Vietnam War: Operation Dewey Canyon

By Marc Bernstein | Vietnam  | 4 comments  |  Print This Post  |  Email This Post

By the first of March, Operation Dewey Canyon had met its most important objectives. The NVA was forced deeper into Laos, and a large quantity of enemy equipment and supplies were captured and destroyed. Among other items, the Marines had seized 12 122mm and four 85mm artillery pieces. Now it was time to begin the retraction of the 9th Marines and their supporting elements. The plan originally called for 2/9 to be airlifted to Vandegrift on March 3, followed by the other battalions and the artillery on succeeding days. But once again the weather intervened. Also, the 9th Marines were tasked with extracting SOG forces from Laos and destroying additional enemy weapons caches. Although the retraction of 2/9 was accomplished as originally conceived, everything else was delayed. It wasn’t until March 17 that all of 3/9 could be lifted out of the area of operations. On March 18, 1/9 was extracted from Tam Boi after fending off a mortar-supported company-strength NVA attack before dawn that morning. The helicopters transporting 1/9 were under constant enemy mortar and anti-aircraft fire, but none were lost. At 2000 hours on March 18, the last helicopter landed at Vandegrift and Operation Dewey Canyon came to an official end.

In the long history of the Vietnam War, Dewey Canyon stands as one of the most successful American operations. Casualties, however, were heavy for both sides. Officially, 1,617 NVA were reported killed and five captured, while 130 Marines were killed and 920 wounded. The Marines had effectively disrupted a major enemy logistical center in Base Area 611, including in their total haul more than 1,000 NVA small arms, some 807,000 rounds of ammunition and about 220,000 pounds of rice. Marine fixed-wing aircraft flew 461 close air support missions, and Marine helicopters flew nearly 1,200 sorties. U.S. Army helicopters also flew numerous sorties in support of the Marines. The artillery fired about 134,000 rounds during the operation. This expenditure of effort proved worth the cost, as NVA plans for a big 1969 spring offensive in the I Corps Tactical Zone were derailed and, in fact, the Communists could launch no such offensive in the northern provinces that entire year. A major enemy attempt to strike at the population centers east of Base Area 611 had been forestalled by Dewey Canyon.

Praise for the Marine effort was quick in coming. General Stilwell declared: “Dewey Canyon deserves some space in American military history by sole reason of audacity, guts and magnificent inter-service team play. A Marine regiment of extraordinary cohesion, skill in mountain warfare, and plain heart made Dewey Canyon a resounding success. As an independent regimental operation, projected 50 kilometers airline from the nearest base and sustained in combat for seven weeks, it may be unparalleled. Without question, the 9th Marines’ performance represents the very essence of professionalism.”

Several years after the operation and by then commanding general at Parris Island, Colonel Barrow, addressed his fellow Marines at a Dewey Canyon reunion. He recalled “weather was the factor of greatest influence during Dewey Canyon. It was completely unpredictable from day-to-day and within a day. Extremely thick and low cloud cover and ground fog were common conditions. We were totally dependent on helicopters and they, in turn, on good weather.” So, while at times the operation was critically slowed by weather conditions, Barrow pointed out that “the support of Dewey Canyon from within and from without was magnificent….The artillery, in a word, was superb. Helicopter support from the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and the 101st Airborne Division was outstanding. Fixed-wing aircraft support and the B-52s made a great contribution.”

In addition, Barrow contended that surprise was a key element in the operation: “It appears that the enemy had deceived himself into believing that U.S. forces would not be so bold as to enter that remote area of Dewey Canyon. We didn’t deceive him, he deceived himself, as his actions revealed….That we did what we did was a complete surprise to the enemy, a fact borne out by the enormous quantities of ammunition, weapons, and supplies captured or destroyed.”

Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to

Tags: Historical Conflicts, Vietnam War

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.