operation BLUE MARLIN information
for BLT 2/7
3/3 MARINES
VMC
From date 651107 to 651109
BLT 2/7 was a US Marine Corps unit
3/3 MARINES was a US Marine Corps unit
VMC was a Vietnamese Army unit
Primary service involved, US Marine Corps
Operation BLUE MARLIN
Quang Tin Province, I Corps, South Vietnam
Location, Tam Ky
Description: The USMC in Vietnam 1953-73 states that since the Korean Division had arrived at Qui Nhon, amphibious shipping was going to lift BLT 2/7 out of Qui Nhon in the first week of November. The battalion was to be released from army control and taken to Chu Lai to rejoin its parent regiment. Then it was planned to move 3d Battalion, 3d Marines, to Da Nang in the same shipping. It seemed logical to combine the above moves into a two-phase amphibious operation. Thus, Operation Blue Marlin got under way on 7 November, when BLT 2/7 loaded out at Qui Nhon in the shipping of U.S. Navy Task Group 76.3. At Chu Lai, TG 76.3 took aboard the 3d Battalion, Vietnamese Marine Brigade, then proceeded north. On 10 November, the Marine Corps' birthday, they landed northeast of Tam Ky, about 18 miles of Chu Lai and a third of the way between Chu Lai and Da Nang. Sea conditions were marginal. Both the Paul Revere (APA-248) and the Windham County parted their anchor chains. The Marines went ashore in LVTs and LCMs. The surf was rough but there was no opposition other than the elements. Moving inland, the force turned southward astride Highway 1, and joined a motorized column sent up to Tam Ky from Chu Lai. Resistance was negligible, but the coastal area from the water's edge west to Highway 1 and from Tam Ky, capital of Quang Tin province, south to Chu Lai at least had had the benefit of a thorough sweep.
Phase 1 of Operation Blue Marlin achieved an historic first: the Vietnamese Marines participated in their first combined amphibious landing with the U.S. Marines. Along with the Vietnamese Airborne Brigade, the Marine Brigade was classed as having the best fighting battalions in the South Vietnamese service. It had been much used as a mobile strategic reserve, so much so, in fact, that its amphibious potential had not been fully developed. The Vietnamese Marines were formed after the departure of the French in 1954, with the advice and assistance of the U.S. Marines. Originally a river-type landing force, it had grown to a brigade of five infantry battalions, an artillery battalion, and an amphibious support battalion.
The source for this information was USMC 53-73 P:53+ see 53_73mnr.bok supplied by Les Hines
Additional information is available on CD-ROM.
Please send additions or corrections to: Gary Roush Email address: webmaster@vhpa.org
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Last updated
02/16/2000
Date posted on this site:
05/13/2023