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other three unlighted helicopters were armed to take care of targets of opportunity. As the lead ship dropped flares, the door gunners in the next two helicopters, which flew at a higher altitude and at a distance not to be revealed by the flares, observed the ground with starlight scopes. Once the enemy was spotted, the gunners would open up with tracers to pinpoint the target for the last armed helicopter to make a run with 2.75-inch rockets. This technique was very effective at finding and killing the enemy and denying him one of his most valuable assets—the night.

Once the brigade task force had established itself at Duc Pho, a sea line of communication became necessary to provide the required daily 250 short tons of supplies necessary to support the brigade task force. The newly constructed Caribou airstrip could not possible carry all the required logistical support. A sea terminal point was selected almost directly east of landing zone MONTEZUMA called Razor Back Beach. During the 8-day period between 9 and 17 April, over 8,000 short tons were moved over the shore from LST's and LCM's. The operation was not without difficulty. Sand bars prevented LST's from coming in with a full load and eight to twelve foot breakers made the landings of the smaller craft extremely touchy.

Operation LEJEUNE combined the efforts of four military services: The U.S. Army, the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Navy. The tactical air force support was substantial. They had only taken over operation of the Caribou since the first of that year and, though slightly leary of accepting the hastily constructed airstrip, they made 159 sorties into MONTEZUMA carrying 1,081 passengers and 229 tons of cargo. During the first eight days of operations, tactical air dropped 115 tons of bombs and 70 tons of napalm. The U.S. Navy provided gun support with a total of 2,348 rounds from its two ships offshore, the USS Picking and the USS Shelton.

It was apparent right from the beginning that the enemy in that area had never before been challenged by airmobile tactics. It was several days before they began to appreciate the versatility and flexibility of the 1st Cavalry operations. The enemy chose to disperse and hide. Contact was only sporadic with the heaviest combat action on 16 April.

At noon on 22 April, Operation LEJEUNE was terminated. Although contacts were primarily light throughout the operation, 176 enemy had been killed and 127 captured by the 2d Brigade, 1st Cavalry. This brigade was relieved in place by the 3d Brigade