JULY 1968 - AUGUST 1968

(RIGHT) A Company 1/61 arrives in DaNang as rockets hit the airbase. An airstrike is going in as they disembark.

The deployment of the 1st BDE 5th DIV to VIETNAM during the summer of 1968 was by air to DaNang for most troops and by sea for the heavy equipment. Vehicles and CONEX containers filled with weapons, spare parts, and other necessities went ashore at Wunder Beach under the watchful eye of the 159th Transportation Company. (It has been said that if one knew where to dig, containers of spare parts hidden under the sand at the beach can still be found.)
Most of the troops, after landing at DaNang early in July 1968, were trucked to Wonder Beach to link-up with their vehicles. With the Logistics Over The Shore (LOTS) operation completed, the BN was ready to move.
The BDE was placed under the Operational Control (OPCON) of the 3rd Marine Division and the BN, for tactical purposes, became an asset of the USMC. Initially setting up in and around Camp Carroll, in August 1968 the BN was ready for combat in the area south of the DMZ.
USMC attention was focused to the west. Operation PEGASUS (the relief of Khe Sanh by the 1st AIR CAV) was complete but USMC battalions were still working in the far western parts of the area. As a result, many operations along the DMZ, from the beach to west of Con Tien, included units of the 1st BDE, 5th DIV (MECH). Elements of the Brigade worked at various times with the 3rd, 4th and 9th Marine Battalions of the Third Marine Division.