Operation Patrick was a security operation conducted during the

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 Vie ...

by the U.S. 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division in

Bình Định Province B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It r ...

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

from March 1 to 30, 1968.

Background

The 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry Regiment had been patrolling Bình Định Province since September 1967, supporting South Vietnamese and South Korean units. In early March, the 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division commanded by Col. Eugene Forrester was deployed to improve security in the coastal lowlands.

Operation

On March 9, the

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...

(PAVN) 22nd Regiment, 3rd Division attacked the 1/50th Infantry's base camp, Landing Zone Litts (), north of

Phù Mỹ District In chemistry, pH (), historically denoting "potential of hydrogen" (or "power of hydrogen"), is a scale used to specify the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Acidic solutions (solutions with higher concentrations of ions) are ...

. The attackers failed to penetrate the perimeter and 36 were killed. On March 15, during a patrol north of Phù Mỹ, the 1/50th Infantry engaged a force from the 22nd Regiment, killing a further 34 PAVN.

Aftermath

The operation concluded on March 30, when the 3rd Brigade moved to the Central Highlands to rejoin the rest of the 4th Division. The 4th Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment began

Operation Cochise Green Operation Cochise Green was a security and pacification operation during the Vietnam War conducted by the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Bình Định Province from 30 March 1968 to 31 January 1969. Background Following the conclusion of Operation P ...

continuing the mission of Operation Patrick.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patrick, Operation 1968 in Vietnam Battles and operations of the Vietnam War Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1968 History of Bình Định province