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Operation Hastings
Part of the Vietnam War

Marines of Company H, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment take to the water as they move to join up with other elements of their battalion.
DateJuly 15 –Aug 3, 1966
Location
Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone
Result South Vietnamese and U.S. victory
Belligerents
South Vietnam
United States		 North Vietnam
Commanders and leaders
Lew Walt
Lowell E. English		 Nguyen Van
Strength
8,500
(2/4, 3/4, 2/1, 1/3 and 3/5 Marine Battalions)
3,000
(1st ARVN Division)		 8,000 to 10,000
(324B NVA Division)
Casualties and losses
128 killed, 162 wounded 824 killed, 14 captured[citation needed]

Operation Hastings was an American military operation in the Vietnam War.

During late June and early July of 1966, Marine reconnaissance units operating south of the DMZ had observed and engaged increased numbers of uniformed regular North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops[1]. on 6 July, troops of the ARVN 1st Division captured an NVA soldier near The Rockpile, he identified himself as being from the 812th Regiment of the 324B NVA Division and advised that the other Regiments of the Division had also moved into South Vietnam[2]. On 9 July a lieutenant from the 812th Regiment surrendered in the same area and advised that the 324B Division's mission was to liberate Quang Tri Province[2].

Having been threatened by numerous encounters with enemy troops in the Cam Lo area, on July 7, 1966, United States Marine Corps General Lew Walt led a joint U.S. Marine and ARVN force of 8,500 and 3,000 troops in a strike through the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Plans to maintain U.S. occupation of the Cam Lo area in the Quang Tri province soon became known as Operation Hastings.

Under the command of Brigadier General Lowell E. English, the operation continued on July 15. His responsibility was to secure landing sites so that more U.S. Marines and ARVN soldiers could occupy the rear of the province. However, the major goal of the operation was to thwart the North Vietnamese 324 B Division's efforts to take control of Quang Tri Province. The mission was a strategic success in terms of driving off the 324 B Division, but the People's Army of Vietnam (NVA) forces successfully withdrew across the DMZ. When the ease with which the NVA was able to move across the DMZ became apparent, the US military leadership ordered a steady build-up of U.S. Marines near the DMZ from 1966 to 1969.

The main landing zone of Operation Hastings on the first day, of the Operation in the Song Ngan River Valley, as dozens of Chinook Helicopter took off from Dong Ha where five battalions of marines were build up there, waiting with their orders and special assignments, to start the operation. The first chinooks bringing in a battalion of marines and all supplies needed for that massive operation, in that open valley, four of them were taking some NVA small arms fire, came into the LZ fast and suddenly lost most control, in the hot, thin, air in that valley. Those chinooks landed to hard and hit each other and started to break up, putting them out of service, 3 marines were killed right away getting out and the rest of the companies got out good. The following chinooks landed good and safely, unloading men and supplies and took off for return trips, as the marines on the ground were setting up perimeters fast, all around the LZ and taking on NVA sniper fire, the marines were already returning their own small arms ground fire around that LZ area to stop the NVA attacks. A short time later, more chinooks in the distance could be seen, bringing in more companies of marines reinforcements, suddenly a NVA 50 machine gun, in a hill area in the distance, opened up hitting one of those chinooks, causing the rest to turn away, they did return later as LZ area was more secure. That only one hit came in the LZ area on fire and full of smoke, the pilots were able to land it on a small hill away from all, a few minutes burning, with boxes of ammuntion being cooked off, it exploded in ball of fire, all aboard were killed, except one crew man was able to escape it, badly burned and ran down the hill.

After the first day of landing problems and then the NVA hit and run small attacks during the day and wounded NVA Sucide attack at nights after, in those few days in that hell valley, the different marine battalions, fought all NVA off. On the last day out of that hot river valley, as the last marine company walked out, they were hit with a 1000 of more screaming NVA troops from both sides, immediately the other marine companies there, came back into support, help and fight off the NVA in face to face, hand and gun battles in a hour or so. The NVA took a bad beating and turned and left, taking their wounded and left most of their dead, leaving that war torn valley. Marine/Navy Jets were using their machine guns and dropping napalm for support and also burned up the four damaged chinook shells left, as the NVA used them for cover in their attacks. Hence after called, "Helicopter Valley".



This operation is mentioned in the film Full Metal Jacket.

In Battlefield Vietnam, Operation Hastings is featured as a playable map.

Contemporary news reporting

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Operation Hastings.

References

Pearson, Lieutenant General Willard, The War in the Northern Provinces: 1966-1968, Washington D. C.:U.S. Government Printing Office, 1975

  1. ^ Shulimson, Jack (1982). U.S. Marines in Vietnam: An Expanding War, 1966 (Marine Corps Vietnam Operational Historical Series). Marine Corps Association. ASIN B000L34A0C. ((cite book)): Text "p. 159" ignored (help)
  2. ^ a b Shulimson, p. 160.
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