U .S . MARINES IN VIETNAM THE DEFINING YEA R 1968 by Jack Shulimson Lieutenant Colonel Leonard A . Blasiol, U .S. Marine Corps Charles R. Smith and Captain David A . Dawson, U.S. Marine Corps HISTORY AND MUSEUMS DIVISION HEADQUARTERS, U .S. MARINE CORP S WASHINGTON, D .C. 1997 Volumes in the Marine Corp s Vietnam Series Operational Histories Serie s U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1954—1964, The Advisory and Combat Assistance Era, 1977 U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1965, The Landing and the Buildup, 197 8 U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1966, An Expanding War, 1982 U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1967, Fighting the North Vietnamese, 1984 U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1969, High Mobility and Standdown, 1988 U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1970—1971, Vietnamization and Redeployment, 1986 U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1971—1973, The War that Would Not End, 199 1 U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1973—1975, The Bitter End, 1990 Functional Histories Series Chaplains with Marines in Vietnam, 1962—1971, 1985 Marines and Military Law in Vietnam : Trial By Fire, 1989 Anthology and Bibliography The Marines in Vietnam, 1954—1973, An Anthology and Annotated Bibliography, 1974 ; reprinted 1983 ; revised second edition, 198 5 Library of Congress Card No . 77—60477 6 PCN 190 0031 3800 For sale by the U.S . Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328 ISBN 0-16-049125- 8 ii Foreword This is the last volume, although published out of chronological sequence, in the nine - volume operational history series covering the Marine Corps' participation in the Vietna m War. A separate functional series complements the operational histories . This book is the capstone volume of the entire series in that 1968, as the title indicates, was the defining yea r of the war. While originally designed to be two volumes, it was decided that unity and cohe - sion required one book . The year 1968 was the year of the Tet Offensive including Khe Sanh and Hue City . These were momentous events in the course of the war and they occurred in the first three month s of the year . This book, however, documents that 1968 was more than just the Tet Offensive . The bloodiest month of the war for the U .S. forces was not January nor February 1968, bu t May 1968 when the Communists launched what was called their "Mini-Tet" offensive . This was followed by a second "Mini-Tet" offensive during the late summer which also wa s repulsed at heavy cost to both sides . By the end of the year, the U .S. forces in South Viet- nam's I Corps, under the III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF), had regained the offen- sive. By December, enemy-initiated attacks had fallen to their lowest level in two years . Still, there was no talk of victory . The Communist forces remained a formidable foe and a limit had been drawn on the level of American participation in the war . Although largely written from the perspective of III MAF and the ground war in I Corps , the volume also treats the activities of Marines with the Seventh Fleet Special Landing Force , activities of Marine advisors to South Vietnamese forces, and other Marine involvement i n the war. Separate chapters cover Marine aviation and the single manager controversy , artillery, logistics, manpower, and pacification . Like most of the volumes in this series, this has been a cumulative history . Lieutenant Colonel Leonard A. Blasiol researched and wrote the initial drafts of the chapters on Kh e Sanh as well as Chapters 17, 19, and 21 and the account of Operation Thor in Chapter 26 . Mr. Charles R . Smith researched and drafted Chapters 16, 18, 20, and 22 . Captain David A. Dawson researched and wrote Chapter 27 . Dr. Jack Shulimson researched and wrote th e remaining chapters, edited and revised the entire text, and incorporated the comments o f the various reviewers . Dr. Shulimson heads the History Writing Unit and is a graduate of the University o f Buffalo, now the State University of New York at Buffalo . He earned his master's degree i n history at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Michigan and his doctorate from the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland in American studies . Mr. Smith is a senior historian in the Division and served in Vietnam as an artilleryman and then as a historian with the U.S. Army. He is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and received his master's degree in history from San Diego State University . Lieutenant Colonel Blasiol is an experienced artilleryman and a graduate of Tulane University, New Orleans , Louisiana, with a degree in history, and of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College . Captain Dawson is an infantry officer now stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina . He holds a bachelor of arts degree in history from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York and a master's degree in history from Kansas State University, Lawrence, Kansas . E. H. SIMMONS Brigadier General, U .S. Marine Corps (Retired) Director Emeritus of Marine Corps History and Museums iii Preface U.S. Marines in Vietnam, The Defining Year, 1968 like the preceding volumes in thi s series is largely based upon the holdings of the Marine Corps Historical Center . These include the official unit command chronologies, after-action reports, message an d journal files, various staff studies, oral histories, personal papers, and reference collec- tions. In addition, the authors have used the holdings of the other Services and perti- nent published primary and secondary sources . Most importantly, nearly 230 review- ers, most of whom were participants in the events, read draft chapters and mad e substantive comments . They are listed by name in a separate appendix . While som e classified sources have been used, none of the material in the text contains any classi- fied information. To a large extent, the measurement of this war relied not upon territory occupied , but upon casualties inflicted upon the enemy. In enumerating enemy casualties, the authors are not making any statement upon the reliability or accuracy of these num- bers. These are merely the figures provided by the reporting units . They are impor- tant in that the U .S. military and national leadership depended in part upon the com- parative casualty yardstick to report and evaluate progress in the war . In any project this large and that involved so many people, the authors are in debt to several of their associates, past and present, in the History and Museums Division . While it is not possible to list everyone, we would be most negligent if we did not than k the following. First, Brigadier General Edwin H . Simmons, Director Emeritus, provid- ed the vision and backing for the entire series, insisting upon readability and accuracy . Colonel Michael F. Monigan, Acting Director, gave the impetus for final completion o f the project. Chief Historian Benis M. Frank, and his predecessor, Henry I . Shaw, Jr., fur- nished editorial guidance and encouragement . Ms. Wanda J. Renfrow of the Histories Section and Mr. Robert E. Struder, Head of Editing and Design, read the entire manu- script together with Mr. Frank and prevented several minor errors and some embarrass- ments. Mrs. Cathy A. Kerns, of the Editing and Design Section, typed the photograp h captions and the Medal of Honor Appendix . Both Mrs. Kerns and Ms . Renfrow painstakingly inserted the multitudinous entries for the index, carefully checking th e index against the text . Finally, Ms. Renfrow patiently and ably made the numerous revi- sions in the organization of the index . Mr. William S . Hill provided technical direction for both the maps and insertion of the photographs . Ms. Evelyn A . Englander of the library was most helpful in obtaining publications. The Archives staff (under the direc- tion of Fred J . Graboske and his predecessor, Ms . Joyce Bonnett), especially Ms . Joyce M. Hudson and Ms . Amy C . Cohen, cheerfully made their resources available, as did Ar t Curator John T. Dyer, Jr. The Reference Section under Danny J . Crawford was alway s most cooperative, especially Ms . Lena M. Kaljot, who assisted in the duplication of mos t of the photographs . A special thanks goes to Lieutenant Colonel Leon Craig, Jr ., Head of the Support Branch ; his administrative officer, First Lieutenant Mark R . Schroeder; and his enlisted Marines, especially Staff Sergeant Myrna A . Thomas and Corporal Jua n E. Johnson, who assisted in that last push for publication . Both Mr. Struder and Mr. Hill adroitly handled the liaison with the Typograph y and Design Division of the U.S. Government Printing Office in the layout of th e book. Mr. Struder deftly and professionally assisted in the reading of page proofs an d Mr. Hill meticulously monitored the preparation of charts and maps . The authors als o appreciate the efforts of Mr. Nicholas M. Freda and Mr. Lee Nance of the Typography v and Design Division, Mr. Freda for his careful layout of text and Mr . Nance for th e final preparation of all maps and charts . Finally, the authors want to acknowledge the contributions of former members of the Histories Section who reviewed and commented on several chapters, including Lieutenant Colonels Lane Rogers and Gary D . Solis, Majors George R . Dunham , Charles D . Melson, and Edward F. Wells, and Dr. V. Keith Fleming, Jr. Special mention and most heartfelt thanks go to various interns who have assiste d with the preparation of this volume . Naval Academy Midshipman Third Clas s Thomas Moninger, who prepared the Chronology of Events, and Maderia School stu- dents Ms . Jaime Koepsell and Ms . Sylvia Bunyasi who drafted the initial Comman d and Staff list .