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Article Excerpt
The soldiers proceeded cautiously through the jungle highlands west of Pleiku, near the Cambodian border, on the morning of May t8, 1967. The men were part of Operation Francis Marion, aimed at stopping the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) from seizing the Ia Drang Valley. The Americans belonged to B Co.. 8th Inf., 1st Bde., 4th Inf. Div. Most were young, and many were new to Vietnam. But they all were about to become seasoned warriors, via a series of savage battles known simply as "The Nine Days in May Border Battles,"
By the end of those nine days, some 2,000 GIs would go up against 1,500-2,000 regulars of the NVA's 32nd and 66th regiments. The enemy would attack in groupings that vastly outnumbered the Americans. Three men from the 4th Infantry Division would earn posthumous Medals of Honor. The 1st Brigade would earn a coveted Presidential Unit Citation for heroically disabling two full enemy regiments and curtailing an entire season's offensive.
Ordeal of B Company
As outlined in the after-action report for May 18 26, the five battles can be traced to 10:40 a.m. on the 18th, when a lone NVA soldier appeared before B Company, and then took off...
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