 47 and capturing 11. I stay away from publicity and things like that. More than 100 individual and crew-served weapons were captured. And yet there was nobody, absolutely nobody, visible out there. Levitow set the timersallowing 10 seconds after the safety pin was pulled before a minor explosion deployed the parachute and another 10 seconds before the flare ignitedthen handed the flare to Owen, who attached a lanyard, which created a little extra distance before the pin was pulled after Owen tossed the flare from the aircraft. We heard that the commander of the tanks was Col. George S. Patton Jr. (Jim Van Eldik), It was another hot February day in 1969 at the sprawling, Behind the driver, strewn about the passenger seat and floor, was his personal combat gear, including his, The enemy would occasionally probe us, rocket us, mortar us and more than likely sometimes even shop at our PXs, but a ground attack? It was full until ruptured in the battle. As darkness approached some comfort was provided by the constant sweeps outside the perimeter made at treetop level by the guys in their little OH-6 Loach light observation helicopters. Dad wanted to be buried standing up. Facebook. A VC mortar attack on the airfield at Binh Thuy on the banks of the Mekong resulted in the destruction of a Bird Dog FAC aircraft. The brigade was activated on 1 June 1966 at Fort Benning, Georgia, as the 199th Infantry Brigade (Light), with emphasis on counterinsurgency operations and mobility. Flares took away the cover of darkness, on which the Viet Cong depended for their style of warfare. . We were young men in the U.S. Army. Viet Cong attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base (1966) From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. Some speculate that the attacks were mounted to test the will of the new U.S. President Richard Nixon who retaliated by secretly bombing PAVN/VC sanctuaries in Cambodia the following month. In reality, it is a collection of ideas, images, and information that enough people have chosen to preserve and disseminate. (Vietnam War period). Jerry Breast/U.S. I had the lanyard on the flare hooked up and my finger through the safety pin ring. The attacks on Bin Ha, Bien Hoa Air Base and Long Binh Post, occurred during the early hours of 31 January 1968 and continued until 2 February 1968. As a soldier unfastens a skid of 8 shells, from the crane, it falls over sideways. The Long Binh/Bien Hoa complex was huge, with thousands of soldiers and airmen assigned to the combined logistics complex and air base. We had no bunkers. More than 500 airmen attended the funeral, and most of them followed the caisson to the grave site. . Thus, my daily mission (with the aid of my eight-man crew) was to account for all the ammunition in South Vietnam, at least every round not yet in the hands of the fighting troops. The award-winning exhibit, designed by curator William I. Chivalette, includes a lifelike mannequin of Levitow, paintings, photographs, uniform items, and artifacts. The gunship had flown into the path of an 82 mm mortar round, which struck the top of the right wing. Necessarily, more is lost to time than is remembered. Published in the October 2017 issue ofVietnammagazine. He did not yet have a five-level as a loadmaster, and without a five-level, he could not be promoted, and if not promoted, he could not re-enlist. "Text of Camp Lejeune Committee's Report to Commanding General." South Vietnamese woman 1969 Sep 15, 2017. . Inside the aircraft is a mannequin of Levitow, struggling to get the flare to the door. For the first time the U.S. territory of Tinian, a small island around 100 miles north of the American military hub of Guam, hosted F-22 Raptors. Trans primary motivations seem quite similar to our own: eating and getting home. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. The attacks by Vietcong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces were one of several major attacks around Saigon in the first days of the Tet Offensive. The flare was armed and rolling loose in the aircraft. He had a serious leg wound and was evacuated to the field hospital across the street from my barracks. Week of December 12-18, 2021: Heroism Amidst an Ambush, December 17, 1968. Binh chng c cng l binh chng chin u c bit tinh nhu ca Qun i nhn dn Vit Nam, do B Tng tham mu Qun i nhn dn Vit Nam trc tip qun l v ch o. Many of the tracers bounced off the ground like rubber balls. 23 February, Attack on Long Binh Post The rumors of an impending attack became fact when at 0200 hours [2:00 AM] the first enemy rockets soared across the eastern end of the TAOR and landed on Long Binh Post. The rounds landed on post with some igniting the POL fuel site east of the highway. Alsoand central to the story of Spooky 71it carried about 50 magnesium flares to illuminate targets on the ground. The Viet Cong had constructed some sort of headquarters compound, or staging area, or supply depot or maybe even an officers club. [1], The VC made several attempts to advance on the base, but were halted. Photos (51) by Lou Mengoli, 1967. "6 To Face Murder Charges for G.I.'s Riot in Prison." New York Times, October 1, 1968, p. 3. Most attacks centered on military targets near Saigon and