Colonel Joseph Newsome
B Company, 228th Assault Support Helicopter Battalion
As fourteen Hueys descend into the Than Loi Airstrip, laden with South Vietnamese infantry, Viet Cong forces opened fire with intense automatic fire and mortar rounds. Machine guns and ordinance pounded the landing area as Vietnamese troops were slaughtered as quickly as they were unloaded, and American aircrews flew countless fire missions. Then, as a UH-1B Huey began to offload the next wave of infantry, a mortar round hit outside of the cockpit, causing it to crash. Then Captain Joseph D. Newsome, seeing his fellow aviator go down, flew in close to attempt a rescue mission. More mortars and automatic fire hit around his bird, shredding the aluminum hull and lodging shrapnel in his body.
Joseph Dudley Newsome was born on April 9th, 1939, in Village Green, Pennsylvania, a small suburb of Philadelphia. He graduated from Eddystone High School in 1957 before attending the Pennsylvania Military College. Now known as Widener College, the Pennsylvania Military College (PMC) had a distinguished history as one of the nation’s premier senior military colleges. During his time as a cadet, Newsome reached the rank of cadet second lieutenant in Company E and served as President of the Pennsylvania Gamma Chapter of the Kappa Sigma Kappa fraternity. He graduated with honors from PMC in 1961 with a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering and was commissioned as an artillery officer in the US Army.
Initially, the commander of an artillery battery in Fort Lewis, Washington, Newsome applied for and completed the Officer Rotary Aviator Course at Fort Rucker, Alabama. After earning his wings, he was transferred to the 11th Air Assault Division as a helicopter pilot in the 377th Artillery Battalion. Newsome deployed to Vietnam, being assigned to 3rd Platoon (Bandits), 118th Aviation Company, 145th Aviation Battalion in November 1965. The 118th Aviation Company (AC) was the most renowned helicopter unit in 1964-1965 and was often featured in photographs and news reels of that time. Newsome specifically flew a UH-1B assault helicopter equipped with four M-60 7.62mm machine guns, two M157 2.75 rocket pods, and an M75 40mm grenade launcher. The 118th AC, nicknamed the Thunderbirds, served in III Corps’ area of operation, spanning the Mekong Delta to the Central Highlands and supported units deployed by the United States, South Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, and the Philippines. The Thunderbirds flew UH1-B Helicopters during the early years of their service in Vietnam, including the infamous Battle of Dong Xaoi.
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Dong Xaoi
Throughout the spring and early summer of 1965, the North Vietnamese wished to capitalize on the political instability of South Vietnam from the previous year, seeing multiple heads of state and sectarian violence in such a short time. Building off of this and victories in other parts of Vietnam, the North Vietnamese began preparing to destabilize the South Vietnamese government by assaulting strategic hamlets and other military installations along the Mekong Delta as well as wiping out regular South Vietnamese army (ARVN) units. Dong Xaoi, a provincial capital on the delta, was a prime target for this assault, not only being a political hub but also being the home of an ARVN militia base and a joint American-Cambodian special forces camp. The North Vietnamese deployed the 9th Infantry Division, comprised of four Viet Cong (VC) regiments.
The Battle of Dong Xaoi began in the late hours of the night on June 9th, 1965, when mortars belonging to the 9th Infantry Division opened fire on ARVN and American positions. Despite heavy casualties from advancing through barbed wire and a mine field, elements of the VC 271st Infantry Regiment penetrated the US/ARVN perimeter. At 1:30 AM on June 10th, two helicopters from the 118th AC spun up from Bein Hao Airbase and began gun runs to support the defenders on the ground. The militia base and special forces camp were quickly overrun, forcing the militiamen and operators to retreat to the district headquarters building to make a last stand. By 6:00 AM, the entirety of the 188th AC was departing the airbase, briefly landing 30 kilometers from Dong Xaoi to airlift elements of the ARVN 7th Infantry Regiment to Dong Xaoi.
