in the middle of the ted offensive
perhaps the most emblematic episode of
the vietnam war
the north vietnamese people's army of
vietnam and the viet cong executed a
brutal joint assault across the entire
southern half of the nation
during a supposed cease-fire within 56
hours of the attack beginning
sergeant drew dennis dix led a handful
of american south vietnamese
and allied troops in the liberation of
the province of trodak it was a rare but
decisive victory in the chaotic
circumstances
a total of 200 enemies were killed or
captured thanks to the heroics of dicks
who inspired an otherwise fatigued and
ragtag force
during the battle dicks went
door-to-door under intense machine gun
and motor fire
for what he would do next dix would
become the first enlisted special forces
soldier
to ever receive the medal of honor
[Music]
the stage when world war ii ended
the indochina region of southeast asia
became the focus of attention in a
politically and socially divided world
after french colonization and later the
occupation of the nippon empire the
vulnerable territories of vietnam
laos and cambodia underwent complicated
political and geographical
reorganizations
on their part the vietnamese triumphed
over their french suppressors led by
communist leader ho chi minh
their victory continually attributed to
the guerrilla strategy they employed
which would become a crucial importance
in the following decades
the frontiers of the former indochina
colony had been reorganized by 1954.
laos and cambodia were settled without
delay but the conflict between communist
and capitalist ideologies inside of
vietnam was increasingly evident
the country was dissected across the
middle along the 17th parallel
it divided the communist faction to the
north with the capital city in hanoi
and the capitalists to the south with
the capital in saigon
a referendum was due by 1956 to settle
the unification
or else the definitive separation of the
land however
south vietnam held elections and founded
the republic government in 1955
much to the disgust of the communists
residing in the south
however the vietcong resistance was born
the united states began supporting the
southern government as the ussr and
neighboring china supplied the north
initiating an exhausting war that would
extend for 20 long years
in early 1968 the general offensive and
uprising of tet moutan was launched by
the north vietnamese army and the
vietcong forces in the south
in total 38 out of 52 provincial
capitals were attacked simultaneously
the capital in the south saigon was
besieged and even the u.s embassy was
assaulted
american morale on the ground was
already low not to mention the wide
rejection of the war by the u.s citizens
and general public
but the efforts to keep communist forces
at bay held firm
the us army strategy soon shifted
however to emphasize the training of
local civilians in south vietnam
to take control over their country and
stand up for their ideals
it was a task for the us army special
forces
the hero drew dennis dix was born on
december 14th 1944
in west point new york but he was raised
in pueblo colorado
growing up he had the very clear purpose
of joining the special forces as a green
beret
so when he was 17 while in high school
he had the opportunity to approach an
army recruiter
young drew was not old enough to be part
of the special forces instead at 18
he joined the army 82nd airborne
division at fort bragg north carolina
where he started his service in 1962.
during the us military intervention in
the dominican republic civil war in 1965
dick served in operation power pack to
help restore the order
after three years of service he was
finally old enough to be accepted into
the fifth special forces group
back from the dominican republic he
began his special forces training at the
age of 21.
