Battle of FSB Mary Ann - FSB Mary Ann and History of The Vietnam War

FSB Mary Ann and History of The Vietnam War

The fight at FSB Mary Ann has been used by historians to illustrate the decline of American military units in Vietnam. Historians taking this position include Shelby Stanton and Lewis Sorley, giving the action high prominence in accounts of the U.S. Army's last years in Vietnam. Sorley's account is particularly harsh, stating that the 1-46th Inf "was riddled by drugs and incompetence" and that "he disaster was compounded by a cover-up that extended all the way up to the Division commander." Keith Nolan initially had a similar opinion, but later changed his mind after researching the action and writing his definitive account Sappers in the Wire. Sorley's mention of a cover-up is also difficult to reconcile with the investigation mounted by the division's Inspector General dated 12 May, just weeks after the attack.

Sorley's account further states that FSB Mary Ann was somehow unique. "Had there been other units as careless and undisciplined as the one at Mary Ann, surely the enemy would have discovered and exploited their weaknesses just as ruthlessly. Yet that did not happen." However, there were other serious attacks mounted by VC and NVA units (sappers and regular units) against fire support bases during the Vietnam War, many against American units that had better combat reputations than the Americal/23rd Infantry Division.

Less than three years earlier, in August 1968, a sapper unit attacked the MACV-SOG compound outside Da Nang. The compound, home to command and control elements of SOG's Command and Control North (CCN), was considered a high-security facility manned by elite troops, but during the attack "a dozen Green Berets were killed, along with an unknown number of their Nung mercenaries." Coincidentally, one of the officers present at FSB Mary Ann had also been at the CCN compound when it was attacked. Sappers also attacked elements of the 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) in March 1971 at the old Khe Sahn combat base. Opened to support ARVN operations in Laos during Operation Lam Son 719, Khe Sahn contained a number of fuel storage locations and maintenance facilities for helicopters. The sappers took losses, but reached the runway and demolished both ammunition stores and fuel tanks. Similar attacks took place against FSBs established by the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) and the 25th Infantry Division (to give two more examples - FSB Illingham for the 1st Cavalry Division and FSB Crooks for the 25th Infantry Division) at various times during the conflict. What happened at FSB Mary Ann was not unique. What makes FSB Mary Ann unique is the attention it has received.