| 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade | |
|---|---|
 9th MEB during the Vietnam War | |
| Country |  United States of America |
| Branch |  United States Marine Corps |
| Type | MAGTF |
| Engagements | Vietnam War |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Frederick J. Karch Michael P. Ryan |
The 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade was a United States Marine Corps unit.
Following the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in August 1964, the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (9th MEB) was activated by United States Pacific Command under Admiral Ulysses S. Grant Sharp. The 3rd Marine Division assistant commander and Medal of Honor recipient, Brigadier General Raymond G. Davis, was appointed its first commander. It consisted of 9th Marine Regiment regimental headquarters and three battalion landing teams (BLT). Almost 6,000 men were transformed into an effective force in readiness.
When the Gulf of Tonkin crisis faded, one BLT was sent to Okinawa, another to the Philippines and a third one was served afloat as Special Landing Force of the Seventh Fleet under Admiral Roy L. Johnson. The skeleton headquarters of the brigade under BG Davis remained at U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay for case of emergency and BG John P. Coursey relieved Davis on 16 October 1964.
Meanwhile the situation in South Vietnam became critical, when Viet Cong (VC) forces won the Battle of Binh Gia at the beginning of January 1965 and it became obvious that this was an intensive military challenge which the South Vietnamese government could not meet with its own resources. [1]
BG Frederick J. Karch assumed command of the brigade on 22 January 1965 and 1st and 3rd Battalions, 9th Marines took part in the amphibious landing exercise. On 7 February 1965, the VC attacked the U.S. base in Pleiku killing 9 Americans, wounding 128 others and damaging or destroying 25 aircraft. President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered the deployment of 9th MEB to Da Nang by the end of February 1965 with the mission of protecting the Da Nang Air Base from enemy incursion. [1]
After initial delay because of negotiations with South Vietnamese government, Karch led his brigade ashore on 8 March 1965 on Red Beach. The 9th MEB was subsequently reinforced by the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines. Johnson also permitted a change of mission for the 9th MEB which would allow the use of Marines "in active combat under conditions to be established and approved by the Secretary of Defense in consultation with the Secretary of State." The Brigade absorbed the Marine Aircraft Group 16 and conducted defense duty at Da Nang for next two months. [1] However, with the increasing number of Marine forces in South Vietnam, the 9th MEB was deactivated on 6 May 1965 and reorganized as the III Marine Amphibious Force under Major General William R. Collins. [1]
The unit was reactivated on 1 March 1966 as 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade (9th MAB) on Okinawa, Japan with Colonel Herman Hansen Jr. as temporary commander. The brigade was designated Special Landing Force of the Seventh Fleet. BG William A. Stiles arrived on 30 March and assumed command of the brigade. Colonel Hansen Jr. was appointed brigade's chief of staff. The Brigade was composed of Headquarters and the Headquarters Company, Regimental Landing Team 5, Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines and Sub Unit Two, Headquarters&Service Company, 1st Service Battalion. The Brigade received its air unit, Marine Aircraft Group 13 (Reinforced) on 15 April 1966 and now was responsible for most Marine air and ground units in the Western Pacific outside of Vietnam. BG Michael P. Ryan relieved BG Stiles as commanding General on that date. [2]
Regimental Landing Team 5 was relieved by newly organized 26th Marine Regiment and the 9th MAB participated in Operation Osage between 27 April and 3 May 1966. The 9th MAB was assigned to the mission of destroying a VC battalion and elements of a People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) regiment reported to be operating in Thừa Thiên-Huế Province. The results were inconclusive with 8 VC killed while Marine losses were eight killed and 9 wounded. [2]
The 9th MAB provided Battalion Landing Team (BLT) of 1st Battalion, 26th Marines for Operation Deckhouse IV from 15–18 September 1966. The 9th MAB's Marines killed over 200 PAVN soldiers from 90th Regiment with the loss of 36 Marines. During the rest of the year, the 9th MAB and its units were stationed off the northern coast of South Vietnam in order to provide force for the defense of Vietnam Demilitarized Zone in case of emergency. [2]
BG Louis Metzger assumed command of the 9th MAB on 4 January 1967 and led it during Operation Deckhouse V in Bến Tre Province a few days later. The Battalion Landing Team 1/9, now assigned to the 9th MAB, took part in the operation, but due to forewarning, the VC left the area before the attack. The units of 9th MAB killed only 21 VC and lost 7 Marines. [3]