Da Nang and were quickly beaten off. My class had graduated the month before from our 35-week "Fixed Ciphony Repair" course at Ft. Monmouth, NJ. The 199th later became known as the "Redcatchers" for its mission objectiveto seek out and destroy Communist cadres in Vietnam. "Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report #105 - Special Report: The Fourth Offensive - 23 February-3 April 1969", Cold War International History Project's Cold War Files, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tet_1969&oldid=1142428918, This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 09:26. John T. Correll was editor in chief of Air Force Magazine for 18 years and is now a contributing editor. On the second firing pass, the mortars firing on Long Binh were silenced.. Lieutenant General Julian J. Ewell shakes hands with both of the brigadier generals. Intelligence had indicators of the pending attacks. The idea seemed absurd! For reasons unknown, it had not been emptied when the AC-47 went to Vietnam. The intense heat of the flare would burn rapidly through the aluminum floor of the cargo bay and drop on the empennage control cables, destroying them and causing the aircraft to go out of control. I worked for Pan American Airways and lived with the 99th Replacement Battallion across from USARV Headquarters in Long Binh from October 1969 through December 1969. For the next six hours, Spooky 71 would fly a combat air patrol circuit over the Saigon/Tan Son Nhut area, ready to respond wherever its fire support was needed. In the interest of security - and to ease communications - the army centralized Saigon's American forces in 1967 by stationing them all at an enormous compound built just outside of the city. This is a brief clip of the ammo dump explosion at Long Binh, Vietnam, taken the morning of the Tet offensive, 1968. You can imagine how frightful that was to the mind of a 6-year-old. The occupants were helplessly slammed against the floor and fuselage like so many rag dolls., At that moment, a loud explosion was heard and a bright flash filled the aircraft, said Maj. William P. Platt, the navigator. . He reported to the 3rd Special Operations Squadron at Nha Trang in July 1968 and was assigned to the squadrons forward operating location at Bien Hoa. Top graduates of Air Force Airman Leadership Schools receive the Levitow Honor Graduate Award. Troops lined up on a field. The miniguns fired four rounds of invisible ball bullets followed by one tracer round, but the bullets came so fast they looked like a continuous red stream. So here I was, wounds and all, finally managed to stand up and Im lifting 140-pound ammo cans and stuffing them between the guns [so they would not] go flying all around and really hurt somebody, Levitow said. Long Binh Post was a sprawling, 3,500 building . The U.S. created an Afghan air force that was too technologically advanced for its native country to sustain, then pulled the rug out from under it, according to a U.S. government inspector general report. The Space Development Agency has added another batch of missile-tracking satellites to its expansive constellation, awarding Raytheon a $250 million contract March 2 to build seven spacecraft. Aviation gas was leaking from the fuel lines on the right side, and that wasnt all. If it ignited, it would quickly fill the aircraft with toxic smoke, incapacitating the entire crew. United States Army soldiers participate in military payment certificates (MPC) exchange at their headquarters in Long Binh Vietnam. Shopping Cart | An ambush platoon reaction team that was held in ready reserve was assigned to conduct a sweep of the tree line where the post perimeter had received heavy enemy fire from during the early morning attack. [4]:99, Before dawn on 23 February, the first day of Tt, the PAVN/VC fired 25 122mm rockets at Da Nang's deep water port hitting an ARVN ammunition dump and a fuel tank farm at Da Nang Air Base and cause minor damage to an A-6A and 6 helicopters at the Air Base. It was originally called the FC-47D (for fighter cargo) but subsequently changed to AC-47 (attack cargo) in response to objections from fighter pilots. The Tet 1969 offensive was carried out mostly by Viet Cong irregulars. At most, there would be 20 seconds before it exploded. . He was told his unit would capture many C-rations. Food was always a dominant concern for the habitually starved Viet Cong. At 02:00 on 23 February, the 274th VC Regiment initiated their attack with an estimated 78 rounds of rocket and mortar fire from their positions. But now the tough Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army itself were coming. Website Terms & Conditions | We heard later that the VC who attacked were trained as something akin to Peace Corps workers in North Vietnam, but when they arrived in South Vietnam, they met with a VC commander who told them that there was only one more small pocket of corrupt "fat desk soldiers" to root out in order to rid South Vietnam completely of U.S. soldiers. Dennis Yenser checks in about Sapper Attack story. The two huge U.S. bases dripped firepowerdozens of batteries of field artillery, large calibers and small, rows and rows of helicopter gunships and jet fighters loaded to the