| Operation Lejeune | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theVietnam War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States |  Viet Cong | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| MGenJohn J. Tolson Lt. Col. Karhohs | |||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| 2nd Brigade,1st Cavalry Division | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| USbody count: 176 killed 127 captured | |||||||
 | |||||||
Operation Lejeune was an operation conducted by the2nd Brigade,1st Cavalry Division inĐức Phổ District,Quảng Ngãi Province,South Vietnam, lasting from 7 to 22 April 1967.[1]: 132
The south of Quảng Ngãi Province formed the boundary betweenI Corps which was the responsibility of theIII Marine Expeditionary Force andII Corps which was the responsibility of the U.S. Army. Đức Phổ District, located in the south of Quảng Ngãi Province had been under the control of theViet Cong (VC) since the beginning of the war. On 28 January the3rd Battalion, 7th Marines began an operation in the Đức Phổ District, joined in late February by the1st Battalion, 4th Marines and2nd Battalion, 5th Marines. By early March only the 3/7th Marines remained in Đức Phổ and it was needed further north in I Corps. On 6 April the 1st Cavalry Division was ordered to move a Battalion and then a Brigade into Đức Phổ to take over from the 3/7th Marines.[1]: 130–1
The operation, code-named Lejeune after Marine GeneralJohn A. Lejeune, first required the 11th Aviation Brigade atLanding Zone Two Bits to deploy the2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment into Đức Phổ.[1]: 131–2
The operation began at 09:30 on 7 April with the deployment of 2/5 Cavalry atLanding Zone Montezuma. Company B,8th Engineer Battalion landed shortly afterwards and began to develop the landing zone into an airfield capable of accommodatingC-7 Caribou aircraft. 29CH-54 and 15CH-47 sorties brought in the heavy equipment required for airfield construction.[1]: 132
By 8 April the remainder of the 2nd Brigade had deployed to LZ Montezuma and Lt. Col. Karhohs assumed operational control.[1]: 132
By 16:30 on 8 April the 1,500-foot (460 m) C-7 strip was operational and work was continuing on extending the strip to make it capable of handlingC-123 aircraft.[1]: 133 A three-man team from thePathfinder Platoon of the11th General Support Aviation Company was soon handling over 1000 aircraft movements per day.[1]: 133
To supplement the aerial resupply, an over the beach supply line was established on the nearby coast named Razor Back Beach with supplies being brought in byLSTs andLCMs.[1]: 134
The VC generally avoided the US forces with only one major engagement on 16 April.[1]: 134
Operation Lejeune officially concluded on 22 April. US forces claimed VC losses were 176 killed and 127 captured. 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division was relieved at the end of April by the3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, part of the newly activatedTask Force Oregon.[1]: 134 [2]
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