operation meade river

Intelligence also had information that an all-out attack against strategically located Hill 55, the 1st Marine Division headquarters on Hill 327, or the airstrip itself was imminent with this many enemy soldiers staging rapidly in the area. Despite vigorous psychological initiativesincluding dropping thousands of leaflets urging surrender, heavy pummeling by the battleship U.S.S. Elements of the 2/26 and 2/5, in their careful and deliberate search of the cordons northern boundary from Highway 1, ran into a heavy concentration of enemy troops at 2:45 p.m. Those units regrouped and remained in close proximity to the last objectivethe northern bunker complexthroughout the rest of the day and on through the night, forming a blocking position to ensure that the enemy remained trapped within the cordon. Company E was hit by close-range fire as it crossed a small stream losing 7 killed and 23 wounded in 10 minutes before it could withdraw. This would be the largest helicopter-borne combat operation in Marine Corps history. The flat, open terrain provided little cover. This page is not available in other languages. Operation Meade River was a US Marine Corps cordon and search operation that took place south of Danang, lasting from 20 November to 9 December 1968. Colonel Lauffer had attached three additional companies to the 3/26Alpha, 1/7, Hotel, 2/5 and Delta, 1/1giving them the mission of completely destroying the remaining bunkers in the Hook and then continuing a full attack into the northern bunker complex. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. Finally, Ms. Renfrow patiently and ably made the numerous revisions in the organization of the index. George Webb, followed behind as India 6 (1st Lt. Hoover) was requesting a SitRep. Twenty-eight hundred of the 5,000 troops were helilifted; approximately 2,200 more were moved by truck and on foot from Hill 55 and other company and battalion areas from along the north bank of the La Tho River, Liberty Road (Ambush Row), Highway 1 and Route 4. [2]:436, A Marine signals a CH-46 into position for a resupply hook-up at Hill 55. The 1/1 took over and mopped up the northern bunker complex for two more days. Often, drivers were instrumental in stopping bands of enemy soldiers who were trying to escape. Operation Meade River would be the largest mission using the County Fair technique during the Vietnam War. In the meantime, the 3/26 was joined by additional forces. 2d Lt. Chris Tibbs recalls: All our Marines were on line, 3rd Platoon on the left flank under Lt. Webber, then weapons platoon led by Gunny T Taylor. By nightfall on the 4th, they had worked around to its rear area. Mr. Struder deftly and professionally assisted in the reading of page proofs and Mr. Hill meticulously monitored the preparation of charts and maps. Operation Meade River/Operation Hung Quang 1/81: 726 . On December 6, the 3/26, having thoroughly mopped up the Hook, also moved on to positions at Dodge Citys northern boundary. On November 23, the Marines had a second and brief encounter in the hamlets of La Hoa 1 and 2, where the enemy also had well-fortified positions. Taylor was on his second tour in Vietnam. Other finds included field gear, miscellaneous documents, tons of rice buried in the ground in urns and much more equipment. R.D. The battleship USS New Jersey (BB-62) fired 153 of its monstrous 16-inch, 1,900-pound high-capacity and 2,700-pound armor-piercing rounds against enemy bunkers throughout the cordon. On November 23, the objective area was secured. U.S. Marines in Vietnam, The Defining Year, 1968 like the preceding volumes in this series is largely based upon the holdings of the Marine Corps Historical Center. PFC Richard Villareal, left, and Lance Corp. K.D. In enumerating enemy casualties, the authors are not making any statement upon the reliability or accuracy of these numbers. My radio operator, Pfc. Delta Company, 1/1, was ordered to stay in the Horseshoe for the next two weeks to provide security for the engineers, but the 2/7 left the area on November 24, continuing its delayed movement toward the railroad berm. Take care of this Marine, he said, Hes like a beaverhe slaps his tail yelling Incoming as a warning and dives for cover. The nickname stuck. But the battle-hardened men who fought and endured the siege at Khe Sahn proved their mettle against a dedicated enemy. That left just myself and my FO, Larry Gore.. He was my Weapons Platoon leader. They repeatedly maneuvered across the open area to rescue those Marines too seriously wounded to move by themselves. If your award eligibility (dates-in-country or participation) is not stated on your DD-214 you must submit a copy of your DD-214 - AND - a photocopy of military-issued documentation establishing your eligibility. The year 1968 was the year of the Tet Offensive including Khe Sanh and Hue City. