Fallon, Michael O. Hill 119

Defending a Reconnaissance Marines' OP, Vietnam 1969-70

The marines and medics of Delta Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division were surrounded by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) for 600 days in 1969 and 1970 during the Vietnam War. Hill 119 is a hill on a headland. It is located 28 kilometres south of Da Nang and overlooks the Thu Bon River valley and Go Noi Island. The hill offered the Marines an excellent 360-degree view of the region known as Indian Country and was therefore occupied as an observation post. Its original mission was to support Operation Taylor Common, the Task Force Yankee's push westward into General Binh's Base Area 112. The observation post achieved immediate results by inflicting casualties on the NVA with support from other branches of the military. Due to its immediate and sustained success as a tactical obstacle to the NVA, the OP became an important element in the defence of the strategically important area around Da Nang. The Marines requested support from other branches of the military day and night. They fired a hail of bullets at the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), killing over a thousand enemy soldiers. They posed such a threat that General Binh ordered his elite T89 engineer battalion to eliminate the reconnaissance marines on Hill 119. During this time, each reconnaissance marine, as part of a six-man team, conducted several adrenaline-fuelled patrols in small teams deep in enemy territory for six weeks and then served two weeks at the observation post. Despite the danger, the Marines considered service at the observation post a relaxing break. This first complete account of Hill 119, written by historian Michael Fallon, who served as leader of the reconnaissance patrol on Hill 119, is based on eyewitness accounts from the reconnaissance Marines, carefully cross-referenced with patrol reports and command chronicles. It covers the Marines' experiences in the bush, on the hill and in the hinterland. The role of the new battalion commanders with their changing tactics is discussed: The six officers shaped the battalion both through their personalities and through their planning and execution of constantly changing missions in the face of an ever-changing enemy situation, from classic keyhole snoop and poop patrols to aggressive stingray patrols aimed at inflicting casualties.