of the repeated PAVN assaults: "It seemed like they didn't care how many of them were killed. Some of them were stumbling, walking right into us. Some had their guns slung and were charging bare-handed. I didn't run out of ammo – had about thirty magazines in my pack. And no problems with the M16. An hour before dark three men walked up on the perimeter. I killed all three of them 15 feet away." Fight for the creek bed With 2nd Platoon, B Company cut off and surrounded, the rest of 1/7 fought to maintain a perimeter. At 13:32, C Company under Capt. Bob Edwards arrived, taking up positions along the south and southwest facing the mountain. At around 13:45, through his Operations Officer flying above the battlefield (Capt. Matt Dillon), Moore called in air strikes, artillery and aerial rocket artillery on the mountain to prevent the North Vietnamese from advancing on the battalion's position. Lt. Bob Taft's 3rd Platoon, A Company, confronted approximately 150 PAVN soldiers advancing down the length and sides of the creek bed (from the south) toward the battalion. The platoon's troopers were told to drop their packs and move forward for the assault. The resulting exchange was particularly costly for the platoon — its lead forces were quickly cut down. 3rd Platoon was forced to pull back, and its leader Lt. Taft was killed. Sgt. Lorenzo Nathan, a Korean War veteran, took command of 3rd Platoon which was able to halt the PAVN advance down the creek bed. The PAVN forces shifted their attack to 3rd Platoon's right flank in an attempt to flank B Company. Their advance was quickly stopped by Lt. Walter "Joe" Marm's 2nd Platoon, A Company, situated on B Company's left flank. Moore had ordered Captain Nadal (A Company) to lend B Company one of his platoons, in an effort to allow Herren (B Company) to attempt to fight through to Herrick's (2nd Platoon, B Company) position. From Lt. Marm's (2nd Platoon, A Company) new position, his men killed some 80 PAVN troops with close range machine gun, rifle, and grenade assault. The surviving PAVN made their way back to the creek bed, where they were cut down by fire from the rest of A Company. Taft's (3rd Platoon, A Company) dog tags were discovered on the body of a PAVN soldier who had been killed by Taft's platoon. Upset