page_title: 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines
section_title: Vietnam War
hierarchical_section_title: 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines / History / Vietnam War
caption_attribution_description: English: A United States Marine with 3d Battalion, 4th Marines moves forward during Operation Prairie of the Vietnam War.
context_page_description: 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Nicknamed "Thundering Third". The current commander is Lt. Col. Barclay, radio callsign is "Darkside 6”. They are based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, and consist of approximately 1,000 Marines. The unit currently falls under the command of the 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, but — along with its two sister battalions — is hosted by the 3rd Marine Division, at Camp Schwab in Okinawa, Japan, when training in jungle warfare. The 3rd falls under the 4th Marine Regiment at such times.
context_section_description: On April 14, 1965 3rd battalion 4th Marines was deployed to an area near Chu Lai, South Vietnam. Two companies were sent north to Phu Bai to secure a small airfield just 8 miles south of Huế City.  First contact was made on April 22 southwest of Da Nang with a VC unit. The Marines at Phu Bai made their first contact on April 24. Both sides lost 2 men. These patrols continued until the whole battalion re-deployed back to Okinawa on December 24, 1965. In March 1966, the Battalion returned to the Phu Bai, Huế City areas. They participated in company and platoon size patrols and ambushes against the VC in the Thừa Thiên–Huế Province till the end of June 1966. At that time the entire Battalion moved north and just south of the DMZ, in the Song Ngan River Valley also known as "Helicopter Valley", because of all the helicopters that were shot down with Marines on board. There they participated in Operation Hastings which was a multi-battalion operation that ran from July 15 to August 3, 1966. This was the first major Marine campaign against the North Vietnamese Army. A total of 8,000 Marines participated in this large operation. It stop the NVA from further advancing into South Vietnam. The 324B NVA Division losses were put at 824 killed and 17 POW's. Total Marine losses were put at 126 killed and 448 wounded. Capt. Robert J. Modrzejewski and SSgt. John J. McGinty were both awarded the Medal of Honor for their action and leadership during this time. This operation was also the most costly of the war to this point.
  In August 3/4 was back in Phu Bai again running patrols and ambushes in search and destroy missions. Early September the battalion moved its HQ 55 miles north to Đông Hà.  On September 22, 1966, the battalion was again in action against the 324B NVA Division in Operation Prairie which ran from August 3 to October 27, 1966. Fighting for Hill 400 and Hill 484 and also called Mutter's Ridge in the Razor Back Mountains, a heavily fortified Nui Cay Tri ridge. It was very costly for both sides, losses were put at nearly 1300 NVA killed and total Marine losses were put at 200 killed and over a 1000 wounded. Captain James J. Carroll was later posthumously awarded a Navy Cross for valor on Hill 484.
  Photojournalist Larry Burrows took a large collection of Time-Life photos during the operation. The most recognizable is a Pulitzer Prize winning photo, taken on Hill 400, showing a wounded Gunnery Sergeant Jeremiah Purdie being guided by a Hospital Corpsman Darrell Hinde as he reaches out to Sergeant [Larry Mitchel] whom was also seriously wounded waiting to be medevaced. Photo is called "Reaching Out"  Shown in many special Time-Life issues.
  At the end of 1966 the 4th Marine Regiment was pulled out of the DMZ and sent south to participate in Operation Chinook around Huế. When that operation ended the battalion went into a rebuilding stage.
  On January 31, 1967 Operation Prairie II started. On February 27 L/3/4 and a tank platoon was involved in a battle near Hill 48 to save a recon team that ran into a NVA Regiment. On the 28th other Marine companies including M/3/4 were brought in for ground operation. When the operation ended total casualties for both sides were put at 93 Marines killed 483 wounded and the NVA losses were put at 694 killed. Prairie II ended on March 18, but Operation Prairie III started the next day. The battalion was pulled back to regroup and rebuild. For the next couple of months the battalion worked Route 9 guarding lines near Cam Lo, The Rockpile and Camp Carroll, which was the largest concentration of artillery pieces in northern I Corp. July and parts of August it was time for the battalion to spend time in the "Barrel", Con Thien.  On September 4 the Battalion was ambushed just south of Con Thien with heavy casualties. 3/4 was pulled back for rebuilding its manpower. Some of the other major Operations in 1967 were Operation Hickory (May 18 to May 28), Operation Kingfisher (July 16 to Oct 31) and Operation Kentucky near Con Thien in the western area of Leatherneck Square in the latter part of 1967 and in 
caption: A U.S. Marine from 3d Battalion, 4th Marines moves forward during Operation Prairie
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