Combat· Vietnam War
DEWEY CANYON Phase III
The third phase of Operation Dewey Canyon was the exploitation and withdrawal, in which the Marines completed the destruction of the enemy base areas they had penetrated and then extracted from the deep mountain country.
Having reached and disrupted the enemy's supply system near the border, the regiment continued to clear caches, destroy fortifications, and press the retreating enemy before pulling back from the remote valleys it had seized. The phase involved the careful, dangerous work of disengaging from contact and recovering troops and equipment from far-flung positions in difficult terrain, all while continuing to inflict losses on the enemy. Completing the operation in good order from such depth was itself a considerable achievement, given the distances, the weather, and the rugged ground. With this final phase, Dewey Canyon concluded as a model of a deep, self-contained regimental operation, the Marines having struck hard into the enemy's rear and then withdrawn intact.
Record no. 696