NATIONAL ARCHIVES #11I.SC.640048

'Nine Days in May'

From May 18-26, 1967, the 4th Infantry Division's 1 st Brigade engaged in a series of five

continuous battles along the Cambodian border. Valor was evident all the way.

by Susan Katz Keating

T

he soldiers proceeded cautiously

through the jungle highlands west of

Pleiku, near the Cambodian border,

on the morning of May 18, 1967. The

men were part of Operation Francis Marion,

aimed at stopping the North Vietnamese Army

(NVA) from seizing the Ia Drang Valley. The

Americans belonged to B Co., 8th Inf., 1st Bde., 4th Inf. Div.

Most were young, and many were new to Vietnam. But they all

were about to become seasoned warriors, via a series of savage

battles known simply as "The Nine Days in May Border Battles:'

By the end of those nine days, some 2,000 GIs would go up

against 1,500-2,000 regulars of the NVA's 32nd and 66th regi-

ments. The enemy would attack in groupings that vastly out-

numbered the Americans. Three men from the 4th Infantry

Division would earn posthumous Medals of Honor. The 1st

Brigade would earn a coveted Presidential Unit

Citation for heroically disabling two full enemy

regiments and curtailing an entire season's

offensive.

Ordeal of B Company

As outlined in the after-action report for May 18-

26, the five battles can be traced to 10:40 a.m. on the 18th,

when a lone NVA soldier appeared before B Company, and

then took off along a well-used trail. Additional enemy soldiers

popped in and out of view, until the acting company comman-

der, 1st Lt. Cary Allen, dispatched his men into action.

Two platoons quickly organized a perimeter as best they

could within the dense jungle, while two others-the 1st and

the 4th-set out to investigate. And the 4th Platoon soon

sighted another NVA. GIs gave chase.

34 . VFW . November/December 2004

"Reprinted with permission from the November 2004 issue of VFW Magazine"