The 1st Cavalry Division went home in 1965, but only long enough to be reorganized and be reequipped for a new mission. On 01 July 1965, the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) was officially activated pursuant to General Order 185, Headquarters Third U.S. Army, and was made up of the resources of the 11th Air Assault Division (Test), the 10th Air Transport Brigade and the 2nd Infantry Division. On 03 July 1965, in Doughboy Stadium at Fort Benning, Georgia the colors of the 11th Air Assault Division (Test) were cased and retired. As the band played the rousing strains of GarryOwen, the colors of the 1st Cavalry Division were moved onto the field and were passed to the commander of the former 11th Air Assault Division (Test), Major General Harry William Osborne Kinnard.
In a surprise of major proportions the brand new 1st Cavalry Division was ordered to Vietnam beginning 28 July 1965. In a matter of three and half weeks the newly formed division, organized into a 16,000 man division along the lines of the 11th Air Assault Division (Test) with a total of 434 helicopters, was prepared to enter combat, the ultimate test of its capabilities. Within 90 days of becoming the Army's first air mobile division, the First Team was back in combat as the first fully committed division of the Vietnam War.
Beginning on August 14, for six days, an advance party of 1,030 officers and men left from Robins Airforce Base on board C-124s and C-130s. They arrived at Nha Trang between the 19th and 27th of August 1965. They joined with advance liaison forces and established a temporary base camp near An Khe, 36 miles inland from the costal city of Qui Nhon. The remainder of the 1st Cavalry Division was deployed by the Military Sea Transport Service troop ships. A total of six transport ships, four aircraft carriers and seven cargo vessels were employed in the sea lift.
On 15 August, the first ship, USNS Buckler, carrying the 2nd Brigade and an artillery battalion left port. The First Brigade left on the USNS Geiger, the 3rd Brigade left on the USNS Rose. The remainder of the division loaded on the USNS Darby, Patch and Upshure. The 470 aircraft of the division were loaded on the Carriers USNS Kula Gulf, Croaton and Card. The USS Boxer had a total of 239 aircraft; fifty seven Chinooks (CH-47s), four Flying Cranes (CH-54s), six Mohawks (OV-1s), fifty UH-1s, and one hundred twenty-two OH-13s.
Four weeks at sea provided little idle time. Additional training, preparation for jungle warfare and physical fitness drills filled the days. On 13 September, the majority of the division celebrated its 44th anniversary on the high seas. On the following day the USNS Buckler, with the 2nd Brigade, arrived and dropped anchor at the harbor of Qui Nhon. On 14 September, combat elements closed on An Khe base.
In the Oriental calendar year of the "Horse", mounted soldiers had returned to war wearing the famous and feared patch of the First Cavalry Division. The First Team had entered its third war - and the longest tour of duty in combat history. Although the division supported the 101st Brigade with air and ground combat elements on 19 September in Operation "Gibralter", the official date for the First Cavalry Division to assume complete responsibility for defense of the An Khe and the surrounding tactical area of operations was 28 September.
On 10 October 1965, in Operation "Shiny Bayonet",the First Team initiated their first brigade-size airmobile action against the enemy. The air assault task force consisted of the 1st and 2nd Battalions 7th Cavalry, 1st Squadron 9th Cavalry, 1st Battalion 12th Cavalry and the 1st Battalion 21st Artillery. Rather than standing and fighting, the Viet Cong chose to disperse and slip away. Only light contact was achieved. The troopers had but a short wait before they faced a tougher test of their fighting skills; the 35-day Pleiku Campaign.
On 23 October 1965, the first real combat test came at the historic order of General Westmoreland to send the First Team into an air assault mission to pursue and fight the enemy across 2,500 square miles of jungle. Troopers of the 1st Brigade and 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry swooped down on the NVA 33rd regiment before it could get away from Plei Me. The enemy regiment was scattered in the confusion and was quickly smashed.
