FIRST TO FIGHT THE MARINES IN VIETNAM: A TIMELINE 1965 1965 is the year that the Marines landed at Da Nang, marking the beginning of significant Marine involvement in Vietnam. This is also the year of Operation STARLITE, which started on August 17 of ’65. The Marines got word of a planned attack on Chu Lai by the Viet Cong, and put together a plan of attack before the enemy could initiate. It ended on August 24, a success for the Marines. THIS SAME YEAR: Soft contact lenses and NutraSweet are invented. “The Sound of Music” movie was released. 1966 1966 is when two major Marine operations occur: Operation Hastings and Operation Prairie. The first of the two is Operation Hastings, in July of 1966, which was a battle between a joint Marine and South Vietnamese force against the North Vietnamese in the Song Ngan Valley (nicknamed “Helicopter Valley” by the Marines after a number of U.S. helicopters were shot down or crashed there). Fighting took place among the major hills of the valley, Hills 200 and 208; hill 208 was suspected to have an NVA Command Post. Hastings was immediately succeeded by Operation Prairie, and was deemed a successful campaign in keeping the NVA from going into the northern Quang Tri Province. Operation Prairie was a two-stage operation in the Con Thien and Gio Linh regions to stop the NVA from crossing the DMZ and invading the Quang Tri Province, from August 3, 1966 until mid-March, 1967. The strategy for this operation was to seek-out the enemy along their routes and engage them. These searches almost always met with engagements, and most encounters consisted of heavy fighting. As a result of Operation Prairie, the Marines set-up base in Khe Sanh. The Buddhist Crisis started in 1963, snowballing until its end in 1966, near the city of Da Nang. Over this period, Buddhist priests held anti-government demonstrations. This crisis gained worldwide attention when eight Buddhist monks and other Buddhists set themselves on fire and others participated in hunger strikes. THIS SAME YEAR: Electronic Fuel Injection for cars was invented. 1967 1967 saw the Battles of Khe Sanh. The first series of attacks ran from April to October of 1967, and then again as part of the Tet Offensive in 1968. In light of increased traffic on the Ho Chi Minh Trail by the NVA in the spring of 1967, numerous U.S. night patrol teams were sent out and were frequently ambushed under heavy fire. The weather made things worse by often preventing air support and reinforcements from coming to the Marines’ aid. Fighting was fierce and included hand-to-hand combat. Though the Marines’ positions were initially overrun, their counterattacks were successful. During these battles, there were reports of the Marines’ M-16s malfunctioning, which led to Congressional hearings and Army reforms regarding these weapons. From July 2 to July 14, the Marines were involved in Operation Buffalo near Con Thien. An extremely heavy barrage of gunfire and mines were unleashed on the Marines by the NVA at Highway 561. The attack was very unexpected, and the surprised Marines had many casualties. The next big action by the NVA did not have the element of surprise as a U.S. patrol saw them crossing the nearby Ben Hoi River and warned the Marines. The enemy’s heavy fire was met with equally intense firepower, and the NVA were unable to penetrate the U.S.’s defenses, thwarting the North Vietnamese’s attempt to capture Con Thien. THIS SAME YEAR: Dr. Barnard performs the first successful human heart transplant. 1968 In 1968, the Marines were at their peak presence in Vietnam. The Tet Offensive consisted of many attacks on U.S. troops and Tet hit the morale of Americans at home pretty hard, making it evident to the U.S. population that the war was not going to be fast, painless or easy. The Battle for Hue City went from late January 1967 until the end of February or beginning of March 1968 as part of the Tet Offensive. This battle consisted of “house-to-house” fighting. The U.S. and South Vietnamese forces eventually retook the city, but not without massive losses and brutal fighting for both sides. From April 29 until May 15, 1968, the ARVN and Marines fought the North Vietnamese in the Battle of Dong Ha. This attack was intended by the North Vietnamese to bolster their bargaining power at the Paris Peace Talks and display their power. The Marines and ARVN held their ground, but met with significant losses. The Accelerated Pacification plan was put forth by the U.S. to regain what had been lost in the Tet Offensive and regain some presence in the countryside; there were some successes and some losses. THIS SAME YEAR: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in Memphis, TN. 1969 Marine withdrawls began in 1969. From February 27 to March 18 of this year was Operation Dewey Canyon, a helicopter and fire base operation in the Da Krong Valley, on the border of Vietnam and Laos. The mission was to cut the NVA supply route from Laos (the Viet Cong and NVA used Laos for storage and routing purposes that were outside of U.S. surveillance and fighting areas). The Marines were given permission to follow some NVA into Laos, and the major outcome of this operation was the discovery of extensive enemy supplies, arms and ammo stores. THIS SAME YEAR: Neil Armstrong walks on the moon. 1971 In 1971, the last of the Marine ground forces were out of Vietnam. By the end of their involvement, approximately 13,000 Marines had been killed and over 88,000 wounded. THIS SAME YEAR: Three Dog Night’s “Joy to the World” hit Billboard’s #1.		TEACHER PACKET CONTENTS United States Marine Corps (USMC) History Useful Terms and Information The Marines in Vietnam: A Timeline Student Gallery Activities Bibliography and Sources