Combat· Vietnam War
Operation HASTINGS
Operation Hastings was the first large clash between the Marines and the North Vietnamese Army, fought in the rugged country along the Demilitarized Zone when a North Vietnamese division crossed south to threaten Quang Tri Province.
The Marines responded with a major helicopter-borne and overland operation to find and destroy the invading force, committing several battalions into the hills and river valleys near the zone. The fighting was heavy and confused in the broken, jungled terrain, the Marines battling well-equipped North Vietnamese regulars in sharp engagements rather than the elusive guerrillas they had largely faced before, while their supporting aircraft flew constant missions overhead. The operation drove the North Vietnamese back across the Demilitarized Zone and inflicted serious losses, but it revealed that the conventional war along the northern border would be a grinding, costly fight. Hastings marked the opening of the long Marine struggle to hold the DMZ.
Record no. 671