Gentlemen, 
      Thank you for the assistance you gave me earlier this year on a new callsign for HHC.  Through some good deliberation and research HHC/1-5 IN is now officially known as the Hobos.  I have attached the powerpoint presentation that is now hung in several areas of the company.  The soldiers seem to like the name and the fact that we can identify ourselves with the veterans and our past history and lineage. 

If you cannot open the attachments please let me know and I can try again. The information that you see in the narrative, which explains to the company's soldiers the background on the Hobo Woods, is pieced together from information on the Bobcat website.  We tried to make it as accurate as possible, so I ask the veterans' forgiveness for any errors.  One of our soldiers, an artist who is also a mortarman, drew the Hobo soldier.  We also used several maps and pictures from the website. 

We would also like to eventually bring in some veterans who live in Western Washington to speak to the company and battalion to share their thought with us about Vietnam, the Hobo woods, and going to war with the Bobcats.  As you well know this is a busy time for our brigade and the Army as a whole, and knowing that we could all eventually deploy somewhere it will be good knowing veterans from 1-5 Infantry and standing behind us. 

Once again, a sincere thanks for your help.

Hobos!

CPT Matt Smith
CDR, HHC/1-5 IN
 

 Although the history of the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment is long and diverse nothing exemplifies the Bobcat’s superior training and expert teamwork quite as well as their actions while operating in the Ho Bo Woods in Vietnam.  During this era the Bobcats conducted so many operations in this area of South Vietnam HHC/1-5 IN came to be known as the “HoBo Hustlers”.  During these years 569 Bobcats paid the ultimate price, including three soldiers who received our nation’s highest honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor.  The Vietnam Veterans who served with 1-5 Infantry well remember the Ho Bo Woods and the many good soldiers who never left there.  The Bobcats accounted for themselves well in the Ho Bo Woods, where they are on record as having over at least 300 confirmed enemy kills and destroyed well over one thousand enemy buildings, bunkers and tunnels.  They also captured dozens of enemy soldiers and destroyed or captured tons of enemy food stores and equipment.
         The Bobcats arrived in Vietnam on 18 January 1966 and remained on station into 1971.  HHC/1-5 began their Vietnam history 29 January when they moved with the Bobcat Battalion from their staging area near Saigon University to a new assembly area in the vicinity of Cu Chi. While conducting operations near Cu Chi the Bobcats first went into the Ho Bo Woods on 5 April.  This Operation, named CIRCLE PINES, was slated as a routine search and destroy operation in the area of the Filhol plantation and the Ho Bo Woods.  The mission turned out to be anything but routine.  Mines and booby traps claimed dozens of casualties before the Bobcats even reached the Woods.  Utilizing their superior training, the Bobcats conducted a series of precise ambushes and lighting strikes that resulted in nearly 100 enemy casualties, the capture of 9 prisoners, and the destruction of 79 tunnels and bunkers.  Overall, the battalion had suffered 69 casualties, of which 11 died. The Bobcats had cut their teeth and dug in for the long haul.
         For Operation KALAMAZOO, the Bobcats again headed into the Ho Bo Woods on 13 to 14 April 1966.  The Bobcats were presented with the problem of mines and booby traps, but this time they were better prepared.  The one and a half day mission resulted in 33 casualties, of which 7 soldiers died.  But, the Bobcats honed their claws, killing 26 enemy soldiers, taking 15 prisoners of war, and destroying 109 bunkers and tunnels in less than thirty-six hours.
         The Bobcats’ next excursion into the Ho Bo Woods was extremely costly for the Battalion.  COCO PALMS, as the Operation was called, took place from 25 June to 1 July.  The operation quickly resulted in a nearly continuous barrage of enemy fire, and 86 Bobcats were wounded, of which 6 died.  A battered and bruised Battalion returned to Cu Chi with 34 enemy kills.  Only the destruction of 78 tunnels and 155 bunkers were a consolation to the onslaught they had lived through.
         The Bobcats continued operations the Ho Bo Woods throughout their four and a half year deployment to Vietnam.  Operations like KOKO HEAD, MANHATTAN, CEDAR FALLS, and KAHALA continued to pit our veterans against the enemy in the Ho Bo Woods.  The Bobcats redeployed to the United States in April of 1971.  Our veterans may have left Vietnam but they forever carry with them the harsh memories of the Ho Bo Woods and the many good men who never came home.  By order of the Commander and First Sergeant, in order to maintain our proud traditions as we transform into a Stryker Infantry Battalion, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, is now known by the call sign “HoBo”