U.S. Marines In Vietnam

The story of how the US Marines became this country's policemen and how the Corps became America's expert jungle fighters.

The 3d Battalion, Ninth Marines came ashore in March 1965 marking the beginning of the Corps commitment in the Vietnam War. This is the story of their first actions. The Battalion's first assigned mission was defense of the Da Nang Airfield.

Threatened by numerous attacks by enemy troops in the Cam Lo area, 8,500 Marines and 3,000 ARVN troops strike along the DMZ on July 7, 1966. The battle, Operation Hastings, lasted until August 3rd. The Marines pushed the NVA forces back across the DMZ.

Seven men from Reconnaissance Team Breaker, Alpha Company, 3rd Marine Recon, ran into one tough fight on Hill 665 near Khe Sanh on May 9th and 10th in 1967.

US and ARVN forces conducted a series of sizable amphibious operation along the Mekong River Delta called "Deckhouse Five" with both U.S. Marines and Vietnamese Marines supported by a helicopter squadron from the Seventh Fleet Amphibious Ready Group.

Operation Union was a search and destroy mission in the Que Son Valley. Ordered to leave its base Foxtrot Company sweeps toward Binh Son, the nearest enemy-held village complex. The Marine company kept the NVA forces engaged and subjected to air and artillery bombardment; thus allowing Foxtrot Company to attack into Bin Sohn.

"Operation Medina" was a search and destroy operation conducted by the Marines in the Hai Lang Forest Reserve in October 1967 against the NVA.

Hill 881 was one of the bloodiest battles of the war. During April-May 1967, two Marine battalions faced a large NVA force intent on destroying Khe Sanh. This battle was a prelude to the siege of Khe Sanh.

US forces began "Operation Meade River" on November 20, 1968. This engagement targeted an area 10 miles south of Da Nang where decimated remnants of VC and NVA units were massing together.

The "First Battle of Saigon" was fought during the 1968 Tet Offensive; with specific targets and objectives rather than the general taking of the entire city.

The city of Hue was the site of one of the bloodiest and longest battles of the Vietnam War fought during the 1968 Tet Offensive.

The gem of American military superiority in Vietnam was the strategic Marine Corps base a Khe Sanh. Khe Sanh was heavily fortified in late '67 and designed to carry out reconnaissance attacks on the Ho Chi Minh trail and enemy supply lines from the north. The 77 day siege began on January 21st with attacks by three North Vietnamese Army divisions.

Operation Dewey Canyon was the last major offensive by the USMC with 56 days of combat from January 22 to March 18, 1969 by the 9th Marine Regiment reinforced by elements of the 3rd Marine Regiment.

Marine pilots fly air support for ARVN and hit targets in the North while the Corps engages in its final counterinsurgency and combat operations.

The Fall of Saigon occurred on April 30, 1975 when the South Vietnamese government announced its unconditional surrender to North Vietnam. As Vietcong troops raised their flag above the presidential palace, the United States Embassy remained under control of U.S. Marines. This is the story of those last hours.