Operation Buffalo ( 1967 ) Operation Buffalo ( 2 – 14 July 1967 ) was an operation of the Vietnam War that took place in the southern half of the Demilitarized Zone , around Con Thien . 2 July . On the morning of 2 July Alpha and Bravo Companies , 1st Battalion 9th Marines made their way up north on Highway 561 and secured a crossroad as their first objective . As they went further north between Gia Binh and An Kha , near a place called " The Market Place " , they made contact with the elements of the NVA 90th Regiment when sniper fire began to break out , enemy fire intensified as efforts were made by the 3rd Platoon to suppress it . The NVA used flamethrowers in combat for the first time setting fire to hedgerows along Highway 561 forcing the Marines out into the open , exposing them to artillery , mortar and small arms fire , causing heavy casualties on A and B Companies and prevented them from linking up . B Company Headquarters was wiped out when a single NVA artillery round exploded within the command group . The company commander , Capt . Sterling K . Coates , two platoon leaders , the radio operator , forward observer and several others were killed . Airstrikes disrupted NVA attempts to " hug " the 1st Platoon , eventually allowing the 1st Platoon and the battered 2nd Platoon to link up . 1 / 9 ' s commander , LtCol Richard Schening , sent out a small rescue force involving C and D Companies supported by four tanks . Using helicopter and tank fire to disperse enemy troops , D Company was able to secure a helicopter landing zone for the evacuation of casualties . C Company then continued to move north under heavy fire to rescue what was left of the two Companies . Out of nearly 400 Marines , the two Companies suffered 84 killed , 190 wounded and 9 missing making this the worst one - day loss for the Marines in Vietnam . Only 27 Marines from B / 1 / 9 and about 90 from A / 1 / 9 were fit for duty after the first day . 3 – 5 July . On 3 July a USAF observer spotted more than 100 NVA soldiers moving south from positions north of Con Thien , Battery E , 3 / 12 Marines fired on them killing 75 men . On the morning of 4 July , following 12 hours of preparatory airstrikes , 3 / 9 Marines supported by Battalion Landing Team ( BLT ) 1 / 3 Marines attacked towards the Marketplace ambush site to recover the bodies of those killed on 2 July . 3 / 9 Marines met heavy resistsance from the NVA southwest of the Marketplace and by the end of the day had suffered 15 dead and 33 wounded , while BLT 1 / 3 suffered 11 wounded . On 5 July the Marines operating north of Con Thien came under artillery and mortar fire , but there was little ground contact and the Marines were able to collect the dead from the 2 July fighting . In the afternoon NVA soldiers were seen 3 km northeast of Con Thien and artillery and tactical air strikes were called in resulting in an estimated 200 NVA killed . 6 – 7 July . On the morning of 6 July BLT 2 / 3 ran into an NVA force north of Con Thien and killed 35 NVA for the loss of 5 killed and 25 wounded . Company A 9th Marines reinforced by the survivors of Company C and a detachment of the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion moved northeast of Con Thien and established a forward fighting position . By the afternoon 1 / 3 and 2 / 3 Marines were stopped by NVA artillery fire and an aerial observer reported that 400 NVA soldiers had crossed the Ben Hai River and were heading towards the two Battalions . The NVA force was unaware of the presence of Company A 9th Marines who were able to ambush the NVA force , the NVA quickly reorganized and attacked Company A , but were unable to penetrate their lines and Marine artillery fire effectively boxed in the defending Marines . The following morning Company A counted 154 NVA dead , while suffering only 12 wounded . While the NVA force attacked Company A , the remainder of the NVA 90th Regiment attacked 1 / 3 and 2 / 3 Marines achieving negligible results before breaking contact at 21 : 30 . Also on 6 July the NVA fired eight SAM - 2s from positions north of the DMZ hitting an A - 4E # 151032 of VMA - 311 as it conducted close air support in front of 1 / 3 ' s lines . The pilot Maj . Ralph Brubaker ejected successfully and was rescued the following day . On the morning of 7 July Company A was withdrawn into the Battalion perimeter just before a heavy NVA artillery bombardment hit their ambush positions of the previous day . 7 July saw minimal ground contact and the Marines spent most of the day trying to achieve an accurate NVA body count , but this proved difficult due to the carnage caused by the artillery and air strikes . 8 July . On the morning of 8 July BLT 2 / 3 moved southwest towards the Cam Lo River when they discovered an NVA bunker complex . Air and artillery strikes were called in and then Company G attacked the bunkers , the NVA lost 39 killed while the Marines suffered 2 dead and 29 wounded . In the afternoon Company G engaged another NVA force and the NVA lost 118 killed while the Marines suffered 14 dead and 43 wounded . 9 – 14 July . For the remainder of the operation there were no further ground contacts and the Marines only encountered mines and harassing artillery fire . Aftermath . The operation ended on the 14 July with total Marine casualties for the operation of 159 killed , 345 wounded while the NVA suffered 1 , 290 confirmed killed and a further 513 probably killed . 164 bunkers and 15 artillery and rocket positions were destroyed . 1st Lt Gatlin J . Howell and SSgt Leon R . Burns were both awarded the Navy Cross for their actions during this battle . The Marines launch Operation Hickory II and Operation Kingfisher in the same general area within days of the conclusion of Operation Buffalo .