Cabildo (LSD 16) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 40 text:

esLoadina . nd oDebarhation Operation STARLITE began in the afternoon of 17 August 1965 at Chu Lai, with the em- barkation of Marine tanks and troops of RLT-7 along with Hdqtrs and H S Co. 3 3 onCABILDO. Embarked on the other four ships of the force were various other small craft, more troops, and all the assorted equipment required for a successful assault landing. ah Se la SI Vi in tri lai 36

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. iiautl Lypera iond In contrast to previous WestPac cruises, during which CABILDO participated only in amphibious training exercises, this deployment found the ship actively in- volved as Primary Control Ship in two actual amphibious assaults. Operations STARLITE and PIRANHA were conducted against entrenched elements of the elite 1st Viet Cong Regiment south of the Marine base at Chu Lai. The outcome of both operations was highly successful and lessons learned will prove beneficial in future landing operations. Pre-assault planning and coordination is one of the most important phases of an amphibious landing. Lessons learned in STARLITE were fully explained and applied to operation PIRANHA. 35 WOBBSm

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Although heavy gun and air bombardment had preceded the landing at Van Tuong, Marines in the seaborne waves encountered heavy resistance as soon as they crossed the beach. Continuous air strikes and Naval gunfire were required to dislodge experienced Viet Cong troops concealed in numerous caves and tunnels. --4 .Mh At the close of the operation on 24 August, the confirmed Viet Cong KIA count was in escess of 560 with many more believed to be buried in the tunnels and caves, and an unknown number of wounded. American forces suffered only moderate casualties. T. ' .X orce Operation PIRANHA in which CABILDO also participated began at sunrise, on September 7. The forces involved in this landing were nearly the same as those in STARLITE. Only small scattered groups of Viet Cong were encountered. Participating in this operation were South Vietnamese troops who encircled the landing zone on the land side to cut-off any escaping Viet Cong. 37