gills with the most lethal ordnance the world has ever seen, dozens of M113 armored personnel carriers with powerful .50-caliber machine guns manned by surly military police, and, of course, hundreds of trigger-happy clerks and truck drivers, not necessarily eager, but most definitely ready, for action. He was the center of much attention but also the victim of bureaucracy. The airplane made it over the minefield and onto the overrun, just barely. Let us know if you remember Steve as we seek more information and photos to make a MyPage for him. Levitow also gave Enlisted Heritage Hall his fathers uniform and ribbons, the original Medal of Honor citation signed by President Nixon, photos, and other memorabilia. "Riot at Long Binh Stockade Attributed to Racial Acts." New York Times, September 4, 1968, p. 38. United States and South Vietnamese forces responded with . The 64-year-old Army veteran died suddenly of a heart attack. . By Richard E. Killblane - Transportation Branch Historian September 15, 2008. These ingredientswhen mixed with the C-ration Beef, Spiced with Sauce or the Beans w/ Frankfurter Chunks in Tomato Saucewould have provided the Viet Cong a feast for the ages. The Rangers met only slight, disorganized resistance. When we were hit, all of us [Owen, Levitow, Sgt. The firing grew to a continuous roar, with lines and lines of red tracers emitted by M60 machine guns crisscrossing the battlefield. August 25, 1968, was a typical monsoon season day. Even in the navigation compartment the flash lit up the inside of the aircraft like daylight. Beyond that was an open area where tanks were patrolling back and forth, apparently looking for VC who had squirreled themselves down into rat holes trying to avoid the tanks. F-100C Super Sabre 54-1956 120 TFS, 35 TFW, USAF . These attacks were repulsed for Marines losses of 18 killed and more than 75 PAVN killed. Date: 1969, August 11. Thoughts now turned to what we should do if we came face to face with the enemy. Large images may take a few minutes to appear. The rifle was accompanied by a single magazine of tracer roundsbullets treated with a chemical that creates a trail of light when fired. (Vietnam War period). 2023 CriticalPast LLC. Contact Us | By 01:00 the next morning, the bodies of 264 PAVN/VC soldiers lay in the village, and 87 had been captured or surrendered. The medics cut away the dead and contaminated flesh to prevent infection, and Levitow was flown to the big Air Force hospital at Tachikawa, Japan, where 40 pieces of shrapnel were removed between his knee and his hip. The nomination package included statements from Carpenter and most of the crew. As Levitow dragged one of the other airmen toward the center of the cabin, he saw the flare between No. On searching the site at dawn it was found that 2 PAVN 81mm mortar teams had been destroyed in the barrage. Later I learned that we were attacked by the 274th Regiment, 5th Viet Cong Division, which was repulsed by the firepower of the 720th Military Police Battalion, the 18th Military Police Brigade and helicopter gunships from the 145th Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade. The last major battle occurred along the berm of the rifle range on Highway 317 in the early morning just after daylight. --- and so it went for lots of the fighting in Vietnam. Din vin Ninh Dng Lan Ngc Ninh Dng Lan Ngc Vit Trinh. Slow fire was 3,000 rounds a minute each, or fast fire which was 6,000 rounds a minute each. At the end of his tour in Vietnam, Levitow was assigned to Norton AFB, Calif., as a loadmaster on C-141s. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. CRITICALPAST.COM: Duration: 2 min 9 sec. . The training group headquarters building at Lackland AFB, Tex., is named for him. Also in mid-February Company D, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines engaged an entrenched PAVN platoon 22km southwest of Da Nang killing 30 and the ARVN 2nd Battalion, 51st Regiment operating 4km west of the Marines killed 49 PAVN moving north of Go Noi Island. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. All of the enlisted got wounded and the officers did not. ARVN casualties were 10 killed and 100 wounded and one US Army photographer was killed. ), and that the VC suffered heavy casualties that day, with about only 6 VC left after the shooting stopped, and these were taken prisoner. The soldiers with old (MPC) currency notes takes the receipt and proceeds towards the next officer. In 1968, a group of black inmates were fed up with their treatment and the war. The flare posed a deadly danger in several ways. Long Binh Jail was a prison for American soldiers on the outskirts of Saigon with notoriously harsh conditions. War and peace. The brigade was comprised of 2d Battalion, 3d . This article was written by John E. Gross and originally published in the February 2008 issue of Vietnam Magazine. Visitors can also watch a videotape of Carpenter and John Levitow Jr. talking about the Medal of Honor mission. 