Vietnam War Rare Original USMC Recon Bn 3rd Marine Division Patch

Rare Vietnam Era 3d Recon Battalion MORTALIS CELER SILENS USMC pocket patch. Vietnamese made, machine embroidered on Twill.

Excellent condition very rare patch.

The first U.S. combat units that landed during the Vietnam War were Marine units. On 8 March 1965 the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade landed at Red Beach, Da Nang to secure Da Nang Air Base and establish an effective beachhead. Within the original landing force, a platoon from Company A, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion attached to Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines became the first division reconnaissance element to be "resident" in South Vietnam.

The Marines made their encounter with a small company of Viet Cong on 22 April 1965. A recon patrol from D Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion was scouting 13 kilometers southwest of Da Nang. The Marine patrol was accompanied by a few platoons from the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). After a brief intense exchange of small-arms fire, the outnumbered recon Marines radioed in for support. An infantry company from Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines (BLT 1/3) reinforced the small group of D Company and the ARVN. The combined force was able to push the hostile force back several kilometers before losing them in the heavily foliaged terrain. Two days later on 24 April, a recon squad positioned two kilometers south of Da Nang fell under a surprise attack by VC as the Marines were setting up defensive positions for the night. Although the firefight lasted for only a few minutes, each side lost two men.

The beachhead was secured a couple of weeks later. In the later afternoon of 7 May 1965, elements of the 3rd Reconnassaisnce Battalion arrived at Chu Lai from Da Nang and secured the beachhead's southern flank as BLT 1/4 was setting up several kilometers inland. A few days later, BLT 3/3 arrived from Okinawa, and 3rd Recon Battalion returned to Da Nang.

Actions that summer led to a Marine, 1st Lt. Frank S. Reasoner, becoming the first Marine of the war to receive the Medal of Honor. On 12 July 1965, an 18-man patrol from A Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion led by Reasoner was under fire about 20 kilometers southwest of Da Nang Air Base. Reasoner's patrol was under a barrage of heavy fire. His radio operator was hit by enemy fire. Reasoner came to the operator's aid as he provided cover, killing two VC and interrupting hostile automatic weapons fire. As Reasoner was about to render hasty first aid to his radioman, he was mortally wounded.

On 4 June 1969, the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion lost an entire 6 man recon team, call sign "Flight Time",. No other full team was lost during the remaining six years of the Vietnam War. The team's "Last Known Activity" report reads:

2 June 1969 Recon Team "Flight Time" from D Company, 3rd Recon Battalion, was inserted on Hill 471 about a kilometer south of Khe Sanh in the Quảng Trị Province, Vietnam. On the night of 3/4 June 1969 the team was attacked by an enemy force and requested both emergency extraction and immediate reinforcement. Communications with the team were lost at 0320. When the reactionary force arrived a little after 0400 they were too late ... the six members of '"Flight Time" were killed in action. Five members of the team were in a small trench; the sixth, was approximately 10 meters further down the hillside. It was apparent from the state of the battle area that "Flight Time" had been overwhelmed in fierce hand-to-hand combat.

Team members were 1st Lt. Michael M. O'Connor, Cpl. William A. Buck Jr., Cpl. William M. Wellman Jr., LCpl. Douglas W. Barnitz, Pfc. Robert L. Pearcy and Pfc. Harold A. Skaggs.

The last elements of the battalion left South Vietnam on 20 November 1969 as part of Operation Keystone Cardinal.