February 2, 2004 marks the 36th anniversary of the Company K, Battalion Landing Team 3/1's battle with the 803rd North Vietnamese Army Infantry Regiment in the hamlet of Lam Xuan(E), Republic of Vietnam. The Battle for Hue City, miles to our south, had kicked off the Tet Offensive of 1968 during the early morning hours of 31 January and fighting there continued during most of February. Because of this, a great battle of one lone Marine rifle company was historically overshadowed. The report of Kilo Company's victorious battle against a numerically superior enemy force is relegated to little more than a footnote in the annals of Marine Corps history. In the book, U.S. Marines in Vietnam, The Defining Year, 1968, the authors wrote of the battle as I described it in an article for the Marine Corps Gazzett in 1970 called Surprise for the 803rd. However, to our good fortune, a Marine combat photographer, former Corporal Mal Wolfe, just happened to be with us during this period and captured some of the daylight part of the battle on film. Mal was no rookie as he had been with us on Operation Badgertooth on 27 December and in our battle near the hamlet of My Loc on 25 January.

   Between 26 December 1967 and 25 January 1968 Kilo Company had one Corpsman and 9 Marines killed in action and 43 Marines wounded in action.When the battle began in the early morning hours of 2 February, the company's foxhole strength was around 150 including attachments.

   God only knows how many North Vietnamese soldiers we fought in the early morning darkness that day. I do know that we counted and tagged 144 enemy dead..stacked up between our lines and the hedge row which was the south edge of Lam Xuan(E). Seven NVA were captured. No telling how many enemy dead and wounded were dragged off before daylight. Repelling charge after charge, not a single NVA soldier penetrated our positions. When daylight came, the closest dead NVA lay about 5 meters from our lines. Although we were fairly certain that an attack from the north was coming, an alert listening post that night provided the early warning necessary for us to achieve surprise. When they came, we were ready. Although most of the fighting was in the hours of darkness, we continued to slug it out until late in the morning. After Mike Company came up to lend us a hand, our shoulder to shoulder counterattack sent what was left of the 803rd running north.

   This victory was not without cost. Four Marines and one Corpsman were killed in action. Twenty-three Marines were wounded. Those killed were 2nd Lt Ted Edwards (Arty FO), HN Dennis Day, Lcpl Ron Selig, Cpl Moses Arnold and Lcpl Donald E Martin (Arty scout).. Their names are listed on panel 36 E at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. For years I believed there were 6 Marines killed and one Corpsman but these 4 are the only ones that I can now confirm. I am proud of the demonstrated valor of all but deeply saddened by the loss of these fine young men. I can assure you that it is the death of a single warrior that haunts the commander.

   I have told you before and I will say it again that I am both honored and humbled to have been your commanding officer. As the years pass all too fast, I continue to cherish your friendship and I ask that you stay in touch with your Kilo Company brothers. I urge you to make every effort to come to the reunions. We are getting too old to endure lost opportunities. In some, it will be your first chance to see a buddy with whom you served so many years ago. It may very well be your last. There is a special bond among the brothers of our company. I believe that Harold Pitt summed it up best in his recent letter to Paul Schneider. Paul was able to read the letter prior to his death and it was read again at his funeral by Mark O'Reilly. In part, it reads: "...Although we only spent a very small fraction of our lives together, the experience formed a bond that transcends time and space for me. Shakespeare was right, 'we are a band of brothers.'..."

   Something draws me back to Vietnam. I have returned there twice. The first time was with a fellow Marine. That was in May, 2002. Last March, 2003, I went again and took my wife, Emily. She was at my side when we went to Thon Tham Khe(Badgertooth), My Loc, Dong Ha, Danang(our TAOR), and, of course, Lam Xuan(E). All these places are full of children now. Lam Xuan has a new elementary school. The hamlet does not look the same, however because of Jones Creek, it was not difficult to get oriented and locate our battlefield. I had my old map and that helped. The area is more built up now. The houses are constructed of concrete block and have tin roofs. The rice crops looked good and there is an excellent irrigation system in place. The Cua Viet river is bustling with fishing boats. The sea is a beautiful blue and foreign tourists are beginning to visit. A hotel was under construction nearby. All signs of war are gone.... as it should be.

Warmest regards and always... always, SEMPER FIDELIS,

KILO 6 (67/68) SENDS
POSTED ON 1 FEBRUARY 2000...LAM XUAN...1-2 FEBRUARY 1968

   Dear Fellow Marines and Combat Corpsmen of Kilo Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/1, It has been 32 years since you and I fought shoulder to shoulder just outside the village of Lam Xuan, Republic of Vietnam. I was 29 years old. You guys were younger. Many of you a lot younger. Each of us was in his prime. We were invincible or so we thought. Of all the men and women who served in Vietnam, we were among the most fortunate because we were assigned to a fine battalion and a great company. Kilo Company was the best outfit that I was ever to serve in...before or after Vietnam. It was good because of you. It is easy to command a good company. The officers, staff NCOs, NCOs, and young enlisted men just seemed to know what to do and they did it...with a minimum of guidance from me. You cannot believe just how wonderful it was for me to have the privilege of serving with you. I often think of Vietnam. Although that war has been described by many as a defeat, I do not share that view. The Marines were never defeated and those of us in Kilo Company have every reason to hold our heads high. Some fine young Marines and Corpsmen made supreme sacrifices on those bloody battlefields. Many others were seriously wounded and suffer from those wounds today. I am saddened by this and I know you are as well.

   December had been a bloody month for our battalion. We lost too many Marines and Corpsmen on 27 December...Operation Badgertooth. As many of you remember, it was pretty much of a frontal assault against a determined enemy who was dug in. Later, we would meet the NVA again. This time on our terms. The Battle of Lam Xuan was inevitable. We had been in that one position for too long. It did not take a tactical genius to figure out that it was time to move on the evening of 1 February 1968. I am telling you that Moriarty, Gibbs and MacNair really saved our butts that night by being alert on their listening post and reporting the first NVA activity. I guess that the good news for all of us is that we were ready that night. My part in that fight has been exaggerated. The true heroes were the guys in the trenches. When the battle was over, we were victors, not survivors.

   Tonight, when you stop and reflect on the events of the dark, early morning hours of 2 February, I want you to share with me the pride that I have in being a member of a great Marine Corps rifle company during the Tet Offensive of 1968. By God, when called to duty you were there, standing tall, ready to fight and fight to win. When the subject of Vietnam comes up today, we hold our heads high and we make no any excuses. I can assure you that our great country is better off today because of guys just like you...willing to put it all on the line...for better or for worse. We are indeed, to this day, a Band of Brothers.

   Tonight, I will toast Company K, BLT 3/1 and pray for the souls of those we did not bring home. Join me. It was my greatest honor in life to serve as your commanding officer.

Semper Fidelis,
John E. Regal