by the time he was deployed to south
vietnam in 1967 he'd been promoted to
the rank of staff sergeant
in october of that year dix arrived in
cameron bay expecting to engage in
combat
however he was sent to chauffeur the
province of chao doc's capital city
near the cambodian border the young
sergeant was assigned as a special
forces advisor for the cia
and a military advisor for the army of
the republic of vietnam
sergeant dick spent months gathering
intelligence and training the local
south vietnamese
naturally winning them over with his
skillful leadership his superiors
peers and followers acknowledged his
professional confidence and personal
courage
which would go down in history inspiring
many generations to come
it all begins during the lunar new year
celebration of tet
in late january 1968 there was a
three-day truce between the combatants
however sergeant dicks felt uneasy due
to the intelligence he had at the time
that pointed to a robust attack from the
north vietnamese during the festivities
the massive assault would be remembered
in history as the ted offensive
the u.s government and the allies had
called for an official ceasefire with
the communist forces
seeking to back out from the conflict
the communists however
took advantage to prepare for a mighty
blow dix knew the area very well by then
and anticipated trouble ahead on january
31st
he assembled a patrol to guard the
borders by boat while sailing the river
they got into minor skirmishes
the sergeant radioed the base for
reinforcements only to find out the
vietcong forces had already struck the
city
breaking through the unguarded defenses
the patrol quickly made its way back
landed on trafa's beach and was met by
heavy enemy fire
[Music]
in an interview for the us department of
veteran affairs the now retired major
dix recalled that quote
it was clear that the enemy totally
infiltrated the city before they had
initiated their attack
they performed a magnificent clever
infiltration
on arriving dicks realized the situation
was a lot more serious than he had
anticipated
it is estimated that two whole vietcong
battalions invaded chaffa
the sergeant learned that several
civilians had been killed or captured
among them was a civilian volunteer
nurse maggie o'brien
and other americans who hadn't been
heard from since the attack commenced
dicks of his own accord assembled a
small force of local soldiers and two
navy seals
and the group set out to rescue the
nurse heading to maggie's house the
group had to dodge the enemy fire coming
from the roofs
but they quote just kept going when they
arrived the entrance showed signs of an
intense attack with thousands of bullet
holes in maggie's vehicle
to make matters worse the iron gate was
locked
part of the squad stayed at the front
suppressing fire
dix and the others were thinking about
going around the building but there were
enemies at the back
maggie dix called out at the gate there
was no response
after a moment he heard maggie reply
yeah it's me get the key
the sergeant urged her the building was
falling apart and there was debris
everywhere
fortunately the nurse found the key
easily among the rubble and her rescuers
got her out safely
as the major recounted in his interview
he started feeling optimistic about how
things were turning out
and he managed to convey that to the
indigenous troops his confidence was so
contagious
that the locals followed after him
without hesitation he saw his force grow
one by one
later that same day dex gathered another
group to perform a second rescue mission
they got 10 civilians out of two
buildings while enduring heavy mortar
fire
further inspiring the local south
vietnamese army to counter-attack
over the course of two days dicks
restored the south vietnamese morale
and led the locals to clear the area
building by building
whenever the force took over a critical
intersection the sergeant astutely left
some wounded soldiers behind to hold the
position while he recruited fresh ones
that's how little by little he took the
whole city back
moreover the party rescued dozens of
free world civilians and american
employees along the way
not to mention the crucial buildings
they recovered from the vietcong and all
the enemies the sergeant alone
neutralized
the small force managed to capture over
20 prisoners including a high-ranking
vietcong official
afterward dick's headed to the deputy
province chief's residence and rescued
his wife and children from the enemy
soldiers
legacy given his exploits during the ted
offensive
sergeant dix was immediately promoted to
first lieutenant
dix was awarded the vietnamese cross of
gallantry and upon his return to the
united states
on january 16 1969 he became the first
special forces soldier to receive the
medal of honor
president lyndon b johnson days before
being succeeded by nixon
decorated the extraordinary soldier and
human being as follows
for conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity in action at the risk of his
life above and beyond the call of duty
staff sergeant dix distinguished himself
by exceptional heroism while serving as
a unit advisor
dex's personal heroic actions resulted
in 14 confirmed vietcong killed in
action
and possibly 25 more the capture of 20
prisoners
15 weapons and the rescue of the 14
united states and free world civilians
the heroism of staff sergeant dicks was
in the highest tradition and reflects
great credit upon the us army
in addition to the medal of honor dick's
had a building dedicated to his name
in july 2014 by the fifth special forces
airborne group
sergeant justin muller from the fifth
special forces public affairs office
narrated how his exemplary service in
the group
awarded him the inscription of the
special operations complex of their
fourth battalion
as lieutenant colonel joseph locke
commander of the 4th battalion put it
during the emotional ceremony
dix was successful not only because of
exceptional bravery heroism and audacity
in the face of overwhelming odds
but because he was able to win the
hearts and minds of an indigenous force
he treated them like brothers or
inspired by his heroism they willingly
risked their lives to defeat a far
numerically superior enemy force
you