On 09 November, the 3rd Brigade joined the fighting. Five days later, on 14 November, the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, reinforced by elements of the 2nd Battalion, air assaulted into the Ia Drang Valley near the Chu Pong Massif. Landing Zone (LZ) X-Ray was "hot" from the start. At LZ X-Ray, the Division's first medal of honor in the Vietnam War was awarded to 2nd Lt. Walter J. Marm of the 1st Battalion 7th Cavalry. On 16 November, the remainder of the 2nd Battalion relieved the 1st Battalion at LZ X-Ray, who moved on to set up blocking positions at LZ Albany. The fighting, the most intensive combat in the history of the division, from bayonets, used in hand-to-hand combat, to artillery and tactical air support, including B-52 bombing attacks in the areas of the Chu Pong Mountains, dragged on for three days. With the help of reinforcements and overwhelming firepower, the 1st and 2nd Battalions forced the North Vietnamese to withdraw into Cambodia.
When the Pleiku Campaign ended on 25 November, troopers of the First Team had paid a heavy price for its success, having lost some 300 troopers killed in action, half of them in the disastrous ambush of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, at LZ Albany. The troopers destroyed two of three regiments of a North Vietnamese Division, earning the first Presidential Unit Citation given to a division in Vietnam. The enemy had been given their first major defeat and their carefully laid plans for conquest had been torn apart.
The 1st Cavalry Division returned to its original base of operations at An Khe on Highway 19. Soon, the intelligence sections recommended a return to the Western Highlands early in 1966 in hopes of encountering the enemy reassembling in the unpopulated jungles. However a new threat emerged in the Province of Binh Dinh, a region of abrupt mountains and populated costal plains. The ARVN 22nd Division, responsible for that area, was spread thin in trying to keep Highway 19 open and secure. The intelligence staff of the 1st Cavalry Division had confirmed that the Vietcong Main Force 2nd Regiment and North Vietnamese 18th and 19th Regiments were operating in the area. These three regiments comprised the NVA Division, known as the "Sao Vang" Division.
On 25 January 1966, following the truce for the Tet holiday and Lunar New Year, "Masher/White Wing", which were the code names for the missions of the 3rd Brigade in Binh Dinh Province, began. The 3rd Brigade gathered their gear and weapons and began to move by highway and air to staging areas in Eastern Binh Dinh Province. The opening of phase of the mission included the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 12th Cavalry Regiment as well as the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry - a reconnaissance unit of helicopter gunships. The 1st Squadron, 9th Regiment reconnoitered ahead of the convey and along both sides of the road, searching for potential ambushes.
On 28 January, Operation "Masher", the first phase, began, The 3rd Brigade assaulted North of Bong San and LZ Dog and soon encountered heavy resistance by the NVA. Contact by the enemy deminished in the first two days of February as the North Vietnamese continued their withdrawal to the North and West. In the first week of combat, the division had lost 77 troopers and the enemy losses amounted to an estimated 1,350 KIA. Two Battalions of the NVA 22nd Regiment had been rendered ineffective.
On 07 February, Operation "White Wing" began the second phase of the "search and destroy" mission, On 16 February, following heavy enemy engagement, the battle weary 3rd Brigade, returned to the division's home base of An Khe and was replaced in the field by the 1st Brigade. While the 1st Brigade took patrolling in the valleys around LZ Bird, the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 5th Cavalry and 2nd Battalion, 12th, of the 2nd Brigade encircled the "Iron Triangle", the regimental headquarters of the NVA. Aided by artillery and air support, the three battalions continued fighting for four days against a tenacious enemy defense that finally collapsed after a B-52 strike.
On 01 March, the final phase of "White Wing" commenced, moving into the jungle covered Cay Giep Mountains. B-52s blasted openings in the thick jungle canopy, permitting engineer teams to descend from helicopters in order to clear out landing zones for the 2nd Brigade. Sweeping down the slopes of the Cay Giep Mountains, the 2nd Brigade encountered little resistance as the main body of the 6th and 18th Battalions of the NVA had fled, departing two days before following the first air assault.
On 06 March 1966, Operation "Masher/White Wing" ended and was by all tactical measures. was prounced a military success with the enemy losing its grip on the Binh Dinh Province; however, its name would be heard again and again during the next six years. The 1st Cavalry Division had once again made an effective use of mobility and firepower. Helicopters airlifted entire infantry battalions a total of seventy-eight times and moved artillery batteries fifty-five times. In forty-one days of enemy contact, the 1st Cavalry Division, clashed with all three regiments of the Sao Vang Division and rendered five of nine battalions ineffective for combat.
