1st Battalion 9th Marines - History - Vietnam War

Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War, the unit earned the name "The Walking Dead" for its high casualty rate. The battalion endured the longest sustained combat and suffered the highest killed in action (KIA) rate in Marine Corps history, especially during the Battle of July Two. The battalion was engaged in combat for 47 months and 7 days, from 15 June 1965 to 19 October 1966 and 11 December 1966 to 14 July 1969. Based on a typical battalion strength of 800 Marines and Navy hospital corpsmen, 93.63% (747) were Killed In Action (KIA) and 0.25% (2) were Missing In Action (MIA).

1/9 participated in the following operations during the Vietnam War:

  • Blastout I August 65
  • Golden Fleece Sep–Oct 65
  • County Fair Sep–Dec 65
  • Rice Straw Oct–Nov 65
  • Independence February 1966
  • Ky Lam Campaign May 1966
  • Liberty July 1966
  • Macon Jul–Oct 1966
  • Deckhouse V January 1967
  • Prairie II Feb–Mar 1967
  • Chinook II Feb–Apr 1967
  • Operation Beacon Hill Mar–Apr 1967
  • Operation Prairie III Mar–Apr 1967
  • Operation Prairie IV Apr–May 1967
  • Operation Cimarron Jun–Jul 1967
  • Buffalo July 1967
  • Fremont Jul–Oct 1967 (became Neosha)
  • Operation Kentucky November 1967–Feb 1969
  • Neosho November 1967–January 1968
  • Scotland November 1967–March 1968
  • Checkers December 1967–January 1968
  • Ballistic Armor January 1968
  • Dai Do April–May 1968
  • Kentucky Apr–Jun 1968
  • Lancaster July 1968
  • Scotland II Apr–Sep 1968
  • sdale Aug–Sep 1968
  • Pegasus/LamSon 207 April 1968 26th Mar
  • July Action July 1968
  • Dawson River November 1968–January 1969
  • Dawson River South January 1969
  • Dawson River West January 1969
  • Dewey Canyon January–March 1969
  • Apache Snow May–June 1969
  • Utah Mesa June-Jul
  • Cameron Falls JunAug 1969
  • Direct Combat Support 19–21 May 1971
  • Heroic Action 11 May 1972
  • Song Thanh 5-72 13 May 1972
  • Song Thanh 6-72 24 May 1972
  • ReadyOp 27-June 1972
  • LamSon 72(I) 29 June 1972
  • LamSon 72 (II) 11 July 1972
  • Frequent Wind 20–30 April 1975

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    “That’s just the trouble, Sam Houston—it’s always my move. And damnit, I sometimes can’t tell whether I’m making the right move or not. Now take this Vietnam mess. How in the hell can anyone know for sure what’s right and what’s wrong, Sam?”
    —Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)

    “... in any war a victory means another war, and yet another, until some day inevitably the tides turn, and the victor is the vanquished, and the circle reverses itself, but remains nevertheless a circle.”
    —Pearl S. Buck (1892–1973)