Vietnam War Patch USMC 3rd Battalion 4th Marine Regiment THUNDERING THIRD

Description

This vintage Vietnam war in-country machine-embroidered patch measures 4.4" by 4", used condition. A valuable addition to your Vietnam war military memorabilia collection.
On April 14, 1965
3rd Battalion 4th Marine Regiment 3rd Marine Division
was deployed to an area near
Chu Lai
,
South Vietnam
. Two companies were sent north to
Phu Bai
to secure a small airfield just 8 miles south of
Huế
City.
First contact was made on April 22 southwest of Da Nang with a VC unit. The Marines at Phu Bai made their first contact on April 24. Both sides lost 2 men. These patrols continued until the whole battalion re-deployed back to
Okinawa
on December 24, 1965. In March 1966, the Battalion returned to the Phu Bai, Huế City areas. They participated in company and platoon size patrols and ambushes against the VC in the
Thừa Thiên–Huế Province
till the end of June 1966. At that time the entire Battalion moved north and just south of the
DMZ
, in the Song Ngan River Valley also known as "Helicopter Valley", because of all the helicopters that were shot down with Marines on board. There they participated in
Operation Hastings
which was a multi-battalion operation that ran from July 15 to August 3, 1966. This was the first major Marine campaign against the
North Vietnamese Army
. A total of 8,000 Marines participated in this large operation. It stop the NVA from further advancing into South Vietnam.
In August the 3/4 was back in Phu Bai again running patrols and ambushes in search and destroy missions. Early September the battalion moved its HQ 55 miles north to
Dong Ha
. On September 22, 1966 the battalion was again in action against the 324B NVA Division in
Operation Prairie
which ran from August 3 to October 27, 1966.
At the end of 1966 the 4th Marine Regiment was pulled out of the DMZ and sent south to participate in Operation Chinook around Huế.
On January 31, 1967
Operation Prairie II
started. On February 27 L/3/4 and a tank platoon was involved in a battle near Hill 48 to save a recon team that ran into a NVA Regiment. On the 28th other Marine companies including M/3/4 were brought in for ground operation. Prairie II ended on March 18, but
Operation Prairie III
started the next day. The battalion was pulled back to regroup and rebuild. For the next couple of months the battalion worked Route 9 guarding lines near
Cam Lo
,
The Rockpile
and
Camp Carroll
, which was the largest concentration of artillery pieces in northern I Corp. July and parts of August it was time for the battalion to spend time in the "Barrel",
Con Thien
. On September 4 the Battalion was ambushed just south of Con Thien with heavy casualties. Again 3/4 was pulled back for rebuilding. Some of the other major operations in 1967 were
Operation Hickory
and Operation Kingfisher
near
Con Thien
in the western area of
Leatherneck Square
. In the latter part of 1967 and in January 1968, 3/4 also participate in
Operation Kentucky
. Other operations the Battalion participate in 1968 were
Operation Lancaster II
,
Operation Scrotum
and
Operation Robin South
along Route 9 and near
Khe Sanh
.
After November 6, 1968, the 3/4 was the last infantry battalion of the 3rd Marine Division left in South Vietnam. On November 24, 1969 the battalion sailed from Vietnam to Okinawa
.
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