On 16 May, Operation "Crazy Horse", another search and destroy mission began in the jungle hills between Suoi Ca and Vinh Thanah valleys. Initial contact was made by Company "B", 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry. Soon the entire 1st Brigade was involved in bitter engagements in tall elephant grass and heavily canopied jungle. Once the enemy was surrounded, all available firepower was concentrated on the area. The Viet Cong regiment was hit with artillery, aerial rockets, tactical air strikes by F-4s and bombs from high flying B-52s. Many of the enemy soldiers, trying to flee the devastation, were cut down in Cavalry ambushes. Many important military documents, detailing the Viet Cong infrastructure in Binh Dinh, were discovered.
On 02 August, Operation "Paul Revere II" was commenced for the purposes of denying areas of the rich rice fields to the famished Viet Cong. Significant contact with the enemy did not occur until 08 August, at LZ Juliett. Company "A", 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry came under heavy fire from a reenforced enemy battalion. In several hours of intense fighting, Alpha Company turned back repeated mass attacks. Timely artillery and air strikes eliminated the opportunity for the enemy to surround the Skytroopers. The roar of helicopters from two companies from the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry arriving at LZ Juliett frightened the enemy, causing them to flee.
On 08 August, the advance party of the 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry had departed Peterson Field, Colorado and arrived Qui Nhon on 11 August. The main body of the 5th Battalion departed Fort Carson on 06 August and arrived Qui Nhon on 19 August 1966, joining the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 7th Cavalry, 3rd Brigade in Vietnam.
On 15 August, Operation "Paul Revere II" ended at the battle of Hill 534, on the southern portion of Chu Pong Massif near the Cambodian Border. The Operation had began on 02 August, after Company "A" 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry suddenly ran into a North Vietnamese battalion and Company "B", 2nd Battalion began slugging it out with enemy troops in bunkers. A total of two battalions of Skytroopers were committed to the fight. When it ended the next morning, 138 NVA bodies were counted.
At the end of Paul Revere II, which had killed a total of 861 of the enemy, a task force of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry was organized for Operation "Byrd". The task force was dispatched to Binh Thaun Province, at the southern area of II Corps, to support the Revolutionary Development Program and to bring the long months of Operation "Byrd" to a productive finish.
At that time the heavily populated province of Binh Thaun was almost totaly under the power of two Viet Cong Battalions. The South Vietnamese government controlled little more than the provincial capital, Phan Thiet, a costal town known for its fishermen and its fish sauce manufacturing industry. In 16 months the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry had fanned out from Phan Thiet and cleared the enemy from the populous "triangle" area that stretched North and West of Phan Thgiet. They also cleared provincial roads that had been closed by the Viet Cong. Most significantly, the troopers reopened Highway 1, an action the brought commerce back to life between Phan Thiet and Saigon.
On 13 September, Operation "Thayer I" began. It was one of the largest air assaults launched by the 1st Cavalry Division. Its mission was to rid Binh Dinh Province of NVA and VC soldiers and the political infrastructure of the Viet Cong. On 16 September, troopers of the 1st Brigade discovered an enemy regimental hospital, a factory for making grenades, antipersonnel mines and a variety of weapons. On 19 September, elements of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry traded fire with two NVA combat support companies.
In the opening phases of Operation "Thayer I", enemy elements of the 7th and 8th battalions, 18th North Vietnamese Army Regiment had been reported in the village of Hoa Hoi. The 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, in the face of strong heavy resistance, deployed to encircle the village. On 02 October, "B" Company was the first to be air assaulted into the landing area 300 meters east of the village. Immediately, the units came under intense small arms and mortar fire. "A" Company landed to the southwest and began a movement northeast to the village. In the meantime, "C" Company landed north of the village and began moving south. By this time "A" and "B" Companies had linked up and established positions which prevented the enemy from slipping out of the village during the night.
