Tragedy at Que Son Valley: The Sacrifice of Company H on September 10, 1967

On September 10, 1967, during the final days of Operation Swift, Company H, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, were patrolling north of Hill 43 in the Que Son Valley, Quang Tin Province, Republic of Vietnam. They encountered a seemingly deserted village, occupied only by a few women and children. However, the village was fortified with bunkers, interlocking trenches, and barbed wire. After noting this, the Company moved on and established a defensive position on a nearby hill around 2:00 PM. The Company Commander then dispatched the 3rd Platoon on a security patrol within a one-mile radius of the hill. 

As the patrol began, heavy rain started to fall. By approximately 2:30 PM, the patrol reached the rice paddies near the village. Unbeknownst to them, a reinforced North Vietnamese Army (NVA) company had taken up positions in the village’s defenses. As the lead squad of the patrol approached the village, the NVA unleashed a sudden and intense barrage of automatic weapons fire, including .50 caliber machine guns, decimating the lead Marine squad. The platoon quickly lost its leader, 2nd Lieutenant Allan J. Herman, who was killed while attempting to rescue a wounded Marine in the rice paddy.

The sound of gunfire was heard from the hilltop, but the Company was unable to reach the 3rd Platoon by radio. Reacting swiftly, the Company raced toward the village, positioning the 2nd Platoon behind it to block any potential enemy escape routes. They called in mortar and artillery strikes on the NVA positions. Another Marine Company soon arrived to assist, and airstrikes with 250-pound bombs were dropped on the village. Two A-4 aircraft deployed tear gas, allowing the Marines to overrun the village. In the aftermath, 40 dead NVA soldiers were found, with many more buried in the collapsed bunkers.

The cost was high for the Marines; nine of their own were killed, including six in the rice paddies just in front of the enemy positions. These six Marines were found with their M16 rifles disassembled in an attempt to clear jammed cartridges, and all had powder-burned bullet wounds in their heads, indicating they had been executed at close range. The fallen Marines were LCPL Leo C. Aukland, LCPL James P. Braswell Jr., LCPL Charles W. Horvath, CPL Stephen L. Irvin, LCPL Kenneth C. Johnson, PFC Martin A. Rosales, SGT William B. Stutes, and LCPL Michael F. Wolf.

Pictured: LCPL Kenneth C. Johnson, CPL Stephen L. Irvin