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The Wolfhounds in Vietnam

The Wolfhounds are blood brothers baptized in blood and ordained in fire and steel!...."Nec Aspera Terrent"...."No Fear On Earth"

On 18 January, 1966, the 1st Battalion waded ashore in the Republic of Vietnam as part of the 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. The Battalion was immediately assigned to the Viet Cong dominated Cu Chi district, in the II Field Force Area (equivalent to a current corps.) The Wolfhound's mission was two fold: first, defeat the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces in the area and second, to restore security and help establish government control in the area. This was a new kind of war, one which initially focused on small units. Again the Wolfhounds excelled. Under MAJ Guy Meloy, the Battalion quickly gained the confidence of the local villagers. This was evidenced by the relationship which existed between the local Popular Force Unit and the Battalion. So close was this relationship that the PF unit actually began carrying a guidon into its operations identifying it as D/1-27.

The Battalion remained in the Cu Chi area for over three years, seeing action in such famous Viet Cong strongholds as the Iron Triangle, the Filhol Plantation, the Ho Bo Woods, the Boi Loi Woods, and War Zone C. The Battalion also participated in large scale operations such as Attleboro, Cedar Falls, Junction City, Waialua, Makalapa II, Manhattan, Kolekole, Atlanta, and Saratoga. The Battalion's stay in the Cu Chi area was highly successful in driving the enemy from his sanctuaries and destroying his equipment and supplies. For its success the Battalion was awarded the Valorous Unit Citation in 1967.

In Operation Attleboro in November, 1966, The first battalion was attached to the 196th Infantry Brigade to help secure and remove a large cache of enemy supplies. Almost immediately the battalion's operation grew to involve 11 companies from various Battalions under the command of MAJ (later General) Meloy. Although wounded early in the operation, MAJ Meloy refused evacuation, continuing to orchestrate the movements of all eleven companies. After a tough fight against a determined enemy, Meloy's troops carried the day and drove off the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces. When the operation was over the enemy had lost over 1000 dead or captured. For his actions, Major Meloy was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

On the night of 30 January, 1968 a series of enemy attacks hit the towns and installations in the Battalion's area - the famous Tet Offensive of 1968 was under way. The goal of the communist forces in the region was to tie U.S. forces down at their forward bases and prevent them from reinforcing the larger, more important cities and installations under attack. Although this initially succeeded, soon the staggering losses inflicted on the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forced them to withdraw from fight. As a result of the Tet Offensive the Viet Cong were virtually destroyed in the II FFA.

In 1970, as the role of U.S. combat forces diminished, the Battalion continued to see small unit action against the enemy as they moved from fire base to fire base. During this period the Battalion would also be involved in the last major U.S. offensive of the War - The Cambodian Raid. This operation's aim was to locate and destroy the Communist's theater headquarters known to the Americans as the Central Office of South Vietnam or COSVN. The 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry was given the main effort for the operation, an air assault into the area intelligence believed to be the Headquarters of COSVN. When the operation kicked off on 9 May all the Landing Zones Proved to be Cold but the one Assigned to A company. Taking only one Casualty, A company captured a supply depot over four hundred meters in circumference. After the air assault, the 2nd Brigade continued to pursue the illusive enemy by forming heavy/light task forces. Relatively small engagements continued and although many more caches of supplies and equipment were captured or destroyed COSVN was never Located and by late June the Battalion had returned to bases in Tay Ninh Province.

The Battalion's final action in Vietnam was to secure the 25th Infantry Division's base at Cu Chi while the Division prepared to redeploy to Hawaii. After the Division's main body departed the 1st Battalion moved to Camp Frenzell Jones and prepared for redeployment to Hawaii.