Cdr. W. James Thearle, USN commanded the U.S.S. BUCHANAN (DDG14). Thearle and his crew responded magnificently to the call for assistance from Lieutenant Eisenstein's naval gunfire spotters. When the BUCHANAN went to full battle stations and began to deliver suppressive fires on the enemy, the ship properly reported its actions in "high precedence" naval messages. Fire missions for naval gunfire increased intensity almost by the hour, and Thearle requested augmentation from other U.S. destroyers. By 1 April, four destroyers were off the Cam Lo-Cau Viet River delivering fire on the enemy. The deployment of these and other ships all resulted from voice radio communication from 3rd Division TOC. The Navy was committed to the defense of Quang Tri Province before General Abrams recognized the crisis or asked for additional assistance.
Because of inclement weather conditions, no tactical air support was brought to bear on the North Vietnamese ground forces. Naval gunfire became the only reliable source of supporting arms during the first forty-eight hours of the offensive. History will record that the U.S. destroyers were of immeasurable value in holding back the North Vietnamese attack down Highway 1 to Dang Ha and Quang Tri City.

The U.S.S, BUCHANAN later received credit for destroying four PT-76 tanks,* definitely a first for a U.S. destroyer operating in South Vietnamese waters. Hundreds of rounds of ammunition were being fired on NVA troops and vehicles and at the end of each day, Navy gunfire expenditure reports were submitted identifying the types of targets fired upon. Often the ships included personal assessments on the situation ashore and identified U.S. Marine advisory personal. Eisenstein, Turley, and later Captain Ripley, began to appear in their "flash" precedence messages to CINCPAC in Honolulu.

*A Lightweight amphibious tank of Russian design. Mounting a 76MM main gun, it was widely used by the NVA because of its cross country mobility.

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