During the course of the evening, "A" and "C" Companies, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment were airlifted into an area east of the village to assist in the containment of the enemy. Additional support of artillery forward observers from "A" Battery, 2nd Battalion, 19th Artillery helped as the enemy locations were identified and called in during the night.
In the morning of 03 October, "C" Company, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry and "C" Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry attacked south to drive the remaining enemy forces into "A" and "B" Companies, 12th Cavalry who were braced in strong blocking positions to take the attack. This last action broke the strong resistance of the enemy and mission was completed.
On October 25, Operation "Thayer II" continued the drive of pacification of the Binh Dinh Province. On 01 November troopers of "A" Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry and elements of the 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry became engaged in a sharp fight with the 93rd Battalion and the 2nd Viet Cong Regiment. The action took place in the vicinity of National Route 1 and Dam Tra-O Lake south of the Cay Giep mountains. In Thayer II the enemy suffered a punishing loss of 1,757 killed.
A two day Christmas truce was observed as 1966 was closed out. On 27 December, three NVA battalions from the 22d Regiment used the two-day Christmas truce to move into position for a surprise attack on LZ Bird in the Kim Son Valley which was well away from their usual haunts in the Hoai Nhon Delta area. The three enemy units threw a fierce infantry and mortar at Landing Zone "Bird" in the Kim Son Valley. The LZ was only defended by "C" Company, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry and two artillery batteries, Battery "B", 2nd Battalion, 19th Artillery and Battery "B", 6th Battalion, 16th Artillery, All were understrength. It was within the artillery fan of two other Fire Support Batteries. Initially the weather restricted air support operations. The NVA broke through the perimeter and occupied a few gun positions. The 12th Cavalry troopers fought back hand-to-hand and with everything they had. Finally, some of the 105s were cranked down to pointblank range and "beehive" rounds sliced through the attackers like scythes.
For the next two days, troopers of the 1st Cavalry Division pursued the fleeing NVA and made contact several times. At least 266 NVA died in this battle. Delbert Jennings, C/1/12th Cavalry Regiment earned the Medal of Honor for his valor and would later become the CSM of the 1st Cavalry Division. For their heroic action, "C" Company, 12th Cavalry was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for their action on 27 Dec 1966. Many ARA and armed CH-47 sorties were flown in support of this battle. Not long after this battle, the site at the bend in the river was deemed highly vulnerable and a new LZ BIRD was built on a hogback several miles farther to the east.
On 13 February 1967, Operation "Pershing" began in a territory which was familiar to many skytroopers, the Bong Son Plain in northern Binh Dinh Province. For the first time, the First Cavalry Division committed all three of its divisions to the same battle area. ARVN soldiers familiar with the methods of the Viet Cong operations in the Bong Son Plain helped the skytroopers locate and eliminate the numerous caves and tunnels infiltrated by the enemy. For nearly a year the division scoured the Bong Son Plain, An Lo valley and the hills of costal II Corps, seeking out enemy units and their sanctuaries. Pershing became a tedious, unglamorous mission that produced 18 major engagements and numerous minor skirmishes in the 11 month campaign.
The division began 1968 by terminating Operation "Pershing", the longest of the 1st Cavalry's Vietnam actions. When the operation ended on 21 January, the enemy had lost 5,401 soldiers and 2,400 enemy soldiers had been captured. In addition, some 1,300 individual and 137 crew weapons had been captured or destroyed.
Moving to I Corps, Vietnam's northern most tactical zone, the division set up Camp Evans for their base camp. On January 31 1968, amid the celebration of the Vietnamese New Year, the enemy launched the Tet Offensive, a major effort to overrun South Vietnam. Some 7,000 enemy, well equipped, crack NVA regulars blasted their way into the imperial city of Hue, overpowering all but a few pockets of resistance held by ARVN troops and the U.S. Marines. Within 24 hours, the invaders were joined by 7,000 NVA reinforcements. Almost simultaneously to the North of Hue, five battalions of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong attacked Quang Tri City, the capital of Vietnam's northern province. The Cavalry went on the move with four companies of skytroopers from the 1st Battalions of the 5th and 12th Cavalry who arrived at the village of Thorn An Thai, just east of Quang Tri. Under heavy aerial rocket attack, the enemy quickly broke off the Quang Tri attack, dispersed into small groups and attempted to escape. Quang Tri was liberated within 10 days.
