Allan T. Aslett and Richard A. Carabba: The Battle of LZ Dixie Pete

On September 20, 1969, Company G of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, along with a sister company, was airlifted into an area just north of the Song Cam Lo River, near LZ Pete in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam. Their mission was to secure the northern approaches to Elliott Combat Base, also known as "The Rockpile," while preventing enemy infiltration toward the southeast.

Six days later, while occupying a night defensive position (NDP) near LZ Dixie Pete, about 1,000 meters north, four sensor devices detected movement outside Company G's perimeter. A nearby night ambush team sighted three figures moving across their front and responded by throwing hand grenades, which stopped the movement.

Two hours later, enemy forces launched an attack with small arms and automatic weapons fire, followed by a heavy mortar barrage from 60mm and 82mm mortars. Sappers attempted to breach the Marine defenses. Although pre-planned artillery was requested, firing was delayed for over an hour due to the loss of grid coordinates. Despite this setback, the Marines responded with heavy fire, eventually repelling the enemy assault and forcing them to retreat.

At sunrise, fixed-wing aircraft arrived and bombarded the enemy's escape routes, spotting over eleven bodies beyond the wire. A subsequent ground search found grenades, spent shell casings, and blood trails, but no additional bodies.

The attack cost the lives of two Marines, PFC Allan T. Aslett and LCPL Richard A. Carabba, with fifty-nine others wounded. LCPL Carabba was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star for his heroism. This action marked the last enemy-initiated assault on the 3rd Marine Division before the final phase of Operation Keystone Cardinal, the withdrawal of the division from South Vietnam.

Pictured: Allan T. Aslett, Richard A. Carabba