Operation Union II was a military operation that took place in the Vietnam War. It was a search and destroy mission in the Que Son Valley carried out by the Fifth Marine Regiment. Launched on May 26, 1967 the operation ended June 5. The North Vietnamese Army (known to the U.S. Army as the NVA but properly the People’s Army of Vietnam or PAVN) lost 701 killed and 23 captured, while U.S. casualties were 110 killed and 241 wounded. The Vietnam War was fought from 1957 to 1975 between communist and Vietnamese national forces and an array of Western and pro-Western forces, most importantly the United States. ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... NVA is a three-letter abbreviation for North Vietnamese Army Nationale Volksarmee, the National Peoples Army of the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie, Belgian political party. ...

The Que Son Valley is located along the border of Quang Nam and Quang Tin provinces. During the Vietnam War it lay in the southern part of South Vietnam's I Corps Military Region. Quảng Nam is a province of Vietnam with a population estimated to be 1,402,700 and an area of 10,408 km². ...

Populous and rice-rich, the valley was viewed as one of the keys to controlling South Vietnam's five northern provinces by the communists and by early 1967 at least two regiments of the 2nd Division of the People’s Army of Vietnam had been infiltrated into the area. The Que Son Valley was also recognized as strategically important by the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV). The Fifth Marine Division (Reinforced), an experienced force that had fought in Vietnam since their arrival in the Summer of 1966, was assigned to the valley in 1967 to support the outnumbered the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) forces in the area. The Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV, pronounced as mac vee) was the United States command structure during the Vietnam War from 1962 until the wars end. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was a military component of the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam (commonly known as South Vietnam). ...

During Operation Union, April 21 to May 16, the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Marine Regiment had fought the PAVN 21st Regiment near the Marine outpost on Loc Son Mountain for control of the southern part of the Que Son Valley. Operation Union was a military operation that took place in the Vietnam War. ... April 21 is the 111th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (112th in leap years). ... May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ...

Operation Union II was launched on May 26 to destroy the withdrawing remnants of the PAVN with a helicopter assault by the U.S. 5th Marine Regiment, commanded by Colonel Kenneth Houghton. The assault was coordinated with ground attacks by the 6th ARVN Regiment and the 1st ARVN Ranger Group. A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more large horizontal rotors (propellers). ... In general, a ranger is a keeper, guardian, or soldier that ranges over a region to protect the area or enforce law. ...

The plan called for the 1st Battalion of the 5th Marines, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Hilgartner, to establish blocking positions in the western portion of the valley while the 3rd Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Esslinger, was to make a heliborne assault into the southern part of the valley and sweep northeast. Meanwhile the three battalions of the ARVN Ranger Group would attack southwest from Thang Binh, while two units of the 6th ARVN Regiment attacked northwest from a position near Tam Ky. The ARVN named their part of the operation Lien Kit 106.

The operation began the morning of the 26th with the 1st Battalion and ARVN troop movements proceeding as planned. The 3rd Battalion, composed of three companies and a command group, was carried by helicopters to Landing Zone Eagle, an area five kilometers east of the Loc Son outpost. The first two waves to arrive at the landing zone (LZ) experienced only light small arms fire, but as the bulk of the battalion landed the LZ was subjected to heavy weapon and mortar fire. An attack by Lima and Mike Companies launched to relieve the pressure on the LZ found a well-entrenched PAVN force, determined to be elements of the PAVN 3rd Regiment, northeast of the landing zone. A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer) (symbol: km) is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words khilia = thousand and metro = count/measure). ... The term small arms describes any weapon that a person can easily transport and fire. ... Mortar has several meanings: A mortar is a vessel used to contain a substance which is then ground into a powder and/or mixed with a pestle. ...

Supported by artillery and air strikes, India Company enveloped the PAVN's flank, and the Marines soon gained the upper hand. By the late afternoon the Marines had overrun the last PAVN positions, counting PAVN 118 dead for a Marine loss of 38 killed and 82 wounded. The Marine and ARVN forces swept the area for the next three days but contacts declined as the PAVN withdrew from the area. Concluding that the enemy had been routed, the ARVN ended their part of the operation.

Colonel Houghton however was not convinced and responding to intelligence reports he directed the 5th Marines to continue sweeping the region. On the morning of June 2nd the Regiment was sweeping toward the Vinh Huy Village complex. The 3rd Battalion encountered 200 PAVN troops entrenched 1,000 meters east of the scene of the May 26th battle, engaging and overrunning the PAVN by 1:30 that afternoon. Meanwhile the 1st Battalion, pushing forward to relieve pressure on the 3rd, was ambushed by PAVN troops while crossing a 1,000-meter-wide rice paddy. Caught in a crossfire the Marines were pinned down and consolidated their positions while calling artillery and air strikes on enemy positions. During heavy fighting Foxtrot Company, commanded by Captain James A. Graham, was decimated. Captain Graham was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor for defending to the last his company’s dead and wounded. metre or meter, see meter (disambiguation) The metre is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units. ... A rice paddy in Japan A paddy field is a flooded parcel of farmland for growing rice (from the Malaysian word padi, a noun meaning growing rice). Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice-growing countries of East and Southeast Asia, such as China, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia... Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ... A military strike is a limited attack on a specified target. ... This article is about the military award; for the computer game, see Medal of Honor (computer game). ...

At 2 pm Colonel Houghton called for the commitment of the division reserve, the 2nd Battalion 5th Marines commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Mallett C. Jackson, Jr. At 7 pm the 2d Battalion was inserted by helicopter northeast of the enemy position, planning to drive south into the PAVN’s left flank. Landing unopposed, they quickly moved to the relief of the 1st battalion, encountering a PAVN force and engaging it in battle. A flank is the side of either a horse or a military unit. ...

The unwelcome discovery of a strong enemy force on its northern flank prompted the PAVN forces to attempt a hasty withdrawal during the night, exposing themselves to Marine supporting arms fire. Meanwhile the 5th Marines regrouped and evacuated casualties. The following morning, when the battalions swept the battle area, 476 PAVN dead were discovered in and around the contested rice paddy and its formidable hedgerow complex. The Marines themselves suffered 71 killed and 139 wounded in the battle. For other meanings, see hedge. ...

Leaving a rear guard to slow pursuit, the main body of the PAVN withdrew rapidly, escaping to rearm and refit, a process that would eventually allow them to launch new attacks in September.

The entire 5th Regiment received the Presidential Unit Citation awarded by President Lyndon Johnson. The Presidential Unit Citation is a senior unit award granted to military units which have performed an extremely meritorious or heroic act, usually in the face of an armed enemy. ... Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908–January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was an American politician. ...

External links

Debbe Reynolds' Memorial Page (http://www.combatwife.net/unionIandII.htm) - Many contemporary photos and military documents