Following fierce fighting at Thorn La Chu, the 3rd Brigade moved toward embattled city of Hue. The southwest wall of the city was soon taken after the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry overcame severe resistance and linked up with the 5th Battalion. At this point, the NVA and Viet Cong invaders were driven from Hue by late February. The Tet offensive was over. The NVA and Viet Cong had suffered a massive defeat, with 32,000 killed and 5,800 captured.
After shattering the enemy's dreams of a Tet victory, the 1st Cavalry Division "Sky-Troopers" initiated Operation "Pegasus" to relieve the 3,500 U.S. Marines and 2,100 ARVN soldiers besieged by nearly 20,000 enemy soldiers. On 01 April 1968, the 3rd Brigade, making a massive air assault within 5 miles of Khe Sanh, were soon followed by the 1st and 2nd Brigades and three ARVN Battalions. Company "A", 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry led the way, followed by Company "C", 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry. After four days of tough fighting, they marched into Khe Sanh to take over the defense of the battered base. Pursing the retreating North Vietnamese, the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry recaptured the Special Forces camp at Lang Vei uncovering large stockpiles of supplies and ammunition. The final statistics of Operation "Pegasus" were 1,259 enemy killed and more than 750 weapons captured.
On April 19 1968, Operation "Delaware" was launched into the cloud-shrouded A Shau Valley, near the Laotian border and 45 kilometers west of Hue. None of the Free World Forces had been in the valley since 1966, which was now being used as a way station on the supply route known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The first engagement was made by the 1st and 3rd Brigades. Under fire from mobile, 37 mm cannon and 0.50 caliber machine guns, they secured several landing zones. For the next month the brigades scoured the valley floor, clashing with enemy units and uncovering huge enemy caches of food, arms, ammunition, rockets, and Russian made tanks and bulldozers. By the time that Operation "Delaware" was ended on 17 May, the favorite Viet Cong sanctuary had been thoroughly disrupted.
On 27 June, as part of Operation JEB STUART III, the 3rd Squadron, 5th (Armored) Cavalry, 9th Infantry Division operating under the control of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, had been assigned the mission of securing the Wunder Beach Complex and the access road to Highway 1, not far from Camp Evans. At 0900 hours "C" Troop, 3rd Squadron, 5th (Armored) Cavalry and "D" Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry came under Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) fire as they were engaged in a detailed search of an area known as "The Street Without Joy". As an indication of a battle to come, the residents of the nearby seacoast village of Binah An, Quan Tri Province, began to flee the area. In the attempt to detain and question the villagers, a NVA solder, hiding among the crowd, was captured and interrogated. He revealed that the entire 814th NVA Infantry Battalion was in the village. "A" and "B" Troops of the 3rd Squadron, 5th Cavalry along with "D" Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry closed on the village, joining "C" Troop, 3rd Squadron. There was no good way of the enemy to escape during daylight hours due to the clear view and superior firepower of the surrounding forces.
In addition to the control fire directed at the enemy in the village, additional firepower of aerial rocket and Marine artillery, from Quang Tri, was made available along with Tactical Air Control (TAC) aircraft from Da Nang and a naval destroyer, with five inch guns, offshore. In the next seven hours, all of the firepower pounded the enemy to reduce the position of the enemy. During the afternoon, "D" Company, 1st and "C" Company, 2nd Battalions, 5th Cavalry, airlifted into an adjacent LZ and closed on the village. Due to the possibility of the enemy infiltrating the lines during the night, it was decided to overrun the position of the enemy and destroy their capability for effective operations during the night. The guided missile cruiser USS BOSTON arrived at dusk and in an all night bombardment her basic load of eight inch shells were exhausted. It was a nervous night for the enemy soldiers within the tight cordon. Unorganized, some of the survivors attempted individual escapes and were soon rounded up with tanks having turret mounted searchlights and two swift Navy patrol boats operating close to the shoreline. At 0930 hours, the next morning, a final assault was made on the enemy. In the after battle assessment, two hundred thirty-three of the 814th NVA Infantry Battalion were KIA and forty-four were taken as Prisoners of War (POW) with the 5th Cavalry units experiencing only three causalities. (Editor's Note: This was the first time that lineage elements of the original "A", "B" and "C" Troops, 5th Cavalry Regiment had fought as a consolidated unit since 1943 in World War II.
