Vietnam War/Counteroffensive Phase III Campaign (1967-68)/Operation Beacon Torch
From Month/Year
June / 1967
To Month/Year
July / 1967
Description Jun 18 – Jul 2; US Costal Division Twelve operation east of the Truong Giang River and southeast of the city of Hội An.
Operation Beacon Torch placed SLF Bravo south of Da Nang in the coastal region near the Quang Nam and Quang Tin provincial border. A conventional search and destroy operation, Beacon Torch covered an enemy-controlled area east of the Troung Giang River and southeast of the city of Hoi An.
A companion operation, Calhoun, targeted against the "Pagoda Valley" west of the Beacon Torch AOA, started on 25 June. The area received this name because of the many small pagodas on the valley floor. III MAF suspected "Pagoda Valley" of being a Communist forward logistic base. In essence, BLT 2 / 3 phased into Calhoun and, when Calhoun ended, it withdrew as originally planned in Beacon Torch.
Beacon Torch started at 0630 on l8 June as assault elements of Company F, followed by Command Group Alpha landed in what the helicopter pilots thought was 12 Cardinal. Actually, the heliborne troops landed 2,000 meters south of Cardinal. Company H landed at what the pilots believed was LZ Wren. It, too, landed in the wrong place and 2,000 meters south of its planned starting position.
While the first heliborne companies untangled their 12 problems, Company G landed on Red Beach, followed by the 2d Platoon (Reinforced), Company A, 3d Tank Battalion. Once the squadron resolved the 12 location problems, it lifted Company E into the correct 12 Cardinal.
Company H made the first contact at 0930. Light encounters continued throughout the day until 1540 when Company H engaged about 100 enemy troops. In the ensuing firefight, 43 of Company H's Marines succumbed to non-battle causes; most were heat casualties. The enemy killed five Marines and wounded 14 while the Communists left 23 bodies behind. The enemy disengaged at sunset.
