Combat· Vietnam War
DEWEY CANYON Phase I
The first phase of Operation Dewey Canyon was the preparation and positioning that set the stage for the regiment's drive into the mountains.
The Marines established and occupied the forward fire support bases from which the operation would be launched, moving artillery and troops into the rugged country at the edge of the objective area and securing the high ground needed to support the advance to come. This opening phase involved the difficult work of building a logistical and fire-support foundation in remote, weather-plagued terrain, lifting in guns and supplies by helicopter and seizing the dominant ridges from which the deeper push could be sustained. It was the essential groundwork, the establishment of the springboard, that made the subsequent thrust into the enemy base areas possible. Without the careful staging of this phase, the regiment could not have ranged as far into the mountains as it did in the operation's decisive stage.
Record no. 694