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. One hundred and eight Marines were killed and 513 were wounded. On Operation Meade River, Staff Sergeant Robert M. Rigdon, 29 (Jacksonville, Florida), takes time out to shower in the accepted 'field style' procedure. The Marines were part of Operation Meade River, a cordon and search operation conducted by several regiments of the 1st Marine Div. Of the 1,325 confirmed casualties, 1,025 were killed and 300 wounded. Tarrance covered the wounded Marine with his body, and was then hit with three bullets in his neck. More than 14,000 South Vietnamese men, women, and children also died.. Taylor was found on the ground where he fell. One Marine, Staff Sgt. Tibbs then ordered a danger real close artillery barrage with delayed fuses called in on the bunker complex that had resisted earlier assaults. What they did not know was how well prepared the enemy wasand how tenaciously they would fight. 10. Operation Meade River was a US Marine Corps cordon and search operation that took place south of Danang, lasting from 20 November to 9 December 1968. Enemy activity was rare prior to January18, 1968. Taylor dove into the trench a second later. Ms. Evelyn A. Englander of the library was most helpful in obtaining publications. War in the Eastern DMZ in Early and Mid-January, Khe Sanh: Building Up 1968: The Definitive Year, 3d Division War in Southern Quang Tri and Northern Thua Thien, Operations Osceola and Neosho, Heavy Fighting and Redeployment: The War in Central and Southern I Corps, January 1968, The Enemy Offensive in the DMZand Southern Quang Tri, 20 January-8 February, The Struggle for Hue-Stalemate in the Old City, The Struggle for Hue-The Taking of the Citadel and Aftermath, Khe Sanh: Final Operations and Evacuation, Mini-Tet and Its Aftermath in Southern I Corps, Counteroffensive Operations in Southern ICTZ, Marine Air at the Beginning of the Year and Air Support of Khe Sanh, A Matter of Doctrine: Marine Air and Single Manager, Artillery and Reconnaissance Support in III MAF, Chapter 2 The 3d Marine Division and the Barrier, Chapter 3 The War in the Eastern DMZ in Early and Mid-January, Operation Lancaster and Heavy Fighting in Mid-January, Chapter 5 The 3d Division War in Southern Quang Tri, and Northern Thua Thien, Operations Osceola and Neosho, Protecting the Quang Tri Base, Operation Osceola, 1-20 January 1968. Brigadier General, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)Director Emeritus of Marine Corps History and Museums. By 4 p.m., H Company secured the southern end of the battalions objective with very little resistance. On 4 December 1968, Company I was participating in Operation MEADE RIVER south of DaNang when the Second Platoon came under a heavy volume of machine gun fire from a hostile bunker complex approximately twenty meters to their front and sustained numerous casualties. The VC who reported this information were apprehended when villagers throughout the cordon were screened and sent to the refugee relocation center at the base of Hill 55. More than 300 enemy bodies were found on the battlefield, more than one third of the total enemy killed during Meade River. Chapter 6 Heavy Fighting and Redeployment: The War in Central and Southern I Corps, January 1968, Continuing Heavy Fighting and Increasing Uncertainty, The Formation and Deployment of Task Force X-Ray. They were issued to all battalions, and usually one man in the fire team had a probe. On 3 December 3/26 Marines joined the attack on the Hook and after an extensive air and artillery bombardment succeeded in penetrating the defensive positions by the evening of 4 December. Cpl. [2]:4256, On the morning of 20 November 7 Marine Battalions moving overland and by helicopter established the cordon meeting light resistance losing 1 Marine killed and 25 wounded and 2 helicopters shot down. Although seriously wounded during the initial moments of the fierce firefight, Wirick began directing the evacuation of other casualties. A separate functional series complements the operational histories. The number of enemy dead had climbed to more than 58,000. Heavily armed deuce-and-a-half trucks were used to patrol Ambush Row