July 21, 1963 - South Vietnamese Government forces inflicted heavy casualties on a well-armed Viet Cong unit in a fierce battle in the northern section of the Communist-infested Mekong Delta south of Saigon today. Government forces counted 58 Communist dead. In one bitter assault on well-entrenched Communist positions, a Government company suffered more than 25% casualties but managed to drive back the Viet Cong guerrillas. “I think we gave a bit better than we took,” said one U.S. adviser. The Viet Cong unit was estimated to consist of two companies from the 514 Battalion, which some observers believe to be the best Communist unit in the country. The 514th is the same group that inflicted a major defeat on the Government’s Seventh Division at the village of Ap Bac Jan. 2. The same division was involved in today’s battle. “Everything they did wrong at Ap Bac they did right today,” remarked the American adviser.
