Operation Kingfisher
Operation Kingfisher was a US Marine Corps operation that took place during the Vietnam War. The operation was carried out in the western part of "Leatherneck Square" near Con Thien, lasting from 16 July to 31 October 1967. Prelude Following the conclusion of Operation Buffalo and Operation Hickory II, III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF) launched Operation Kingfisher in the same general area with the same objective of blocking the entry of People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces into eastern Quảng Trị Province. Battle 16–27 July This period saw only minor contact with the PAVN. 28–30 July 2/9 Marines, supported by a platoon of five M-48s, three M50 Ontos and three LVTEs moved north along Provincial Route 606 to make a spoiling attack into the DMZ, the unit made no contact with the PAVN and set up a night defensive position near the Bến Hải River The following morning as the unit was returning along the same route a command detonated mine exploded wounding 5 Mar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The north was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist states, while the south was United States in the Vietnam War, supported by the United States and other anti-communism, anti-communist Free World Military Forces, allies. The war is widely considered to be a Cold War-era proxy war. It lasted almost 20 years, with direct U.S. involvement ending in 1973. The conflict also spilled over into neighboring states, exacerbating the Laotian Civil War and the Cambodian Civil War, which ended with all three countries becoming communist states by 1975. After the French 1954 Geneva Conference, military withdrawal from Indochina in 1954 – following their defeat in the First Indochina War – the Viet Minh to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Con Thien
Con Thien (Vietnamese: Cồn Tiên, meaning the "Hill of Angels") was a military base that started out as a U.S. Army Special Forces camp before transitioning to a United States Marine Corps combat base. It was located near the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) about from North Vietnam in Gio Linh District, Quảng Trị Province. It was the site of fierce fighting from February 1967 through February 1968. Location Con Thien is located at ( MGRS 48QYD113703) and was originally established as a Special Forces/ CIDG camp on 20 February 1967 at Hill 158 by Special forces Det. A-110.On the Offensive, Green Berets at War, Shelby L. Stanton, Presido Press, 31 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94947, 1985, p. 146-7, The camp was built by a detachment from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4. and turned over to the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, on 27 July 1967. Together with Marine bases at Gio Linh, Đông Hà and Cam Lộ, Con Thien enclosed the area known to the Marines as Leathe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charlie 2
Charlie 2 (also known as C-2, Combat Base C-2, C-2 Strongpoint and Firebase Charlie 2) is a former U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) firebase north of Đông Hà in central Vietnam. History 1966-7 The base was established 12.5 km northwest of Đông Hà and 5 km southeast of Con Thien to protect the land route to Con Thien and particularly the C-2 bridge immediately north of the base. By December 1967 all bunkers at C-2 had been completed and all minefields laid and perimeter barbed wire emplaced. The Marines constructed Route 561 linking Con Thien to Route 9. 1968–9 During 1968 further improvements were made to the bunker system at C-2, totalling 81 reinforced bunkers. In August 1969, responsibility for C-2 passed from the Marines to the 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized). 1970-2 On 21 May 1971 30 US infantrymen, many from Company A, 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry Regiment, were killed when a People's Army of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Medal Of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. The medal is normally awarded by the president of the United States, but as it is presented "in the name of the United States Congress", it is sometimes erroneously referred to as the "Congressional Medal of Honor". There are three distinct variants of the medal: one for the Department of the Army, awarded to soldiers, one for the Department of the Navy, awarded to sailors, marines, and coast guardsmen, and one for the Department of the Air Force, awarded to airmen and guardians. The Medal of Honor was introduced for the Department of the Navy in 1861, soon followed by the Department of the Army's version in 1862. The Department of the Air Force used the Department of the Army's version until they received their own distinctive version i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jedh Colby Barker
Jedh Colby Barker (June 20, 1945 – September 21, 1967) was a United States Marine Corps Lance Corporal who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Vietnam War in September 1967. While participating in Operation Kingfisher, Barker's platoon was attacked by North Vietnamese forces in the western part of the Leatherneck Square. The platoon got into cover, and Barker lay down suppressing fire on the Vietnamese positions. When a grenade was thrown into the American defensive position, Barker jumped onto it and saved the lives of fellow injured Marines. Biography Jedh Barker was born on June 20, 1945, in Franklin, New Hampshire. At the age of six, he moved with his parents to Park Ridge, New Jersey, where he graduated from grammar school in 1960, and from Park Ridge High School in 1964, where he was captain of the football and baseball teams. He attended Fairleigh Dickinson University, Rutherford, New Jersey, and then Northeast Missouri State Teachers Colleg ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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M67 Flame Thrower Tank