Newsome escorted a flight of fourteen Hueys carrying the Vietnamese infantry into Dong Xaoi, specifically a landing zone in a rubber plantation on the outskirts of the town. As soon as the Hueys began their descent, VC mortars and automatic fire tore into them. The ARVN troops were cut down as quickly as they could disembark, with all of them killed or wounded within 15 minutes. During the landings, one of the transport Hueys carrying a squad of ARVN soldiers and American advisors attempted to land and was subsequently lost. The 119th AC’s official website describes the loss as follows:
As the 14 aircraft formation approached the LZ, a herd of cattle appeared and moved up the strip to the intended landing spot, causing the lead helicopter to decide to land short. As the lead landed, a huge explosion took place. It was a signal. Immediately, the entire flight was engulfed in automatic weapons fire and mortar rounds. The Bandits continued to roll in and pour rockets and machine gun fire into the tree lines and buildings along the airstrip as the ARVN were cut down within steps of exiting the helicopters. One of the Thunderbird slicks had a mortar round hit just outside of the cockpit, causing it to roll over and explode, killing the entire crew and 2 US and approximately 8 Vietnamese. When the entire formation of 13 remaining aircraft was out of the LZ, only one aircraft reported no damage!!
Chief Warrant Officer Ralph Orlando, one of the men who flew into the rubber plantation ambush, shared his perspective of the los,s too, writing in his diary:
In LZ #2, A Company of 82nd Avn. Bn, 173rd Airborne Bde(Later redesignated 335th Aviation Company(AML), had one slick shot down on approach (by .50 cal). Their pilots were CW2 Raymond C. Galbraith and WO1 Zoltan A. Kova, c,s, and CE and Gunner were PFCs William R. Batchelder and Walter R. Gray. As the licks landed, land mines exploded, and the area was under mortar fire. As they pulled pitch for takeoff, a Thunderbird slick with CPT Walter, L. Hall, WO1 Donald R. Saegaert, SSG Joseph J. Compa, SGT Craig L. Hagen, and two paxs on board lost RPM and crashed into trucks and buildings. The ship burned to the ground. The troops dropped off here were also wiped out.
The VC had utilized a well-aimed mortar shot and a claymore to disable, flip, and explode the Huey. Newsome was the first gunship to arrive. Laying down suppressive fire, he attempted to land his helicopter to render aid and evacuate any survivors of the helicopter crash. Only when the downed Huey exploded did he abandon the rescue, instead resuming his gun runs until his helicopter was severely damaged, left with little ammunition and fuel, and he was himself wounded. For his bravery in attempting to rescue his fellow aviators, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Fighting continued until June 18th, with additional ARVN ranger and airborne units being deployed and sustaining massive casualties before the VC eventually fell back. In total, ARVN troops sustained 416 killed, 233 missing, and 174 wounded; US troops sustained 29 killed and wounded as well as 13 missing; and the VC sustained 200-300 total casualties. Second Lieutenant Charles Williams, a special forces officer, and Construction Mechanic 3rd Class Marvin Shields, a member of a US Navy Construction Battalion at Dong Xaoi, both earned the Medal of Honor during the battle.
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Rotating back to the United States in October 1965, Newsome was sent to Fort Wolters, Texas, to serve as a helicopter instructor as well as to train to operate the CH-47 Chinook. He returned to Vietnam again in October 1967, now assigned to the 228th Assault Support Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. During his second tour in Vietnam, Newsome served as a helicopter pilot flying CH-47 Chinooks before becoming a company operations officer and a platoon leader. During this tour, he earned a second Distinguished Flying Cross and the Bronze Star Medal. The Distinguished Flying Cross was awarded for valor during Operation Delaware, where, without regard for his safety flew into hot landing zones under heavy fire to deliver critical ammunition to American soldiers.
Colonel Newsome continued his military career following Vietnam, participating in humanitarian missions in the Philippines (for which he received the Philippines Presidential Unit Citation), and serving in various stateside postings. He commanded 2nd Battalion, 21st Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Polk, LA. He served in various staff positions and attended the US Naval War College as well before his retirement in 1994 after 34 years of service. Following his retirement, Newsome was active in various veteran organizations, belonging to VFW Post 8851, American Legion China Post 1, and the Cumberland County Honor Guard. On August 19, 2020, Colonel Newsome passed away at 81 years old.