U.S . MARINES IN VIETNAM

U .S . MARINES IN VIETNAM

FIGHTING THE NORTH VIETNAMES E

196 7

by

Major Gary L . Telfer, USM C

Lieutenant Colonel Lane Rogers, USM C

and

V . Keith Fleming, Jr .

HISTORY AND MUSEUMS DIVISIO N

HEADQUARTERS, U .S . MARINE CORP S

WASHINGTON, D .C.

1984

Other Volumes in the Marine Corps

Vietnam Operational Histories Serie s

U.S . Marines in Vietnam, 1954-1964, The Advisory and Combat

Assistance Era, 197 7

U.S . Marines in Vietnam, 1965, The Landing and the Buildup, 197 8

U.S . Marines in Vietnam, 1966, An Expanding War, 198 2

U.S . Marines in Vietnam, January June 1968, now in preparatio n

U.S . Marines in Vietnam, July-December 1968, scheduled for preparatio n

U.S . Marines in Vietnam, 1969, now in preparatio n

U.S . Marines in Vietnam, 1970-1971, now in preparatio n

U.S . Marines in Vietnam, 1971-1973, now in preparatio n

U.S . Marines in Vietnam, 1973-1975, now in preparatio n

Library of Congress Card No . 77-60477 6

PCN 190 003090 00

Foreword

This is the fourth volume in a planned 10-volume operational and chronological serie s

covering the U .S . Marine Corps ' participation in the Vietnam War . A separate topica l

series will complement the operational histories . This volume details the change in focu s

of the III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF), which fought in South Vietnam ' s northernmost corps area, I Corps . III MAF, faced with a continued threat in 1967 of North

Vietnamese large unit entry across the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Vietnams ,

turned over the Chu Lai enclave to the U .S . Army's Task Force Oregon and shifted th e

bulk of its forces¡ªand its attention¡ªnorthward . Throughout the year, the 3d Marine

Division fought a conventional, large-unit war against the North Vietnamese Arm y

(NVA) near the demilitarized zone . The 1st Marine Division, concentrated in Thu a

Thien and Quang Nam provinces, continued both offensive and pacification operations .

Its enemy ranged from small groups of Viet Cong guerrillas in hamlets and villages up t o

formations as large as the 2d NVA Division . The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing provided ai r

support to both divisions, as well as Army and allied units in I Corps . The Force Logistic

Command, amalgamated from all Marine logistics organizations in Vietnam, served all ,

major Marine commands .

This volume, like its predecessors, concentrates on the ground war in I Corps and II I

MAF's perspective of the Vietnam War as an entity . It also covers the Marine Corps participation in the advisory effort, the operations of the two Special Landing Forces of th e

U .S . Navy's Seventh Fleet, and the services of Marines with the staff of the U .S . Military

Assistance Command, Vietnam . There are additional chapters on supporting arms an d

logistics, and a discussion of the Marine role in Vietnam in relation to the overal l

American effort .

The nature of the war facing III MAF during 1967 forced the authors to concentrate

on major operations, particularly those characterized by heavy combat . The uneve n

quality of the official reports submitted by combat units also played a role in selecting the materials presented in this volume . This is not meant to slight those whose combat service involved long, hot days on patrol, wearying hours of perimeter defense, an d

innumerable operations, named and un-named . These Marines also endured fights jus t

as deadly as the ones against large enemy regular units . III MAF's combat successes i n

1967 came from the efforts of all Americans in I Corps .

All three authors have been historians in the History and Museums Division . Majo r

Gary L . Telfer, now a retired lieutenant colonel, has a bachelor of arts degree fro m

Muskingum College, Ohio . He had two tours in Vietnam, first as an advisor with a Viet namese Army artillery battalion and, three years later, with the 12th Marines . Majo r

Telfer began this history project and produced the initial manuscript . His replacement ,

Lieutenant Colonel Lane Rogers, now also retired, expanded the materials into a secon d

draft . He is a member of the class of 1953 of the U .S . Naval Academy and was an adviso r

with the Vietnamese Marine Corps . The third author, Dr . V . Keith Fleming, Jr ., is a

iv

former Marine officer who served as a rifle company commander in Vietnam . H e

prepared the comment edition and then incorporated the suggestions of the reviewers .

He has bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees from the University of Alabama and a

doctoral degree in American military history from Ohio State University .

E . H . SIMMON S

Brigadier General, U . S . Marine Corps, Retired

Director of Marine Corps History and Museums

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