3 Lt xem. The soldiers with old (MPC) currency notes takes the receipt and proceeds towards the next officer. Featured Collections | On 8 February patrols from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines found 7 122mm rockets 14km southwest of Da Nang and another 13 140mm rockets 2km further south. It was an unlucky hit. Unfortunately, the reporting was delayed and did not reach Long Binh until the morning of 22 February 1969, the day the defector warned the attacks were set to begin. Levitow had joined the Air Force in June 1966, some 20 days ahead of being drafted into the Army. I visited my friends down the hall in the almost deserted headquarters building, but mostly kept up my vigil of the activity outside the perimeter, which, as darkness descended, now included an occasional flare. A South . As Ole-Luk-Oie, the pen name for British officer Ernest Swinton, wrote in the 1915 book. Intelligence had indicators of the pending attacks. A battalion of the 274th Viet Cong Main Force (VCMF) Regiment of the 5 North Vietnamese Army (NVA) Division, attacked the southern perimeter of Long Binh Post. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Nov. 17, 2000. 23 February, Attack on Long Binh Post The rumors of an impending attack became fact when at 0200 hours [2:00 AM] the first enemy rockets soared across the eastern end of the TAOR and landed on Long Binh Post. I was not in this Regiment, but I believe I may have observed some of the Regiment's activities the day of the attack. Two stints one for 6 months and another for 7. M113 armored personnel carriers and M551 Sheridan armored reconnaissance vehicles supported the forces on the ground while AH-1 Cobra gunships and OH-6 helicopters provided air support. Copyright 2023. John L. Levitow. Inbound, Carpenter had called for an ambulance and a medevac helicopter to meet them on the ramp. Tet 1969 refers to the attacks mounted by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) in February 1969 in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, one year after the original Tet Offensive.. Brigadier General Francis J. Roberts addresses troops. Full-scale sweeping operations to secure the perimeter began just after noon that day. DaNang Ammo Dump April 27 1969. On 22 February, elements of the VC 274th Regiment, 5th Division assembled at three hills along Highway 15, approximately three kilometers south of Long Binh. There was also a Vietnamese liaison officer. It was situated between Bien Hoa, the location of a large American airbase, and Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. Numerous bases were attacked, these attacks were all beaten back but did inflict casualties and reinforced the fact that PAVN/VC forces were able to mount attacks at will. With no friendly troops visible between me and the battle, into my M16 went the magazine of tracers in preparation for a confrontation with anyone who might break through that wall of gunfire, something at which the Viet Cong were quite adept. ATTENTION If you participated in any of the incidents listed on this page or know of some that are not, please contact the History Project Manager via the Email Link at the top of this page. Among the family members present were his son and grandson, John L. Levitow III. I then looked back to see a flare that had slid up against the cans of 19,000 rounds of ammunition, Platt said. So they were given guns and were told to attack Long Binh Post (population 30,000 armed U.S. soldiers). Things quieted down for a while. The point man for Team #75, SP/4 Cressman, tripped a Viet Cong antipersonnel mine on the trail that runs down from the south side of the hill to the Buong River. The AC-47 was the first of the Air Forces side-firing gunships. I dont think I was alone in this. After the battle came another shock. The gunship carried about 150,000 rounds of ammunition on each flight, Levitow said. Combat training for ordnance officers at best is rudimentary. 128 KB. Clip Type: Unedited. My Account | Is it possible Tran and his friends would have simply elected to return to North Vietnam and forgotten the idea of an attack on Long Binh altogether? This region includes ten provinces: Binh Duong, Binh Hyua, Binh Long, Binh Tuy, Hau Nghia, Long An, Long Kahnh, Phuoc Long, Phuac Tuy Tay Ninh. Militarily, it was a failure for the North Vietnamese, but it undercut the confidence of the American public and it was a turning point in the war. Includes captions and a music soundtrack. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. Welcome to the Long Binh google satellite map! The remaining elements of the company were held in ready reserve. I realize that what I say will be represented not only as a Vietnam veteran but as a Medal of Honor recipient, and the media will have a field day. The clouds hung low, making flying helicopters . (Lt. Cdr. Spookys operators had successfully resisted pressure to change the call sign. 23 July 1969 - SFC Eddie Hamby escorts Sgt McIntosh to Moc Hoa by boat on first leg of stops heading stateside. (Vietnam War period). Most of us were "Regular Army," almost a year into a 3-year hitch. June The second of two new outpost's was built on the western end of the Finger Of Land. The deployment, which began March 1, is part of an exercise dubbed Agile Reaper 23-1. Banned from the Long Binh O'Club: The Club was a . I had the aircraft in a 30-degree bank and how Levitow ever managed to get to the flare and throw it out, Ill never know, Carpenter said.