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limited mission, Operation LEJEUNE was an unqualified success.^[1]

The techniques of the 1st Cavalry Division that were demonstrated in Operation LEJEUNE were to prove invaluable in the many campaigns to follow. Operation LEJEUNE, however, was a relatively short move outside of the Division's area of operations. Much more complex and longer moves were made shortly thereafter which involved Air Force fixed-wing aircraft in addition to the organic lift. These moves demonstrated a technique whereby an Air Cavalry unit was extracted from combat, moved to a landing zone, and the bulk of its equipment flown by Air Force aircraft to a new location. The organic aircraft would then be ferried to the area and join with the unit ready to be employed again.

On 23 June 1967, about 0900 hours in the morning, Lieutenant General Stanley R. Larsen told me to have a battalion to move by 1300 that afternoon. They would be lifted by C-130's from landing zone ENGLISH in the Bong Son Plain to the Dak To-Kontum area in the Central Highlands where they were desperately needed. It was necessary to pull the 2d Battalion, 12th Cavalry directly out of contact with the enemy and get them to landing zone ENGLISH. Using 24 C-130 aircraft loads and two C-123's, the battalion moved to Dak To by that evening along with an artillery battery. They were almost immediately thrown into combat. The next day, two more battalions followed and the third day, the remainder of the direct support artillery. By now I had my 3d Brigade (—) committed to operational control of the 4th Infantry Division. In the next few days these units would participate in one of the hardest fought battles of the Vietnam war. The enemy had shown unexpected strength and determination. During this action the 3d Brigade was commanded by Colonel James O. McKenna, who had just taken over the Brigade from Colonel Burton on 22 June. The 3d Brigade would not return to my control until 25 July.