III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF) launched Operation Desoto on 27 January 1967 against known VC strongholds in the region. The 9th MAB launched the Operation Deckhouse VI on 16 February in order to disrupt enemy movement in the vicinity of Sa Huynh salt flats, search northward in the Nui Dat area, and, finally, link up with the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, then operating around Nui Dat in Operation Desoto. BLT 1/4 confirmed the presence of VC in the area, but enemy concentrated only on delaying and harassing tactics. [3] BLT 1/4 destroyed 167 fortifications and captured 20 tons of assorted supplies during the 32 days of Phase I of Operation Deckhouse VI. Though there never were any major contacts, the BLT claimed 201 VC killed during this period; only 6 Marines died. On 27 February, Phase II of Deckhouse VI started, but there was only occasional contact with the enemy and intermittent sniper fire marked the only enemy reactions. In the six days required to accomplish the Phase II, the battalion killed 78 more VC, destroyed 145 fortifications, and captured an additional five tons of supplies. Similarly, as in Phase I, 6 Marines died. [3]
Because of a growing threat to Firebase Gio Linh, III MAF launched Operation Beacon Hill on 20 March 1967. BLT 1/4 and Marine Helicopter Transport Squadron 363 were ordered for the mission. The contact with the enemy was light until 21 March, when the BLT 1/4 engaged about 80 PAVN troops, killing 14 of them. The next day the battalion made contact again between Gio Linh and Con Thien. After a stiff fight the PAVN, apparently a company, withdrew leaving 43 bodies behind. Progress during both days was slow because the PAVN laced their positions with connecting tunnels which required detailed search. On 26 March, after two days of air and artillery preparation, BLT 1/4 broke through two well-prepared defensive trench lines and cleared the interconnecting tunnel system. The PAVN subsequently withdrew and only sniper fire and minor rear guard actions slowed the advancing Marines. The operation ended on 1 April and BLT 1/4 suffered 29 Marines killed and 230 wounded. The PAVN lost 334 men. [3]
Following Operation Beacon Hill, 1/4 Marines was transferred back to the 3rd Marine Division and 9th MAB's Special Landing Force (SLF) was reorganized into twin concept: SLF Alpha, which consisted of HMM-263 and the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines and SLF Bravo formed with 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines and HMM-164. The landing exercise at Kin Blue Beach, Okinawa followed during April 1967, where the 9th MAB practiced a combined surface and helicopter assault. [3]
Metzger's units subsequently participated in Operation Beacon Star between 22 April and 12 May 1967, where he could test SLF new concept. The main target of the operation was a VC stronghold and supply area along the border of Quang Tri and Thua Thien Provinces. Intelligence officers reported two battalions of the VC 6th Regiment and two main force battalions, the 810th and the 814th, were operating in the region. Due to bad weather and poor visibility, SLF Bravo launched a combined helicopter and overland assault which killed 940 VC with Marine losses of 71 killed and 349 wounded. [3]
Simultaneously with Operation Beacon Star, the 9th MAB took part in the Operation Beaver Cage between 28 April and 13 May 1967. SLF Alpha containing BLT 1/3 and HMM-263 and its mission was to clear Que Son Valley, 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Da Nang, important to the VC as a source of both food and manpower. The SLF Alpha casualties totaled 55 Marines killed and 151 wounded, but in 16 days of continuous operations the BLT claimed 181 VC dead and 66 prisoners. [3]
USS Vancouver (LPD-2) was a Raleigh-class amphibious transport dock, named after the city of Vancouver, Washington, which was in turn named after the famous north-west explorer George Vancouver. Vancouver's was commissioned 11 May 1963 and served during the Vietnam War and 1991 Gulf War. She was decommissioned 27 March 1992, placed in reserve and stricken 8 April 1997. Title was transferred to the United States Maritime Administration 29 November 2001. Vancouver was towed for scrapping in Brownsville, Texas, in April 2013.
USS Tripoli (LPH-10), an Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship, was laid down on 15 June 1964 at Pascagoula, Mississippi, by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation; launched on 31 July 1965; sponsored by Jane Cates, the wife of General Clifton B. Cates, former Commandant of the Marine Corps; and commissioned on 6 August 1966 at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Tripoli was the second US Navy ship named for the Battle of Derna in 1805. It was the decisive victory of a mercenary army led by a detachment of US Marines and US Army soldiers against the forces of Tripoli during the First Barbary War. It was the first recorded land battle of the United States fought overseas.
Operation Deckhouse Five was a United States Marine Corps (USMC) and Republic of Vietnam Marine Corps operation that took place from 6–15 January 1967 in the Mekong Delta, during the Vietnam War. "The ten-day sweep," reported the AP from its daily military roundup from Saigon, "proved unproductive."
The 3rd Marine Division is an division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler and Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry divisions in the Marine Corps and together with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1stMAW) and the 3rd Marine Logistics Group forms the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The division was first formed during World War II and saw four years of continuous combat in the Vietnam War. Today, elements of the 3rd Marine Division are continuously forward deployed and forward postured to carry out the US Government's mission of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific in conjunction with its sister services.
