Operation Buffalo was an operation during the Vietnam War that took place in the vicinity of Con Thien, Republic of Vietnam from 1 - 14 July, 1967. The battle was fought between units of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and United States Marine Corps. The operation ended with Marine casualties at 159 killed in action (KIA) and 345 wounded in action (WIA) and NVA casualties at 1,290 killed and an undetremined number woundedext.
text.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 June 15, 1965 to October 19, 1966 and December 11, 1966 to July 14, 1969. 1/9 sustained casualties during its entire Vietnam service. Based on a typical battalion strength of 800 Marines and Navy hospital corpmen, 93.63% (747) were Killed In Action (KIA) and 0.25% (2) were Missing In Action (MIA).
1/9 participated in the following operation during the Vietnam War:
Blastout I Aug 65
Golden Fleece Sep-Oct 65
County Fair Sep-Dec 65
Rice Straw Oct-Nov 65
Independence Feb 66
Ky Lam Campaign May 66
Liberty Jul 66
Macon Jul-Oct 66
Deckhouse V January 1967
Prairie II Feb-Mar 67
Chinook II Feb-Apr 67
Beacon Hill Mar-Apr 67
Prairie III Mar-Apr 67
Prairie IV Apr-May 67
Cimarron Jun-Jul 67
Buffalo July 1967
Fremont Jul-Oct 67 (became Neosha)
Kentucky Nov 67-Feb 69
Neosho Nov 67-Jan 68
Scotland November 1967 - March 68
Checkers Dec 67-Jan 68
Ballistic Armor Jan 68
Dai Do Apr-May 68
Pegasus/LamSon 207 Apr 68 26th Mar
July Action Jul 68
Dawson River Nov 68-Jan 69
Dawson River South Jan 69
Dawson River West Jan 69
Dewey Canyon January - March 1969
Apache Snow May-Jun 69
Utah Mesa Jun-Jul
Cameron Falls JunAug 69
Direct Combat Support 19-21May71
Heroic Action 11-May-72
Song Thanh 5-72 13-May-72
Song Thanh 6-72 24-May-72
ReadyOp 27-Jun-72
LamSon 72(I) 29-Jun-72
LamSon 72 (II) 11-Jul-72
Frequent Wind 20-30 April 1975
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The Battle of July 1967 Two was a short engagement of the Vietnam War that took place along Route 561 between Gia Binh and An Kha, during Operation Buffalo.
Leading up to this battle, the North Vietnamese Army was reported to have moved back into the area northeast of Con Thien, so A and B Companies of the 1st Battalion 9th Marines were sent out to counter the North Vietnamese.
On the morning of July 2, 1967, the two companies made their way up north and secured a crossroad as their first objective. As they went further north, they made contact with the elements of the North Vietnamese 90th Regiment when sniper fire began to burst, enemy fire intensified as efforts were made by the 3rd platoon to suppress it. The North Vietnamese Army, using mortar and small arms fire, caused heavy casualties on the A and B Companies and prevented them from linking up.
Airstrikes disrupted North Vietnamese attempts to "hug" the 1st platoon, allowing the 1st platoon and the battered 2nd platoon to link up. The 1st Battalion commander, LtCol Richard Schening, sent out a small rescue force involving the C and D Companies. Using helicopter and tank fire to disperse enemy troops, D Company was able to secure the helicopter landing zone for the evacuation of casualties. C Company then continued to move north under heavy fire to rescue what was left of the two companies.
When the fighting ended, the Marines had suffered 84 dead, 190 wounded and 34 missing. Alpha and Bravo Companies were badly mauled during the battle.
