From January 1 thru January 4, 1967, the battalion continued S&D and ambush operations in the area between the Filhol and the Ho Bo Woods without enemy contact. Enemy fortifications, tunnels, and supplies were discovered and destroyed. On January 5, 1967, the battalion conducted maintenance at Cu Chi and prepared for future operations. For other than track drivers and maintenance personnel, that usually meant cleaning your weapons and catching up on sleep. When out on operations, and with ambushes, one was lucky to get 5 hours of sleep in any 24 hour period. After a few days it begins to catch up to a person. On January 6, 1967, the 1/5th(M) became attached to the 196th Light Infantry Brigade. Troop B of the 3/4 Cavelry became OPCON to the 1/5th(M). The battalion moved to the area north of Trung Lap in preparation for Operation Cedar Falls. Map: Operation Cedar Falls On January 7, 1967, the battalion began to work its way north towards the Saigon River and the Ho Bo Woods. Three Bobcats from Company A were killed on January 7. A 105mm artillery dud, hung in a tree, was command detonated as they were checking out some suspicious noise. The 1st Infantry Division along with the 173rd Airborne, 11th Armored Cavalry, and several ARVN units were beginning a detailed search of the Ben Suc, Thanh-Dien Forestry preserve and the so called "Iron Triangle" areas. On January 8, 1967, the 196th LIB established blocking positions on the banks of the Saigon River. The 1/5th(M) was the right (east) flank element in the area north of the Rach Son Creek in the Ho Bo Woods (XT 669248). Four Bobcats died on January 8th. Three of them on a Company B ambush patrol that something went wrong on. The fourth was from Company C. The battalion continued their blocking operation with some local patroling and ambushes. On January 17, 1967, four Bobcats were killed when the helicopter they were passengers in crashed. All four helicopter crew members were also killed. The helicopter was on the return trip to Cu Chi Base Camp from a resupply mission to the battalion forward base when it developed mechanical problems. On January 18, 1967, two Bobcats were killed in separate incidents. One from Company A and one from Company C. On January 19, 1967 one of the companies came across the bodies of 9 VC who had been killed. On January 20, 1967, Company B, with the guidence of a Chieu Hoi located an arms and ammunition cache at XT 661281. Two Bobcats from Company A died when a booby trap was detonated. On January 21, 1967, one Bobcat from Company C died from small arms fire and a medic died from shrapnel. Also on January 21, Company A located a tunnel complex with a main tunnel 600 meters long and also 10 branch tunnels. This was in the area of XT 650235, some 1500 meters south west of the Saigon River and just to the north of the Rach Son Creek. The tunnel complex was searched for four days and over 60 pounds of documents were evacuated from the area. On January 26, 1967, Operation Cedar Falls ended. From January 27 thru January 30, 1967, the battalion conducted maintenance, training and prepared for future operations at Cu Chi Base Camp. One Bobcat from Company B was accidentally killed north of the Ben Muong Stream, on January 30th. During January 1967, eighteen Bobcats died in Viet Nam. They were: Danny C. Barnes; Willy V. Quast; David Young; Lynn A. Harris; Arnez F. Miller Jr.; Carlos M. Rodriguez; David L. Sheehy; Herbert H. Crowder; Herschel L. Epps Jr.; Larry G. Gray; Frank J. Krebs; Donald L. Helton; Leo V. Silbert; Morgan E. Savage; James B. Simmons; John L. Wilhelm; and Richard L. Parham. For the Quarterly Reporting Period of November 1, 1966 to January 31, 1967, the 25th Infantry Division(-) reported the following statistics: KIA- 123; WIA- 1029; MIA- 0; NBD- 0; NBI- 33. Administration: There still remained a shortage in Infantry NCOs. The casualty rate and rotation losses among these NCOs has created a shortage greater than the rate of fill. Other MOS that the Division Headquarters placed in the critical short category were: 05B20; 11D20; 11D40; 11F20; 11F40; 26C20; 45F20; 63E20; 67M20; 67Q20; 72B10; 74D20; 82C10; 82C20; 91C20; 96C20. Map 13Nui Ba Den. On February 1, 1967, the battalion moved from Cu Chi to Tay Ninh. The battalion was attached and OPCON to the 196th Light Infantry Brigade. During the day one Bobcat from Company B died from small arms fire. On February 2, 1967, Company A, 4/31st Infantry conducted an airmobile assault into the area of XT 055684, some 7 kilometers west of Hwy 22 and the village of Trai Bi. At 0632 hours the 1/5th(M) left Tay Ninh and assaulted to the area where Company A, 4/31st Infantry was located. Lead elements of the 1/5th(M) linked up with the 4/31st at 1050 hours. A bridge was then airlifed to the site and installed by the 175th Engineer Company. The 1/5th(M) crossed the bridge and continued to XT 034717. The battalion secured an LZ for the helilift of the 4/31st Infantry(-) into the area at 1640 hours. On February 03, 1967, the 1/5th(M) commenced an attack at 0818 hours to the area of WT 9869, which was near the Cambodian Border south of the "Dog's Head." At 0900 hours the Recon Platoon was dispatched to sweep the flank of the battalion. At 0906 hours a Recon APC detonated an AT mine with negative casualties. At 1049 hours Company A located a TA/312 telephone in the area of WT 995699. At 1201 hours Company A, 1/5th(M), secured an LZ for the 2/1st Infantry. At 1330 hours elements from Company B received fire from a 57 mm Recoilless Rifle while repairing a track that had broken down in the area of WT 999698. Two Bobcats were wounded. The Recon Platoon was dispatched to assist the Company B elements and while enroute received RR fire resulting in 2 Bobcats being wounded. Fire was returned and the Recon Platoon proceeded to link up with the elements from Company B. At 1459 hours, an APC from Company C detonated an AT mine in the area of WT 999701 resulting in 13 Bobcats being wounded. At 1510 hours, the Recon Platoon, still providing security for the Company B elements, started to receive heavy small arms fire from an estimated 15 to 20 VC in the area of WT 000697. At this time the Recon Platoon had elements of Company B and Company A with them. The APC of the Company A XO was hit by a RR round, killing him and two others on the APC instantly. The VC managed to overtake and occupy the APC, firing its .50 caliber machine gun. A man from Company B was wounded while attempting to take the APC under fire. "He was laying in a small depression next to me with real bad stomach wounds. We tried to comfort him and kept telling him he would be ok, but then all the color left his face and he died. I felt very helpless about not being able to do something for him," recalled a Bobcat that was with him. The APC was recovered at 1555 hours after air and artillery fire was placed into the area and the VC broke contact. During the day 5 Bobcats were killed and 24 were wounded. The VC wore a mixture of camoflauged uniforms and black "pajama" type clothing. It was noted that they fought with considerable determination and exhibited good discipline and fire control. Elements of the battalion closed into a new battalion CP at 1750 hours in the area of WT 977698.