Lawrence E Honan

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Corporal Lawrence E Honan, served with the 3rd Battalion 5th Marines in Vietnam during 1967 and 1968.

On December 28, 1967, LCpl Honan, was involved in Operation Auburn, a six-day-long operation on Go Noi Island, Quang Nam Province. Following a preparatory air and artillery bombardment, at 09:04 on 28 December 1967 Marine helicopters started landing Company E, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines at Landing Zone Hawk. The Marines were met with small arms fire coming from Bao An Dong village, west of the landing zone and as they advanced on the village they were hit by heavy fire and withdrew to allow for airstrikes on the enemy position.

Company I, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines and the command group arrived at the landing zone by 11:30, Company I quickly secured a nearby hamlet while Company E remained engaged at Bao An Dong, suffering five killed and nine wounded. Company I was then sent to support Company E but was stopped by VC hidden in the elephant grass.

With both Companies pinned down air and artillery support were called in close to the Marine lines. At 15:30 Company M, 3/5 Marines landed and was sent forward to support Company E. At 18:00 under the cover of UH-1E gunship fire, Company E withdrew to join up with Company M and establish a night defensive position. 3rd Marine losses for the day were 19 dead and 25 wounded, 9 of the Marine dead had been left behind during the withdrawal, while the PAVN/VC had lost 32 killed.

On the morning of December 29, companies E and G 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines and the 5th Marine Regiment command group landed at LZ Hawk. 5th Marines commander, Colonel Robert D. Bohn, assumed command of the operation from the 3/5 Marines commander, Lt. Col. Rockey. Company E followed by Company G advanced on Bao An Dong and after a brief skirmish with PAVN/VC defenders secured the village by midday, also recovering the bodies of the 9 Marines killed on the previous day. Two suspected VC were captured, and an estimated 6 VC had been killed.

On 30 December the ARVN concluded their sweep operation with minimal results, but the operation was extended after intelligence was received that an enemy unit was located between LZ Hawk and the Liberty Bridge The operation was however reduced in size and operational command returned to Lt. Col. Rockey. By the afternoon of 3 March, the Marines had swept 7 km west and were located near the Liberty Bridge having encountered minimal resistance.

LCpl Honan describes Operation Auburn as “one I will never forget. It was a few weeks before Tet, in December 1967. Contact was made with the enemy 20 miles south of Danang. Companies of 3rd Bn, 5th Marines were air lifted from our base camp to support Marines who had stumbled into a staging area of the North Vietnam Army (NVA) and Viet Cong. Normally, the enemy would melt into the countryside when we, with air support, arrived. This time the NVA and VC stood and fought for two days.”

Honan notes that, “in hindsight, we learned the enemy was getting ready for the coming Tet Offensive. We lost a lot of good Marines on that Operation.”

Reflecting on the fighting years later, LCpl Honan recalls, “One Marine stands out in my mind – a nineteen-year-old youth who got into trouble and was facing a minor court martial. He was supposed to stay behind and take his punishment later in the week. Somehow, he got permission to join us on the airlift. He ran up to me and joyously cried out, ‘Hey, Chap I’m going along with you and the guys.’ He was killed within five minutes of leaving our helicopter.”

Honan further recalled, “Because of my job as combat team leader, I had to rotate around because there were so few of us. I basically moved around looking for trouble. I also spent quite a bit of time with Echo 2/3, 1/5 in the Tet Offensive and 2/5. 3/5 went in with Echo 2/3, known as Rent-A-Battalion because it was a Third Div outfit under the operational control of the 1stMar Div. The plan was for Echo to go in first, followed by India and Mike. Echo tripped a massive ambush by a VC Main Force until augmented by NVA. In the initial contact Echo suffered Nine KIA and 5 WIA. By day's end, the company had 17 KIA and something like 35 WIA.

Because of the heavy fire, India and Mike was landed far to the west of where we were. We formed a defensive position.”

“I remember the air strikes coming in so close that a Marine was hit in the face with a large bomb fragment. He screamed for a corpsman, who grabbed the metal with his bandage scissors and pulled it out of his face. I was hit by AK-47 fire about four hours after the op began while another Marine and I were trying to carry a casualty to cover.”

Hoan went on to recall, “One man who seemed to stand out was the 3/5 chaplain, Father John Lepore. Father was with us on several forays forward to bring back casualties. I recall him giving last rites to a dead Marine and I felt how tragic it was that this man's family didn't know he was dead, and I did. They were going about their daily routines in the States, not knowing their son, brother, husband and friend was lying dead in the muck of a hellhole called Go Noi.

“Father was hit in the elbow and was medevacked with me and several others on a CH-46. When we got unloaded at the NSA Hospital in Da Nang, Father held his injured arm behind him, and said he was going back out to the battle. He did. I have never forgotten his courage and devotion to us. A bunch of us were sent to the USS Sanctuary. When the ship arrived two weeks later in Hong Kong for five days, Father took an R and R, and met us there for a visit. What a man! I spent 23 days on the USS Sanctuary before getting back to RVN.”