Project Delta began as Operation Leaping Lena, a failed all-Vietnamese reconnaissance program launched on May 15, 1964. Five teams of eight LLDB soldiers were parachuted into Laos. Only five men survived.
Captain William Richardson organized the unit in early 1964, and when it became clear that all-indigenous teams could not produce reliable intelligence, American Special Forces soldiers began accompanying the patrols. By October 1964, Leaping Lena was redesignated Project Delta with USSF in control. The main base was established at Nha Trang with half of the A-team at Dong Ba Thin to train the 91st Ranger Battalion.
In December 1964, Delta ran its first operation, inserting three teams into the Viet Cong-held Ninh Hoa Peninsula north of Cam Ranh Bay. Fewer than 20 men disrupted an entrenched VC network, nearly destroyed a reinforced VC company, and punctured the myth of Viet Cong invulnerability. The concept was proven. In June 1965, the 5th Special Forces Group activated Detachment B-52 as the formal command element for Project Delta.
Five teams of eight LLDB soldiers parachuted into Laos. The mission was a disaster. Only five men survived. The failure demonstrated that indigenous-only teams, without American leadership on the ground, could not accomplish the deep reconnaissance mission. This lesson shaped everything that followed.
Three teams of five men (two Special Forces, three VNSF/CIDG) inserted into separate locations on the Viet Cong-held Ninh Hoa Peninsula. Team Three accomplished its mission cleanly, returning with intelligence and a prisoner. Team One was extracted after a running firefight. Team Two had the roughest time: SFC Henry Bailey, SSG Ronald Terry, and a wounded VNSF soldier got separated and spent two harrowing nights hiding from the enemy, with the nearest LZ 50 meters away on the other side of a village housing two VC platoons.
The mission was a complete success. It proved the concept, boosted ARVN morale, and established the operational template that Delta would use for the next six years.
| Name | Date | Details |
|---|---|---|
| MSG Henry J. Gallant | July 13, 1965 | Dien Bien Province. MIA. |
| SFC Fred Taylor | July 13, 1965 | Dien Bien Province. MIA. Refused to leave Gallant. |
| CPT Thomas W. Pusser | October 22, 1965 | West Point '61. Panel 2E, Line 131. |
B-52 Personnel Database, compiled by Sherman (specialforcesbooks.com/B52.htm).
281st AHC I Corps Operations History, compiled by Bob Mitchell for the VHPA from official B-52 and 281st After Action Reports.
Jim Morris, "Project Delta" series, Special Forces Chapter 78 Sentinel.
VVMF Wall of Faces (vvmf.org).
USASOC, "USASOC honors clandestine SF unit from Vietnam War," army.mil, Oct 28, 2008.
Complete B-52 After Action Reports are declassified and held at NARA College Park, MD (Record Group 472).