The Flame Thrower Tank M67 (also known as M67 "Zippo", nicknamed after a popular brand of cigarette lighter) is an American flame tank that was briefly used by the U.S. Army, and later by the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. It was the last flamethrower tank used in American military service. Background and development Drawing on the experiences of crews of M4 Sherman tanks that were converted into flamethrower tanks and used during World War II, the U.S. Army Chemical Corps began work on a successor tank that was designed for the battlefields of the Cold War. Work on the design took place between 1952 and 1954, utilizing a modified M48 tank chassis, at the initiative of the US Marine Corps. Production commenced in 1955 and ran for either a single year or four, depending on some estimates. A total of 109 M67 tanks were produced for the Marine Corps and US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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RPG-2
The RPG-2 (Russian: РПГ-2, Ручной противотанковый гранатомёт, ''Ruchnoy Protivotankovy Granatomyot''; English: "hand-held antitank grenade launcher") is a man-portable, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that was designed in the Soviet Union. It was the first successful anti-tank weapon of its type, being a successor to the earlier and unsuccessful RPG-1. The RPG-2 offered better range and armor penetration, making it useful against late and post-World War II tanks, in contrast to the RPG-1 that had only marginal utility. The basic design and layout was further upgraded to produce the ubiquitous RPG-7. History Studying German and US anti-tank rocket designs, in 1944 the Soviets began development of the RPG-1 with the goal of combining the best features of the German ''Panzerfaust'' single shot recoilless weapon with the US Bazooka rocket launcher. Propelled by a 30 mm cartridge, the high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) round could penetrate about of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bến Hải River
The Bến Hải River ( vi, Sông Bến Hải) is a river in central Vietnam which became an important landmark in the partition of the country into a northern and a southern zone along the 17th parallel by the Geneva Accords of 1954 then ended in 1976. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two parts extended about from either side of the river. The Bến Hải River has a total length of about 100 kilometers; its source is located in the Annamite Mountains along the border with Laos and it flows into the South China Sea at Cua Tung (Tung River mouth). In the mountains, the river is named "Rao Thanh". It flows from west to east just south of the 17th parallel and close to the northern border of Quảng Trị Province, in which it is located. At its widest point, the river is about 200 meters wide. At the time of the partition, the principal north-south road (Highway 1) crossed the Bến Hải River over Hien Luong Bridge (also known as the "Peace Bridge") ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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LVT-5
The LVTP-5 (landing vehicle, tracked, personnel 5) is a family of amphibious armored fighting vehicles used by the Philippine Marine Corps and, formerly, the United States Marine Corps. It was designed by the BorgWarner company and built by FMC (Food Machinery Corporation) along with a few other companies. It was first accepted into service in 1956. Some 1,124 basic units were produced, plus the specialist variants, and many saw action in the Vietnam War. History The LVTP-5 was an evolution of the ''LVT-1'' to ''LVT-4'' World War II-era landing vehicle tracked series, but was considerably larger and could carry 30-34 combat-armed troops. A smaller design based on the M59 APC was also produced as the ''LVT-6'', but only a few were built. The LVTP-5 was replaced in service by the ''LVT-7'' family. The most common type was the LVTP-5, an armored personnel carrier, with mine-sweeper, command, recovery and fire support variants, the latter mounted a 105 mm howitzer. An anti-air ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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M50 Ontos
Ontos, officially the Rifle, Multiple 106 mm, Self-propelled, M50, was a U.S. light armored tracked anti-tank vehicle developed in the 1950s. It mounted six 106 mm manually loaded M40 recoilless rifles as its main armament, which could be fired in rapid succession against single targets to increase the probability of a kill. Although the actual caliber of the main guns was 105 mm, it was designated 106 mm to prevent confusion with the ammunition for the 105 mm M27 recoilless rifle, which the M40 replaced. It was produced in limited numbers for the U.S. Marines after the U.S. Army cancelled the project. The Marines consistently reported excellent results when they used the Ontos for direct fire support against infantry in numerous battles and operations during the Vietnam War. The American stock of Ontos was largely expended towards the end of the conflict and the Ontos was removed from service in 1969. Development The ''Ontos'' (Greek for "thing") projec ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |