Charles the son of Mamie E. Esters of Orlando and Charles Esters Sr., the husband of Eleanor J. Esters and loving father of Yolanda A. Esters of Winter Park FL enlisted in the US Marine Corps on November 23, 1965 in Jacksonville FL. He was ordered for duty in Vietnam and was assigned to Company I, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st MARDIV (Rein) FMF.
With the beginning of Operation Desoto, on January 29 the hamlets of Tan Tu and Sa Binh, in the Duc Pho District of southern Quang Ngai Province were in the process of being cleared of enemy forces. After prep fire by supporting air and artillery on the following day, Company I, began an attack to the southwest towards Hill 26 and the hamlet of Hai Mon, an area of that harbored enemy snipers on the previous day. The men who would survive the assault remember it as "the day on the dike". Wide rice paddies and a series of dikes criss-crossing them predominated the terrain in front of the Marines and as the lead elements advanced they began to receive an ever increasing amount of sniper fire. The enemy defended the village by fortifying the dikes and caught the advancing Marines in the open rice paddies with devastating fire from automatic weapons and machine-gun fire. The only source of cover were the dikes and the men had to hug the ground as bullets screamed over their heads or impacted beside them.
Casualties mounted, with ammunition running low, the Company was ordered to break contact and try to withdraw from the open area in front of the fortified hamlet. A collection point was finally established late in the day and all the casualties would only finally be collected under the cover of darkness.
Many were wounded and five Marines had been killed in the action including Cpl Esters who had died from a hostile gunshot wound.
Casualties:
Charles Esters Jr.
Richard Garcia
Paul David Holloway
Robert Lee Posey Jr.
James Robert Rhodes
With the beginning of Operation Desoto, on January 29 the hamlets of Tan Tu and Sa Binh, in the Duc Pho District of southern Quang Ngai Province were in the process of being cleared of enemy forces. After prep fire by supporting air and artillery on the following day, Company I, began an attack to the southwest towards Hill 26 and the hamlet of Hai Mon, an area of that harbored enemy snipers on the previous day. The men who would survive the assault remember it as "the day on the dike". Wide rice paddies and a series of dikes criss-crossing them predominated the terrain in front of the Marines and as the lead elements advanced they began to receive an ever increasing amount of sniper fire. The enemy defended the village by fortifying the dikes and caught the advancing Marines in the open rice paddies with devastating fire from automatic weapons and machine-gun fire. The only source of cover were the dikes and the men had to hug the ground as bullets screamed over their heads or impacted beside them.
Casualties mounted, with ammunition running low, the Company was ordered to break contact and try to withdraw from the open area in front of the fortified hamlet. A collection point was finally established late in the day and all the casualties would only finally be collected under the cover of darkness.
Many were wounded and five Marines had been killed in the action including Cpl Esters who had died from a hostile gunshot wound.
Casualties:
Charles Esters Jr.
Richard Garcia
Paul David Holloway
Robert Lee Posey Jr.
James Robert Rhodes
Charles the son of Mamie E. Esters of Orlando and Charles Esters Sr., the husband of Eleanor J. Esters and loving father of Yolanda A. Esters of Winter Park FL enlisted in the US Marine Corps on November 23, 1965 in Jacksonville FL. He was ordered for duty in Vietnam and was assigned to Company I, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st MARDIV (Rein) FMF.
With the beginning of Operation Desoto, on January 29 the hamlets of Tan Tu and Sa Binh, in the Duc Pho District of southern Quang Ngai Province were in the process of being cleared of enemy forces. After prep fire by supporting air and artillery on the following day, Company I, began an attack to the southwest towards Hill 26 and the hamlet of Hai Mon, an area of that harbored enemy snipers on the previous day. The men who would survive the assault remember it as "the day on the dike". Wide rice paddies and a series of dikes criss-crossing them predominated the terrain in front of the Marines and as the lead elements advanced they began to receive an ever increasing amount of sniper fire. The enemy defended the village by fortifying the dikes and caught the advancing Marines in the open rice paddies with devastating fire from automatic weapons and machine-gun fire. The only source of cover were the dikes and the men had to hug the ground as bullets screamed over their heads or impacted beside them.
Casualties mounted, with ammunition running low, the Company was ordered to break contact and try to withdraw from the open area in front of the fortified hamlet. A collection point was finally established late in the day and all the casualties would only finally be collected under the cover of darkness.
Many were wounded and five Marines had been killed in the action including Cpl Esters who had died from a hostile gunshot wound.
Casualties:
Charles Esters Jr.
Richard Garcia
Paul David Holloway
Robert Lee Posey Jr.
James Robert Rhodes
With the beginning of Operation Desoto, on January 29 the hamlets of Tan Tu and Sa Binh, in the Duc Pho District of southern Quang Ngai Province were in the process of being cleared of enemy forces. After prep fire by supporting air and artillery on the following day, Company I, began an attack to the southwest towards Hill 26 and the hamlet of Hai Mon, an area of that harbored enemy snipers on the previous day. The men who would survive the assault remember it as "the day on the dike". Wide rice paddies and a series of dikes criss-crossing them predominated the terrain in front of the Marines and as the lead elements advanced they began to receive an ever increasing amount of sniper fire. The enemy defended the village by fortifying the dikes and caught the advancing Marines in the open rice paddies with devastating fire from automatic weapons and machine-gun fire. The only source of cover were the dikes and the men had to hug the ground as bullets screamed over their heads or impacted beside them.
Casualties mounted, with ammunition running low, the Company was ordered to break contact and try to withdraw from the open area in front of the fortified hamlet. A collection point was finally established late in the day and all the casualties would only finally be collected under the cover of darkness.
Many were wounded and five Marines had been killed in the action including Cpl Esters who had died from a hostile gunshot wound.
Casualties:
Charles Esters Jr.
Richard Garcia
Paul David Holloway
Robert Lee Posey Jr.
James Robert Rhodes