Marine Aircraft Group 16 is a United States Marine Corps aviation unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar that is currently composed of five V-22 Osprey squadrons, four CH-53 Super Stallion squadrons, one Personnel Support Detachment, an aviation logistics squadron, and a wing support squadron. The group falls under the command of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing and the I Marine Expeditionary Force.
Da Nang Air Base (1930s–1975) was a French Air Force and later Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility located in the city of Da Nang, Vietnam. During the Vietnam War (1959–1975), it was a major base with United States Army, United States Air Force (USAF), and United States Marine Corps (USMC) units stationed there. Air Vietnam also used the facility from 1951 to 1975 for civilian domestic and international flights within Southeast Asia.
The Republic of Vietnam Marine Division was part of the armed forces of South Vietnam. It was established by Ngo Dinh Diem in 1954 when he was Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam, which became the Republic of Vietnam in 1955. The longest-serving commander was Lieutenant General Le Nguyen Khang. In 1969, the VNMC had a strength of 9,300, 15,000 by 1973, and 20,000 by 1975.
The Vietnamese Rangers, commonly known as the ARVN Rangers, were the light infantry of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Trained and assisted by American Special Forces and Ranger advisers, the Vietnamese Rangers infiltrated beyond enemy lines in search and destroy missions. Initially trained as a counter-insurgency light infantry force by removing the fourth company each of the existing infantry battalions, they later expanded into a swing force capable of conventional as well as counter-insurgency operations, and were relied on to retake captured regions. Later during Vietnamization the Civilian Irregular Defense Group program was transferred from MACV and integrated as Border Battalions responsible for manning remote outposts in the Central Highlands.
At the beginning of 1966, the number of U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam totaled 184,300. South Vietnamese military forces totaled 514,000 including the army (ARVN) and the Regional Force and Popular Force militias. The North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) numbered 400,000, most still in North Vietnam. 50,000 PAVN cadre and soldiers infiltrated South Vietnam during 1965. Group 559, charged with transporting supplies down the Ho Chi Minh Trail to supply PAVN troops in both South Vietnam and Laos, numbered 24,400 personnel. The U.S. estimated the number of Viet Cong (VC) and PAVN soldiers in South Vietnam at nearly 280,000 by June 1966, including part-time guerrillas. A pause in the bombing of North Vietnam by U.S. warplanes had been announced by President Johnson on 24 December and remained in effect.
Operation Double Eagle was a US Marine Corps and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) operation that took place in southern Quảng Ngãi Province, lasting from 28 January to 17 February 1966, during the Vietnam War. The operation was mounted in conjunction with Operation Masher in northern Bình Định Province. The operation was inconclusive as the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Vietcong (VC) had largely slipped away.
Hill 327 is a former U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base southwest of Da Nang in central Vietnam. The base was established on a ridgeline 4 km west of Da Nang Air Base.
Hill 724 is a former U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) base near the summit of the Hải Vân Pass north of Da Nang in central Vietnam.
The 1st Battalion, 26th Marines (1/26) is an inactive infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. They were part of the 26th Marine Regiment and 5th Marine Division and fought during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. They were activated again for the Vietnam War but were deactivated after the war and remain inactive today.
The 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines (2/26) is an inactive infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. They were part of the 26th Marine Regiment and 5th Marine Division and fought during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. They were activated again for the Vietnam War but were deactivated after the war and remain inactive today.
Foster Carr LaHue was a lieutenant general in the United States Marine Corps. He saw combat in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. During the Vietnam War he commanded Task Force X-Ray which was involved in the heaviest fighting at the Battle of Huế.
Operation Deckhouse IV was an operation conducted by the Special Landing Force (SLF) Battalion Landing Team (BLT) of 1st Battalion, 26th Marines in the eastern Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), lasting from 15 to 18 September 1966.
Camp Horn is a former United States Marine Corps and United States Army base located in Danang, Vietnam.
Operation Badger Tooth was a search and destroy mission in the Street Without Joy area of Quảng Trị Province carried out by the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines. Launched on 26 December 1967 the operation ended on 2 January 1968. The Marines reported the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) lost 131+ killed, while US casualties were 48 killed.
Operation Houston was a security operation in the Vietnam War conducted by the United States Marine Corps’ Task Force X-Ray to reopen and secure Route 1 between Da Nang and Phu Bai Combat Base that took place from 26 February to 12 September 1968.
The Battle of the Mỹ Chánh Line took place from 5 May to 26 June 1972 during the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN)'s Easter Offensive of the Vietnam war. South Vietnamese forces, principally the Marine Division, with extensive fire and logistics support from United States forces, succeeded in stopping the PAVN advance northwest of Huế and launched a series of spoiling attacks against PAVN units. The successful defense allowed South Vietnamese forces to build up strength and then establish jumping off positions for their counteroffensive to recapture Quảng Trị Province.
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