and Route 4 day and night. George A. Hill served in Vietnam as a Marine NCO. It showed again how well the NVA and VC could conceal a position. It did not take the enemy long before they responded by shooting down two helicopters and damaging several others. Though he was a platoon sergeant, his company commanders often had him fill in as the company gunnery sergeant. We lost many Marines that night. I heard the poof, poop, poof, of mortar tubes being fired and yelled Incoming! and dove back into the trench, Gore said. During this post-Meade River period, the 1/1 found additional bodies and killed some 50 NVA who had remained in the bunkers, refusing to surrender. On December 9 at 6 p.m. Operation Meade River was terminated. As they advanced to within 200 meters of the berm, an enemy force commenced firing along their right flank from well-covered positions. Gunny T, his fellow Marines called him. Marine Sergeant Neil A. Peterson, a student at the Citadel, sketched over half of the draft maps used in this volume. An unaltered photocopy of your DD-214 displaying your service during the Operation period. Only six enemy troops chose to surrender. Then we entered the complex while the NVA were recovering their senses, Tibbs said. While some classified sources have been used, none of the material in the text contains any classified information. Despite their losses, intelligence showed that by late December the Vietcong and PAVN had returned to Dodge City. Also uncovered were many sacks of lime and lime sprayers used by the enemy to sanitize and hasten the decomposition of dead bodies. To a large extent, the measurement of this war relied not upon territory occupied, but upon casualties inflicted upon the enemy. Also on December 5, the 3/5 separated from the 3/26 and started a turning movement north, then commenced a sweep from west to east across the top of Dodge City. Operation Dawson River: 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines and 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines clear and search operation: vicinity of Khe Sanh, Qung Tr Province: Dec 68 - Jan 14 1969: Operation Blackhawk: Found in the objective area was a sizable, well-organized and well-trained enemy force that chose to fight, utilizing solid fortifications throughout the area of operations. Torres moved his squad forward while directing suppressive fire against the enemy. [2]:4312, On 1 December 3/5 Marines encountered a strong enemy bunker position in an area nicknamed the "Hook" (155333N 1081225E / 15.8925N 108.207E / 15.8925; 108.207) losing 2 dead and 28 wounded before pulling back to allow artillery and air support to attack the enemy positions. As before, the hard-core Communists chose to continue to battle. Dodge City was a 36 square km area located approximately 20 km south of Danang to the west of Highway 1 and given this nickname by the Marines due to frequent ambushes and firefights there; together with Go Noi Island directly to the south it was . William H. Dabney, commanding I and M Companies, 3rd Bn., 26th Marines, described that action: I took India Company of the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines up to the top of Hill 881 South, a regimental outpost about four miles west of the Khe Sanh Combat Base. Despite their losses, intelligence showed that by late December the Vietcong and PAVN had returned to . Ms. Wanda J. Renfrow of the Histories Section and Mr. Robert E. Struder, Head of Editing and Design, read the entire manuscript together with Mr. Frank and prevented several minor errors and some embarrassments. On November 30 India Company was assigned to secure a crashed CH46 helicopter in imminent danger of being seized by the enemy. During its attack on the 20th, India ran head-on into an NVA battalion coming south. A Marine shares his radio with a civilian. Williams. Company H was pinned down by a final line of bunkers, but the Marines used an improvised explosive device to destroy a large bunker and counted a further 39 PAVN dead in the defensive lines. [2]:430, Over the next 4 days the Marines reduced and searched the cordon area. Units were returned to their parent organizations after 20 days of vicious, intense fighting. Covered by darkness, Cpl. https://www.historynet.com/operation-meade-river-marine-search-and-destroy-cordon-of-the-vietnam-war/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, The Toughest Situation of my Life: Now 99, A P-47 Pilot Reflects on Being Shot Down Over Germany. Semper Fi brothers! Company L engaged a PAVN