HOW SSG HOLLAND DREW THE ENEMY AWAY SO HIS TEAM COULD EXTRACT
On August 18, 1967, SSG Charles Holland and his team were tasked with a reconnaissance mission in Đắk Tô province in Vietnam. A lot of enemy movement had been reported in the area, so the mission was rated as extremely dangerous. Only minutes before it started, word came in of a squad of Viet Cong near the landing zone who had fired on the reconnaissance aircraft. When the squad leader was offered the chance to postpone, Holland turned it down and diverted to an alternate landing zone.
The team landed safely at first and found more than 25 foxholes that had been dug only recently. The next morning they set up an observation post on a hill with a good view of one of the enemy’s hidden jungle trails. A short time later they spotted 21 Viet Cong moving along the trail. The team called for artillery to break up the enemy force. As they passed the fire command, they suddenly heard voices in the vegetation behind them, and before they could react they came under attack with small arms, hand grenades and 40mm grenade launchers.
During the firefight, Holland ordered his team to break contact and pull out of the area while he stayed behind and laid down covering fire. He then caught up with his squad, gave them further orders and dropped back again to cover their withdrawal. Once the men had reached the foot of the hill safely, they realized that in the chaos they had left the radio behind at the observation post. While his men were being flown out, Holland charged back up the hill and fired his weapon to draw the enemy off. His body was found the next day. He had fought his way back to the observation post alone, recovered the radio and killed several enemy fighters before he was overwhelmed by the Viet Cong. Without his diversion, his team could not have been exfiltrated safely.
Holland was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, which ranks between the Silver Star and the Medal of Honor.
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