Operation Lejeune was an operation conducted by the 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division in

Đức Phổ District Because of Germany's long history before 1871 as a non-united region of distinct tribes and states, there are many widely varying names of Germany in different languages, more so than for any other European nation. For example, in the German ...

, Quảng Ngãi Province, lasting from 7 to 22 April 1967.

Background

The south of Quảng Ngãi Province formed the boundary between

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...

which was the responsibility of the

III Marine Expeditionary Force III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) is a formation of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps. It is forward-deployed and able to rapidly conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and ...

and

II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to: France * 2nd Army Corps (France) * II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...

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 the

Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

(VC) since the beginning of the war. On 28 January the

3rd Battalion, 7th Marines The 3rd Battalion 7th Marine Regiment (3/7) is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. They are based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms and consist of approximately 800 Marines. The battalion falls u ...

began an operation in the Đức Phổ District, joined in late February by the

1st Battalion, 4th Marines 1st Battalion, 4th Marines (1/4) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California consisting of approximately 800 Marines and sailors. They fall under the command of the 1st M ...

and

2nd Battalion, 5th Marines 2d Battalion 5th Marines (2/5 or "Two Five") is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps consisting of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors. They are based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and fall under the comm ...

. 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. The operation, code-named Lejeune after Marine General

John A. Lejeune John Archer Lejeune (; January 10, 1867 – November 20, 1942) was a United States Marine Corps lieutenant general and the 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps. Lejeune served for nearly 40 years in the military, and commanded the U.S. Army's 2n ...

, first required the 11th Aviation Brigade at Landing Zone Two Bits to deploy the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment into Đức Phổ.

Operation

The operation began at 09:30 on 7 April with the deployment of 2/5 Cavalry at Landing Zone Montezuma. Company B, 8th Engineer Battalion landed shortly afterwards and began to develop the landing zone into an airfield capable of accommodating

C-7 Caribou The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou (designated by the United States military as the CV-2 and later C-7 Caribou) is a Canadian specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability. The Caribou was first flown in 1958 a ...

aircraft. 29

CH-54 The Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe is an American twin-engine heavy-lift helicopter designed by Sikorsky Aircraft for the United States Army. It is named after Tarhe, an 18th-century chief of the Wyandot Indian tribe whose nickname was "The Crane". The c ...

and 15

CH-47 The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name ...

sorties brought in the heavy equipment required for airfield construction. By 8 April the remainder of the 2nd Brigade had deployed to LZ Montezuma and Lt. Col. Karhohs assumed operational control. By 16:30 on 8 April the C-7 strip was operational and work was continuing on extending the strip to make it capable of handling

C-123 The Fairchild C-123 Provider is an American military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and then built by Fairchild Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. In addition to its USAF service, which included later service with the Air Force Rese ...

aircraft. A 3-man team from the

Pathfinder Pathfinder may refer to: Businesses * Pathfinder Energy Services, a division of Smith International * Pathfinder Press, a publisher of socialist literature Computing and information science * Path Finder, a Macintosh file browser * Pathfinder (w ...

Platoon of the 11th General Support Aviation Company was soon handling over 1000 aircraft movements per day. 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 by LSTs and

LCMs LCMS may refer to: Science and technology * Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, a chemical analysis technique * Learning content management system * LittleCMS, an open-source color management system Organizations * Lindero Canyon Middle S ...

. The VC generally avoided the US forces with only one major engagement on 16 April.

Aftermath

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 the 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, part of the newly-activated

Task Force Oregon Task Force Oregon, was a United States Army division-sized unit composed of 3 separate infantry brigades, active in Quảng Ngãi and Quảng Tín Provinces, South Vietnam from April to September 1967 when it was redesignated the 23rd Infantry ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lejeune, Operation 1967 in Vietnam Battles involving the United States Battles involving Vietnam Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1967 Battles and operations of the Vietnam War History of Quảng Ngãi province