Operation Meade River, 1968
PFC Richard Villareal, left, and Lance Corp. K.D. Johnson Jr. of E Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, relieved of their wet and muddy boots eat their C rations while in a blocking position 10 miles south of Da Nang. The battalion is on southeast portion of a 15-mile cricle which surrounds two North Vietnamese Army Battalions. The marines are part of Operation Meade River, a cordon and search operation conducted by several regiments of the 1st Marine Div. and the South Vietnamese army. The operation - which started November 20th and would end December 9th - had American Marines and South Vietnamese troops 7,000 strong systematically tightened a 15-mile circle in the "Dodge City" area south of Da Nang where between 200 and 900 VC and NVA were holed up in caves and dugouts. The nickname was given due to frequent ambushes, firefights and rocket attacks on U.S. troops. Apart from eliminating those threats, one of the cordon's other objectives was to kill or capture the estimated 150 Communist administrators [politicians] operating around Dien Ban.
