Combat· Vietnam War
Song Vu Gia River
The action along the Song Vu Gia, one of the rivers running through the contested lowlands of Quang Nam Province southwest of Da Nang, was part of the constant small-scale fighting by which the Marines sought to secure the populous river valleys around their bases.
The riverine country, with its villages, paddies, and approaches to the Marine enclaves, was a persistent avenue for Viet Cong movement, and the Marines patrolled and fought along it to keep the enemy from massing within striking distance of Da Nang. The engagement was one of the many local actions that filled the spaces between the larger named operations, the routine and dangerous work of clearing and screening the ground close to the bases. Such river-valley fighting typified the Marines' war in the Da Nang tactical area, where holding the densely populated lowlands meant ceaseless patrolling against an enemy embedded among the people.
Record no. 858