Operation PiranhaUS Military Operation in Vietnam.
7 September - 9 September 1965
Operation Piranha, a search and destroy follow-up to operation Starlite aimed at the remnants of the 1st VC Regiment, begins. Its secondary purpose was to shut down reported places of entry for a VC network of seaborne infiltration. MAG-16 used 40 UH-34Ds to assault 3/7 Marines into LZ Oak, four miles inland from the amphibious landing by 1/7 Marines. This assault took three hours. Then 16 UH-34D's went to Quang Ngai and began shuttling two South Vietnamese battalions (2/4 Inf Bn and 3d VNMC Bn) into LZ Birch and Pine escorted by four Army gunships. At these LZs, the Marine helicopters received fire but it was not serious.
By 0500 on the morning of 7 September , all amphibious forces were in position with the exception of the reserve Battalion of Marines which arrived later in the day. From 0555 to 0615 Marine Air strafed the landing beach, and a single A-4 laid a smoke screen. Eight F-4s and four A-4s dropped "Daisy Cutter" bombs to prep the helicopter landing zones. The first waves of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines landed at 0635 with the entire Battalion ashore within 20 minutes.
The 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines was heli-lifted to their objective four miles to the west of LtCol. Kelley's Marines on the beach, the Marines encountered no opposition and completed the helilift in less than three hours. After inserting the Marines the helicopters moved the Vietnamese troops to their landing zones. Two of the Marine helicopteers were hit by ground fire, as the Vietnamese troops moved out the firing stopped.
During the three day operation, only the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines found a significant number of the enemy. On 8 September, a VC field hospital was discovered in a large Cave. The Marines captured four prisoners but then came under fire from other VC in the cave. Eventually explosives were placed in the cave and after the detonation the Marines counted 66 bodies inside. They also found medical supplies, some small arms, and ammunition.
The next day, the Marines found a large VC force in a cave which they blew after attempting to convince the enemy to surrender. They counted 66 VC bodies in the cave. Sadly two Marines died of oxygen starvation in the same cave. Casualties: US 2 KIA, 14 WIA; ARVN 5 KIA, 33 WIA; VC 183 KIA and 360 POWs.
VC/NVA KIA's: 183 POW's: 360
US KIA's: 2 US WIA's: 14
ARVN KIA's: 5 ARVN WIA's: 33
Primary Sources:http://www.marzone.com/7thMarines/Hst0102.htmhttp://www.duprel.com/usmcgeocitiespaid/piranha.htmlhttp://www.3rdmarines.net/Vietnam_Operations_by_Name.htm"The Rise and Fall of an American Army: U.S. Ground Forces in Vietnam, 1965-1973" by Shelby L. Stanton
Good Hunting
MR
