Combat· Vietnam War
Op TAYLOR COMMON
Operation Taylor Common was a major Marine offensive that pushed from the lowlands south of Da Nang into the rugged mountains to the west, striking at the enemy base areas in the highlands that fed the fighting in the coastal districts.
The Marines established a forward base deep in the difficult upland country and ranged outward from it, hunting North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces in their mountain sanctuaries and uncovering extensive base complexes, caches, and fortifications hidden in the jungled terrain. The operation carried the war away from the populated coast and into the enemy's rear, an effort to disrupt the source of the threat to Da Nang rather than simply parry its effects in the lowlands. Taylor Common involved sustained operations across remote and rugged ground, the Marines fighting scattered actions and destroying the infrastructure they found. It represented an ambitious reach into the highland base areas that supplied the enemy's coastal campaign.
Record no. 697