platoon killing 15 PAVN for the loss of 5 Marines. Colonel Michael F. Monigan, Acting Director, gave the impetus for final completion of the project. He personally supervised elements of seven Marine battalionsthe 1st Battalion, 1st Marines (1/1), the 2nd and 3rd battalions, 5th Marines (2/5 and 3/5), the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines (3/26), and battalion landing teams (BLTs) from the 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines (2/26), and 1st and 2nd battalions, 7th Marines (1/7 and 2/7). Just prior to landing within the cordons boundary, a Boeing-Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight carrying one of the last elements arriving, a unit from the 3/5, was hit by enemy fire; it crashed and burned, resulting in six killed and nine wounded. The operation was a :County Fair: mission, utilizing a cordon technique developed by the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. [2]:433 On 7 December 3/26 Marines, Company H, 5th Marines and Company A, 7the Marines attacked the complex, quickly becoming pinned down and losing 10 dead and 23 wounded. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Vietnam Magazine today! On November 22, Echo Company, 2/7, tried to maneuver its way across the river into the Horseshoe, but the volume of enemy fire was too heavy, and the 2/7 resumed its previous position. Two towers were flown into the northern area of the cordon and these would be used by snipers and for directing artillery and air support. U.S. forces began "Operation Meade River" on November 20, 1968. Fortunately, few enemy knew in advance of the cordon because of a breakdown in communication between the VC political arm and the Communist military unitsa mistake that cost the enemy many lives. Then a command-detonated mine destroyed a truck, killing a Marine and wounding twenty-three Marines and two ARVN soldiers. To help find these holes, the Marines used several thousand metal probes manufactured by the Force Logistics Command (FLC). This tactic, however, was seldom successful, since the Marines would probe foot by foot. Reed and wounding eleven others. NVA troops, dug into heavily fortified emplacements, responded with heavy small arms and automatic weapons. Click . But this successful operation was not without cost to the U.S. military. Going northward through Dodge City were two major enemy infiltration routes used by the NVA to supply and assist the VC in the rocket belt, whose main objective had been, and continued to be, the destruction of the Da Nang airstrip. They were airlifting men of the 2nd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment from ships at sea. [2]:427, On the morning of 21 November 2/7 Marines, supported by Company D 1st Battalion, 1st Marines and Company L 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines planned to resume their assault on the Horseshoe but were hit by intense fire before they had moved into position and the attack stalled. These were momentous events in the course of the war and they occurred in the first three months of the year. My platoon sergeant (replacing Lt. West who was badly wounded by an NVA claymore) and most of the company were on my right while I was guiding on the river. With enemy rounds hitting near him, he fired two rockets into a bunker, killing two NVA soldiers. This same unit would participate in Operation Meade River eleven months later. Cpl. One significant and tragic event occurred on 28 July, 1968, "K" Company who had been recently relieved from duty at An Hoa began a Company sweep of the southwest portion of "Dodge City", they were ambushed by the NVA as they approached a tree line suffering . Chapter2The 3d Marine Division and the Barrier, Chapter3War in the Eastern DMZ in Early and Mid-January, Chapter 4Khe Sanh: Building Up 1968: The Definitive Year, Chapter 53d Division War in Southern Quang Tri and Northern Thua Thien, Operations Osceola and Neosho, Chapter 6Heavy Fighting and Redeployment: The War in Central and Southern I Corps, January 1968, Chapter 7The Enemy Offensive in the DMZand Southern Quang Tri, 20 January-8 February, Chapter 9The Struggle for Hue-The Battle Begins, Chapter 10The Struggle for Hue-The Second Phase, Chapter 11The Struggle for Hue-Stalemate in the Old City, Chapter 12The Struggle for Hue-The Taking of the Citadel and Aftermath, Chapter 16Khe Sanh: Final Operations and Evacuation, Chapter 17Mini-Tet and Its Aftermath in Southern I Corps, Chapter 183d Division Takes the Offensive, Chapter 21Counteroffensive