| Operation Medina | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theVietnam War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States |  North Vietnam | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Herbert E. Ing Jr. | Unknown | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| 1st Battalion, 1st Marines 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines | 5th Regiment 6th Regiment | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 34 killed | USbody count: 53 killed 3 captured 26 weapons recovered | ||||||
Operation Medina was asearch and destroy operation conducted from 11 to 20 October 1967, in theHải Lăng Forest Reserve south ofQuảng Trị,South Vietnam.
The Hải Lăng Forest was the location of thePeople's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) Base Area 101 which supported the PAVN 5th and 6th Regiments. Due to a lack of available forces inI Corps the base had not been targeted by the Marines andArmy of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN).[1]: 139
The operation began with a helicopter assault by the1st Battalion, 1st Marines and the2nd Battalion, 1st Marines directly into the forest at Landing Zone Dove (16°36′29″N107°09′18″E / 16.60795°N 107.15508°E /16.60795; 107.15508) and then a northeast sweep while the1st Battalion, 3rd Marines acted as a blocking force.[1]: 139
On the morning of 11 October, Company C, 1/3 Marines was hit by PAVN mortar and small arms fire and then a ground assault, which was repelled.[1]: 139
On the afternoon of 12 October, Company C, 1/1 Marines engaged PAVN soldiers in thick jungle, several marines were wounded and so Company C fell back and formed a perimeter to allow medevac helicopters to evacuate the wounded. Shortly after the evacuation was completed Company C was attacked on two sides by an estimated three PAVN companies. Company D was sent to reinforce Company C and together they succeeded in driving off the attack. The following morning the Marines claimed 40 PAVN dead were found around the perimeter, Marines losses were eight dead and 39 wounded. CPLWilliam T. Perkins Jr. would be posthumously awarded theMedal of Honor for his actions during the battle.[1]: 139–141
The Marines continued their sweep finding a number of recently evacuated PAVN camps, but the PAVN avoided any further engagements with the Marines. Further north, two Battalions of the ARVNAirborne Division mountedOperation Lam Son 138 and on the morning of 20 October they engaged the PAVN 416th Battalion, part of the 5th Regiment, and claimed killing 197 PAVN.[1]: 142
Medina concluded on 20 October, the 1st Marines stayed in the area and beganOperation Osceola with limited results.[1]: 142
The operation was indecisive. The PAVN were not driven out of the Hải Lăng Forest, but their operations were severely disrupted. Marine losses were 34 dead and 143 wounded, while the US claimed that the PAVN lost 53 killed, 3 captured, and 26 weapons recovered.[2]
The Marines and Navy Corpsmen of Charlie Company, 1st Marines, are the subject ofLions of Medina, an award winning and critically acclaimed book by historianDoyle Glass.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States Marine Corps.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.