MarineUnits:  Task Force X-Ray;  3/5th Marines, 1/5Marines, and H 2/5 Marines.
NVA/VC Units:  2nd NVA Division, 3rd NVA Regiment and the 1st Viet Cong Regiment.

4 September 1967
"Battle of Dong Son/Chau Lam."

Companies Delta and Bravo 1/5 encounter heavy resistance near the hamlets of Dong Son and Chau Lam, eight miles east of Thang Binh. As the fighting increases in intensity, companies Mike and Kilo 3/5 are sent in as reinforcements. Marine Casualties:  54 KIA, 104 WIA. NVA/VC Casualties:  130 KIAs.

5-7 September 1967

Companies Delta and Bravo 1/5 again engage a large enemy force, this time at Vinh Huy,
approximately 12 miles southwest of Thang Binh. Marine losses are 35 KIA and 92 WIA. Losses for the for the 1st Viet Cong Regiment are 61 KIAs.

6 September 1967
"Battle of Hill 43"

Companies India and Kilo 3/5 wage a fierce battle for Hill 43, approximately nine miles southwest of Thang Binh. Marines;  34 KIA and 109 WIA. NVA/VC;  88 KIA.
SWIFT;  Marines;  127 KIA and 362 WIA. NVA/VC;  517 KIA, 8 POWs.

Headquarters
3rd Battalion, 5th Marines
1st Marine Division (Rein), FMF
FPO, San Francisco, California, 96602

27 March 1968

From: Commanding Officer
   To: Marines and Navymen of this Battalion
   Subj: Letter of Appreciation
  It has been my great privilege to have been in command of this battalion for the past seven months.   Now I must turn over command to my successor, and move on to another assignment. I cannot leave   without telling you how I feel about you Marines and Navymen, my shipmates.

  Since I joined on 7 September 1967, the battalion, or elements of it, have fought in Operations SWIFT,   SHELBYVILLE, ESSEX, DENVER, BAXTER, JUNCTION, AUBURN, many No-Names, the TET   Offensive, HUE CITY, HOUSTON, and many others.

  During this time you have killed 739 enemy soldiers, probably killed another 518, and captured 105   enemy, and many weapons. You have fought day and night in the rice paddies, in the mountains, in the   villages and city. You have fought in the unbelievable summer heat, the bone chilling winter, the driving   monsoon rains. You have been mortared, gassed, grenaded, rocketed, mined, booby-trapped, machine   gunned, sniped at, even attacked hand-to-hand.

  Many times you have been ordered to attack a numerically superior dug-in force. You have been
  required to patrol in exceedingly hazardous situations with under strength squads and fire teams. You   have made helicopter assaults into hot landing zones. You have fought -- or will fight -- for almost  thirteen straight months with only a short R&R, or hospitalization from wounds as a break.

  You have fought without flight pay, jump pay, submarine pay, air crew pay, diver's pay, extra incentive   pay, per diem, or any other fancy pay. You have fought and, like Marines and their attached Navy   shipmates for the last 193 years, you have never failed to take the objective, repulse every attack, or to   go where you were ordered. No rockets were ever fired from the area you patrolled. You spoiled the   enemy's TET attack against Danang. You cornered the Viet Cong's R-20 Battalion and destroyed it.   You attacked and defeated the 31st Regiment of the 2nd NVA Division inflicting very heavy casualties on the enemy.

  You are members of a combat-proven battalion of an illustrious regiment which received its initiation to   war at Belleau Wood, and has fought in almost all our Corps' battles since. You have carried your   responsibility to our Corps superbly, and added new honors to our colors.

  I want to tell each of you how proud I am to have served with you. You responded magnificently to   every demand placed on you. You have never faltered. You always won. You make me very, very   proud to be a United States Marine."

W.K. Rockey