The provisional battalion had served its purpose,
in that the 9th Marines was able to begin the oc-
cupation of its new TAOR. Of particular concern
was the area to the south of the Cau Do. The 9th
Marines area of responsibility now extended to the
South China Sea on the east, the Yen River on the
west, and approximately three and a half miles to the
south of the Song Cau Do, about 30 square miles in
all. This entire region was densely populated with
innumerable clusters of villages and hamlets. The
term ''village''
in Vietnam denoted an admini-
strative unit, while the true local community was the
hamlet, several hamlet clusters making up a village.
An example of the confusion this caused for III MAF
staffs was the fact that in the 9th Marines TAOR
there were six hamlets with the name of Cam Ne and
three Duong Sons, identified only by a parenthetical
number alter the hamlet name. Often the hamlets
had different names from that of their administrative
village, while clusters had no names at all, or none
that the Americans could determineA Buddhist
priest who lived in one of the Duong Son hamlets
furnished the Marines with some basic intelligence of
the VC strength and organization, typical of the area.
He revealed
that
the Viet Cong maintained a
roadhiock near the railroad tracks between Duong
Son (2) and (3) manned by a four-man squad. A 40-
man VC force which lived in his village was con-
tructing bunkers, foxholes, punji traps, and setting in
booby traps.
With General Thi's concurrence, the Marines
entered the new TAOR on 12 July; Lieutenant
Colonel Scharnberg's 2d Battalion moved into the
vicinity of Duong Son (1), a mile south of the Phong
Le Bridge. While two companies formed a perimeter
defense around the hamlet, Company B, 1st Bat-
talion, 9th Marines, moved through the hamlet. The
Marines from Company B met strong resistance;
three men were killed and four wounded.the two Marine
companies in Duong Son (1) continued to receive fire
from Cam Ne (2) directly to the west and from
Duong Son (2) to the south. Throughout July and
into August, the Marine units encountered re-
sistance in the area.
MAP FROM 9TH MARINES RECON REPORT: (08/07/1965)
2D BN 9TH MARINES - Special Report
Debriefing of Recon Patrol - Dong Son (2)
Covering Aug-65 dated 8/7/1965 Document No. 1201056039
