On 11 October, 1967, two battalions of the

First Marine Regiment

embarked on Operation Medina in the hills of the

Hai Lang Forest,

Quang Tri Province, Vietnam.

The WEB pages which follow are dedicated to the men of the

Company, Hotel Company, and HMM-361 in particular. These pages are

also dedicated to ALL the men (Marine Corps and Navy) who served in, or

with, the 1st Marines in RVN during the period 1965-1971.

Like all Marine Corps ground combat organizations in Vietnam, the 1st

Marines was made up of young men whose ages averaged 18-20, many of

whom, only a few months earlier, had been in high school. What they

shared in common was that they had been forged and tempered in the same

crucible (Marine Corps recruit training) through which all other Marines

had passed. Among Marines they were quite ordinary, but by any other

standard, these were extraordinary young men! Their actions during

Operation Medina, and indeed, throughout the Vietnam War, were not

unlike the actions of those who had served with the First Marines

in earlier generations....Guadalcanal to Peleliu (WWII), Inchon to the

Chosin Reservoir (Korea)....and in so doing, they upheld the highest

traditions of "The Old Breed."

The pages which follow tell Charlie Company's story via newspaper

clippings, photographs, artwork, personal recollections, and an article

The article was written by SSgt Bruce Martin, a combat correspondent,

who, along with a group of combat artists and combat photographers,

accompanied Charlie Company on Operation Medina. One member of that

(posthumously) for his heroic action on the second night of Operation

Medina.