In late 1968, the Division moved and set up operations in III Corps at the west end of South Vietnam. The First Team established Division Headquarters at Phouc Vinh, assuming control and mission responsibility in four provinces; Phouc Long, Binh Long, Tay Ninh and Binh Duong. The beginning of 1969 found the First Cavalry Division and the ARVN forces engaged in Operation "Toan Thhang II". The first three weeks of operation netted the skytroopers one of the largest caches of munitions found in the Vietnam War.
In February 1969, Operation "Cheyenne Sabre" with the mission to straddle and cut enemy infiltration routes began in areas northeast of Bien Hoa. The rest of the summer was relative calm - until the night of 12 August. The VC threw simultaneous attacks against Quan Lai, LZBecky, LZJon, LZKelly and LZCaldwell. The VC were thrown back, experiencing heavy losses as they fled in retreat. In the final months of 1969, the First Team stymied enemy infiltration along the roads, trails and narrow paths of the "Serges Jungle Highway" which was hidden beneath the canopy of heavy jungle growth. The year 1969 ended in a high note for the 1st Cavalry Division. The enemy's domination of the northern areas of III Corps had been smashed - thoroughly.
On 01 May 1970, the First Team was "First into Cambodia" hitting what was previously a Communist sanctuary. President Nixon has given the go-ahead for the surprise mission. Pushing into the "Fish Hook" region of the border and occupying the towns of Mimot and Snoul, troopers scattered the enemy forces, depriving them of much needed supplies and ammunition. On 08 May, the troopers of the 2nd Brigade found an enemy munitions base that they dubbed "Rock Island East". Ending on 30 June, the mission to Cambodia far exceeded all expectations and proved to be one of the most successful operations of the First Team. All aspects of ground and air combat had been utilized. The enemy had lost enough men to field three NVA divisions and enough weapons to equip two divisions. A years supply of rice and corn had been seized. The troopers and the ARVN soldiers had found uncommonly large quantities of ammunition, including 1.5 millions rounds for small arms, 200,000 antiaircraft rounds and 143,000 rockets, mortar rounds and recoilless rifle rounds. The sweeps turned up 300 trucks, a Porsche sports car and a plush Mercedes-Benz sedan.
The campaign had severe political repercussions in the United States for the Nixon Administration. Pressure was mounting to remove America's fighting men from the Vietnam War. Although there would be further assault operations, the war was beginning to wind down for many troopers.
In July 1970, the 1st Cavalry Division continued the task of clearing the remaining NVA combat elements from the area of III Corps north, east and west of Saigon. Much of this action was supported from firebases which were able to provide field combat units a self directed protective coverage of firepower to their identified targets over a wide area of remote operations. In addition, most firebases were located close enough so that they could direct protective fire support on each other's perimeter if necessary. Typical artillery support was performed by the "B" Battery, 1st Battalion, 30th Artillery out of Firebase "Moe", a one battalion sized firebase, located in Song Be Province northwest of Saigon approximately two kilometers from the Cambodian border. In addition to other elements, the firebase was equipped with the medium artillery platoon consisting of three 155 Howitzers and staffed by a platoon leader, an XO, a fire control officer, and 50 troopers. The 155 Howitzer, although not state-of-the-art, was a useful heavy weapon in the Vietnam jungle because it could be easily airlifted by a Chinook helicopter and dropped into a new clearing to easily setup a new firebase.
The efforts of the 1st Cavalry Division were not limited to direct enemy engagements but also, using the experiences gained during the occupation of Japan and Korea, encompassed the essential rebuilding of the war torn country of South Vietnam. As a result of its' gallant performance, the regiment was awarded two presidential Unit Citations and the Valorous Unit Citation.