At first light on the morning of Sunday, 23 February, a combined ambush team reaction force of B Company MP’s was assigned to sweep the berm area of the rifle range near Hill-23 just across Highway 317 that paralleled the Long Binh Post southern perimeter. During the hours of darkness heavy enemy small arms fire had been detected coming from the area towards the bunkers along the post perimeter.

The MP unit started to move up the hill and came under an immediate and intense automatic weapons barrage and a rain of hand grenades from the entrenched enemy unit. The point man SP/4 Clinton Brown was immediately struck in the chest by small arms fire and fell severely wounded, laying in an exposed position close to the enemy trenches.

With the rest of the unit pinned down, SP/4 Fred H. Pazmino, SP/4 Clay F. Creamer, and PFC Simpson disregarded their own personal safety and left covered positions to assault an enemy automatic weapons crew entrenched on the units left flank. The machinegun was eliminated and the enemy crew killed. After the weapon was silenced SSG Larry J. Mentink, PFC Clinton M. Loyd, and SP/4 Michael A. Coto continually exposed themselves to enemy automatic weapons fire and hand grenades to provide additional covering fire so the unit could move to better positions around the base of the hill.

At this time SP/4 Pazmino observed SGT Dennis E. Wiehle attempting to move SP/4 Brown to the base of the hill in spite of heavy enemy fire being directed towards him. PFC Robert S. Johnson stood exposed in the open pouring a heavy volume of machine gun fire on the enemy trench in an attempt to cover SGT Wiehle. Disregarding his own wounds and personal safety, SP/4 Pazmino moved to aid SGT Wiehle in successfully removing SP/4 Brown to the bottom of the hill amid a hail of small arms fire and hand grenades.

A Dust Off medical evacuation chopper attempted a landing in the area to evacuate SP/4 Brown and several other MP’s in the unit who became wounded in the intense firefight. The chopper was driven off by the heavy volume of RPG fire from the enemy trench. SP/4 Pazmino and SGT Wiehle placed SP/4 Brown into the platoon sergeants jeep that had been parked near the base of the hill and drove him to the 24th Evacuation Hospital. After arriving at the hospital, SP/4 Pazmino refused medical treatment for his wounds and returned to the firefight with SGT Wiehle and a fresh supply of ammunition and grenades for the embattled unit.

The hill was finally taken with the support of a Huey Cobra gunship, twenty-three enemy dead along with a variety of captured weapons were recovered.

Later that afternoon during the clean up of unexploded ordinance on the battle field SFC Roy L. Hall of B Company, lost his right hand when an enemy Chicom stick grenade exploded during the collection process.

The following members of B Company were recognized for the actions during the battle, SP/4 Pazmino, Silver Star and Purple Heart Medals, SP/4 Creamer, Bronze Star for Valor and Purple Heart Medal, SSG Larry J. Mentink, Bronze Star Medal for Valor, SGT Wiehle, Bronze Star Medal for Valor, PFC Johnson, Bronze Star Medal for Valor, SP/4 Coto, Bronze Star Medal for Valor, PFC Lloyd, Army Commendation Medal for Valor and Purple Heart Medal, SP/4 Brown, Purple Heart Medal. SP/4 Brown was hospitalized for some time and survived his wounds.