Combat· Vietnam War
Operation PEGASUS
Operation Pegasus was the overland relief of the besieged Marine base at Khe Sanh, a major airmobile and ground offensive mounted to break the encirclement and reopen the road to the isolated garrison.
As the siege wore on, allied commanders launched a powerful drive west along the route toward Khe Sanh, spearheaded by airmobile forces leapfrogging by helicopter to seize key terrain while Marines and other units pushed overland. The operation rolled back the North Vietnamese forces that had ringed the base, clearing the approaches and relieving the defenders who had held out through weeks of bombardment and assault. The advancing forces met diminishing resistance as the enemy, battered by the long aerial pounding of the siege, withdrew from the area. Pegasus formally lifted the siege of Khe Sanh and restored ground access to the base, ending one of the most closely watched ordeals of the war.
Record no. 687