Operations in Southern ICTZ, Chapter 22The 3d Division's Labors Bear Fruit, Chapter 23Marine Air at the Beginning of the Year and Air Support of Khe Sanh, Chapter 24A Matter of Doctrine: Marine Air and Single Manager, Chapter 26Artillery and Reconnaissance Support in III MAF, Chapter 27Manpower Policies and Realities, Marine Command and Staff List l January-31 December 1968, Chronology of Significant Events January-December 1968, Lieutenant Colonel Leonard A. Blasiol, U.S. Marine Corps, and Captain David A. Dawson, U.S. Marine Corps, Volumes in the Marine Corps Vietnam Series, U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1954-1964, The Advisory and Combat Assistance Era, 1977, U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1965, The Landing and the Buildup, 1978, U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1966, An Expanding War, 1982, U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1967, Fighting the North Vietnamese, 1984, U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1969, High Mobility and Standdown, 1988, U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1970-1971, Vietnamization and Redeployment, 1986, U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1971-1973, The War that Would Not End, 1991, U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1973-1975, The Bitter End, 1990, Chaplains with Marines in Vietnam, 1962-1971, 1985, Marines and Military Law in Vietnam: Trial By Fire, 1989, The Marines in Vietnam, 1954-1973, An Anthology and Annotated Bibliography, 1974; reprinted 1983; revised second edition, 1985, Library of Congress Card No. Then, on January 31, 1968 (the Vietnamese lunar New Year), some 70,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launched a coordinated series of fierce attacks on more than a hundred cities and towns in South Vietnam: The Tet Offensive. Just thirty minutes later, however, all hell broke loose when they ran into a heavily armed enemy complex in a hook-shaped bend in the river they called The Horseshoe. 1st Lt. Ronald E. Hoover, a mustang officer, headed a recon ambush team at Khe Sanh in January. The Marines surrounded an area 24,000 meters in circumference, with fire teams no more than 15 meters apart. We began to suffer heavy casualties, Hoover said. Action in 1968 culminated with Operation Meade River, which netted nearly 850 opponents killed. While originally designed to be two volumes, it was decided that unity and cohesion required one book. Reid R. Ross, with a Weapons Platoon attached to India/3/26, swept across a flat, open rice paddy on December 4 to locate enemy forces. Taylor was a bear of a man, heavily muscled and well over six feet tall. In any project this large and that involved so many people, the authors are in debt to several of their associates, past and present, in the History and Museums Division. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps. But from those final hidden positions, within the northern bunker complexan area that had been heavily carpet-bombedcame unexpectedly accurate and deadly heavy automatic weapons fire.. Then he spotted two wounded men exposed to enemy fire. It would be a cordon-and-search operation led by the 1st Marines. He bellowed out that his gang was in trouble. In the end, however, the authors alone assume sole responsibility for the content of the text, including opinions expressed and any errors in fact. 51st ARVN Regiment; objective was a cordon, clear and search operation) Then everything came apart very quickly. The lead squad was immediately pinned down by intense fire, killing Lance Cpl. Many NVA and VC would try to break the cordon along the northern boundary of the operation area and slip into the La Tho River, which ran along the base of Hill 55. Rigdon is with the 5th Marine Regiment." From the Jonathan F. Abel Collection (COLL/3611), Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections . He then moved out, in true drill-instructor fashion, inviting his Marines to move back and he would cover them. The entire helicopter assets of the 1st Marine Air Wing were required to support the operation. The 26th Marines inadvertently kicked off the siege of Khe Sanh on January 20. [2]:429, On 24 November air and artillery strikes were directed against the Horseshoe and then in the afternoon 2/7 Marines reinforced by Company K, 3/26 Marines attacked again.
Girl Found Alive At Funeral Home, Deaths In Anderson, Sc Today, Extreme Networks End Of Life, Lakes Eagles Basketball, Surf Shop Vancouver Island, Articles O