page_title: 1st Reconnaissance Battalion
section_title: Operation Kansas, June 1966
hierarchical_section_title: 1st Reconnaissance Battalion / History / Vietnam War / Operation Kansas, June 1966
caption_attribution_description: Photograph of a 1st Reconnaissance Battalion sign in Vietnam. From the collection of Michael R. Travis (COLL/5158), United States Marine Corps Archives &amp; Special Collections
context_page_description: 1st Reconnaissance Battalion is a reconnaissance battalion in the United States Marine Corps. It falls under the command of the 1st Marine Division and the I Marine Expeditionary Force.
  1st Recon Battalion was reactivated on July 5, 2000, as part of Marine Corps Commandant General James L. Jones’ mission to revitalize Marine Corps reconnaissance.
context_section_description: By June 1966, the 1st Marine Division had plans to expand its assigned tactical area of responsibility (TAOR) southward from Da Nang to Tam Kỳ, the capital of the Quảng Tín Province. Pressure from the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) had placed Brigadier General William A. Stiles, the assistant division commander (ADC), position to respond by conceiving an operation by ordering an extensive reconnaissance effort between Da Nang and Tam Ky.
  BGen. Stiles had divided the operation into two phases. The first phase was to send in his recon assets in an area in the vicinity of the Hiệp Đức District. The division's intelligence (D-2) section had sources of a headquarters of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 2nd Division lying somewhere near the western border of I Corps in the Quế Sơn Valley. The second phase consisted of a massive exploitation of the recon team's findings, by sending in a joint show-of-force; four infantry battalions from the 1st Marine Division and the ARVN 2nd Division.
  On the afternoon of June 13, a thirteen-man recon team, accompanied by the command group, of 1st Recon Battalion landed by helicopters in the middle of the Quế Sơn Valley onto the small mountain of Nui Loc Son. In the course of the next 24-hours, six more recon teams were deployed in different strategic positioning sites, ringing the valley. This enabled the teams to actively report on enemy activity, and if possible, forward observe for either air strikes or artillery fire. Up to eight battalions were on full standby— four battalions of Marines and ARVN each, ready to deploy against any hostile forces encountered. One recon team worked their way south of Hiệp Đức  after they set up positions along the heavily wooded Hill 555. They spotted several groups of PAVN of varying size that appeared to be training in the area.
  The next day on June 14, a scout dog accompanying an enemy patrol caught scent of the nearby Marines and the patrol advanced towards their position; the recon team's leader immediately called for an extraction. A helicopter was inbound within minutes and the team hastily scrambled aboard and were safely flown back to Chu Lai Base Area.
  The other five recon teams remained undetected and continued reporting on the enemy for the next two days, until the moment Team 2 spotted a large enemy formation as they took up positions on Nui Vu hill, at the east end of the valley. Staff Sergeant Jimmie E. Howard (a decorated Korean War veteran), called in numerous fire coordination support, from an ARVN artillery battery located at an Army Special Forces camp 7 km to the south.
  The PAVN quickly adapted when they realized the barrage of artillery fire was more than mere coincidence; a battalion-size force was heading toward Nui Vu. On the night of June 15, a Special Forces team spotted the advancing enemy presence and alerted headquarters. However, they relayed the information too late. SSgt Howard had heard the enemy forces approach them as they amassed below them at the bottom of the hill. While the next few hours were quiet, by midnight, several of Howard's men spotted silhouettes as dozens of PAVN soldiers furtively climbed up the hill in the darkness. The PAVN instigated the fight by throwing grenades at the Marines. Greatly outnumbered, Howard's men held off the attackers.
  Howard understood that they would soon be overwhelmed and radioed to his commander, Lt. Colonel Arthur J. Sullivan, for an immediate extraction. A short time later, the UH-34s were inbound. However, the helicopters were under immediate attack from machine gun fires, forcing them to return. Sullivan relayed the bad news back to Howard that they would not be able to be extracted until daylight.
  Throughout the night, close air support, artillery strikes, and gunship fire support pounded the enemy, but the PAVN launched three strong attacks against Team 2. By 04:00 on 16 June, six out of eighteen Marines were killed in action and Howard was temporary immobilized from shrapnel wounds. Every other man was hit at least once. While they were suffering from ammuni
caption: 1st Reconnaissance Battalion Sign, ca. 1967.
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