Swift
Written June 2017
Operation
Dates:
4 Sep 1967 - 15 Sep 1967
Area of Operation:
Quảng Nam and Quảng Tín Provinces, I Corps
Allied Units:
USMC 1st and 3d Battalions 5th Marines, 2d Battalion 11th Marines; ARVN 21st Ranger Battalion, 37th Ranger Battalion, 39th Ranger Battalion, 3d Battalion 4th Regiment, 3d Battalion 6th Regiment
Allied Casualties:
US 127 KIA, 362 WIA
Enemy Units:
NVA 2d Division
Enemy Casualties:
517 KIA, 8 POW
Objective(s):
Prevent disruption of national elections; search and destroy
Significance/Notes:
The battles of the Que Son Valley during Operation Swift resulted in the awarding of three Medals of Honor. Lt Vincent Capodanno, a chaplain, Sgt Lawrence Peters, and Sgt Rodney Davis were all killed during the fighting.
Sources:
Vietnam War Almanac by James H. Willbanks
The Vietnam Center And Archive (at Texas Tech University)
Further Reading:
“Sorting through the chaos of Operation Swift in Vietnam” by Hugh Lessig
“Operation Swift: Continuing Operations in the Que Son Valley” (Scans of an article in Leatherneck magazine, 2007)
