Battle of July Two

The Battle of July Two was a short engagement of the Vietnam War that took place along Route 561 between Gia Binh and An Kha, during Operation Buffalo.

Leading up to this battle, the North Vietnamese Army was reported to have moved back into the area northeast of Con Thien, so A and B Companies of the 1st Battalion 9th Marines "The Walking Dead Marines" were sent out to counter the North Vietnamese.

On the morning of July 2, 1967, the two companies made their way up north and secured a crossroad as their first objective. As they went further north, they made contact with the elements of the North Vietnamese 90th Regiment when sniper fire began to burst, enemy fire intensified as efforts were made by the 3rd Platoon to suppress it. The North Vietnamese Army, using mortar and small arms fire, caused heavy casualties on the A and B Companies and prevented them from linking up.

Airstrikes disrupted North Vietnamese attempts to "hug" the 1st platoon, allowing the 1st platoon and the battered 2nd platoon to link up. The 1st Battalion commander, LtCol Richard Schening, sent out a small rescue force involving the C and D Companies. Using helicopter and tank fire to disperse enemy troops, D Company was able to secure the 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.

When the fighting ended, the Marines had suffered 118 dead, 190 wounded. Alpha and Bravo Companies were badly mauled during the battle.

2 July 1967 resulted in the highest single day USMC losses in Vietnam. Among those killed were eight Navy corpsmen.

The Battle of 2 July was the opening engagement in Operation Buffalo.