Fifth Division

On 28 February 1969, the recently assigned 3rd Squadron, 5th Cavalry made contact west of Quang Tri. Contact was maintained for two days, and three companies were committed to the assault. Eight battalions of artillery and the "16 inch" guns of the battleship "New Jersey" bombarded the enemy and his withdrawal route. First Brigade casualties were 118. The high proportion of wounded to killed was typical of US activity in Vietnam. The excellent medical services, communication facilities, and skillful helicopter evacuation saved countless US lives throughout the 1st Brigade's stay in Vietnam. On 16 March, the Brigade was committed to armor and mechanized infantry support of the 3d Marine Division In Khe Sanh Plain area. For three days, between 12 and 16 April, the Brigade conducted a search and clear operation over a 100-square kilometer area near Lang Voi on the Laotian border. No US were killed and North Vietnamese Army causalities were also light.

In April 1969, the Brigade conducted a search and clear operation while building a road in Bin Long Valley. As the Task Force moved into the valley, it rebuilt a road from Phur to Calin. The Task Force remained in the Valley until the road was opened to traffic on 15 April.

Ten days later, the Rangers team of P Company, 75th Infantry ambushed and killed Nguyen Quet, one of the major guerrilla leaders in Quang Tri Province. Quet was a known communist security chief. A terror and assassination cadre commander, and guerrilla band force leader. It was known that he had personally murdered several government officials and government supporting civilians. During April and May, the Brigade attempted to deny the enemy access to the rice harvest. To accomplish this, the Brigade provided security for the friendly populace as they harvested their crops and patrolled at night to inhibit the movement of North Vietnamese tax collectors.

In June, elements of the 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry and 1st Battalion, 77th Armor again combined with the Marines in the Khe Sahn area for operations against the North Vietnamese Army's 24th Regiment. The enemy body count totaled 147 and only light casualties as a result of nine days of action.

This emphasized the value of armored vehicles, even when the terrain was not suitable for their movement. The rice denial efforts contained in June. The area of operation moved to the east of Quang Tri, and this was coordinated with a Vietnamese Government pacification program. Throughout July, the 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry and 1st Battalion, 77th Armor Task Force remained with the Marines, providing them with a mobile strike force and shock power as needed.

In August 1969, the Brigade assumed full responsibilities for "leatherneck Square'. For six weeks constant activity kept all units on the Brigade busy in this area. On 22 October, the Brigade was removed from the operational control of the 3rd Marine Division and placed directly under the commanding general of XXIV Corps. In conjunction with the 1st ARVN Division, the Brigade now had sole responsibility for the defense of Quang Tri and Dan Ho combat base.

As many patrols as possible continued, and from 11-18 November contact with the North Vietnamese Army's 17th Regiment was maintained by 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry and two companies of 1st Battalion, 77th Armor. By 20 November 1968, the North Vietnamese Army Regiment was in rapid retreat toward the Laotian border. The Brigade continued the rice denial patrols and to provide security for the Vietnamese Government pacification program. CPT. Stanley A. Blunt, company commander of D Company, 1st Battalion, 11th Infantry, distinguished himself on November 11th and 13th of 1969 while leading his company during a search and clear operation through enemy controlled territory several kilometers south of the BMZ. On November 11th, his company was participating in a coordinated battalion attack on elements of the 27th NVA Regiment defending heavily fortified machine gun position. In this assault he killed four other enemy soldiers at close range by hurling hand grenades into their positions.

In the early morning hours on November 13, in the continuation of the same operation, CPT. Blunt infiltrated a seven-man patrol through some twelve hundred meters of closely defended enemy terrain under cover of darkness to reinforce and extract besieged friendly elements. He conducted the mission without incident and undoubtedly saved the lives of the 22 trapped American soldiers. With few exceptions, during the entire first quarter of 1970, the Brigade saw light activity involving the pacification program and regional and popular forces.