James Fortune ~Vietnam - Operation Fresh Start

Sheridan TankSheridan Tank ~ Tank Squadron in Vietnam

Battle of the Crossroads As the Battle of the Crescent was ending, a new battle, Battle of the Crossroads was taking place to the west in Binh Long Province. An element of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment on Kentucky Cougar Operation were fighting an enemy of unknown size 8 km (5 mi) NNE of Loc Ninch. At 8:30 am on Jan. 21, 1970 (Wed) the regimental commander Colonel Donn A. Starry was above the incursion and ordered the 2d Squadron Troops F & G to the area. So Jim Fortune's troops had to hustle to the area after their valiant fight at the Battle of the Crescent. G Troop (Jim's troop) swept the are while F Troop joining Troops B & C on the eastern flank. Sporadic fighting occurred until nightfall. Several North Vietnamese were killed along with one dead American troop & fifteen wounded. Two Sheridan tanks and two ACAVs were also destroyed.

War Zone C - South VietnamWar Zone C consisted of parts of Tay Ninh Province, Binh Long Province, and Binh Duong Province in ther northern part of the provinces close to the Cambodia border. Using Rome Plow cutting along Highway 14A the 11th Cavarly aggresively patrolled the area. The North Vietnames had three major routes from Cambodia that passed through Tay Ninh Province in an area known as War Zone C. These routes were know as the 'X-Cache Trail, Mustang Trail and Saigon River Corridor. This fed into Base Area 355 northwest of Dau Tieng.

During February through April 1970 the 11th ACR cut a swath through these trails.

Operation Fresh Start - February 1970 through April 1970
February 15, 1970 (Sun) began what was called Operation Fresh Start. The regiment would move from northern Binh Long Province to northern Tay Ninh Province. The 11th armored Cavalry would take control of the 2nd Battalion (Jim's Battalion) as well as the 1st cavalry Division, 501st & 984th Land Clearing Companies.

Operation Fresh Start would go on until the end of April 1970.

R & R in Bangkok

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