On the morning of July 2nd, 1967, 1st BN, 9th Marines launched a sweep North of Con Thien, when they reached a cross road codenamed Marketplace, barely a mile from their base, they were ambushed. Company A was virtually annihilated. Company B was sent to out, only to get pinned down as well. It was one of the worst days the Marine Corps endured in Vietnam. 54 dead, 190 wounded were carried off the battlefield. 34 more dead had to be left behind, a when the Marines fought back 2 days later to recover those bodies, they found that a number had died because their m16s had jammed as the enemy closed in. Many had been executed, shot in the face or back of the head at close range. Some bodies had been booby trapped, others mutilated.
Pfc. John Musgrave, 1st BN, 9th Marines explains the aftermath - "After that, Marine HQ was so desperate to get NVA prisoners, that they offered us 3 day in country R&R if we'd bring a prisoner in. Yeah, good luck! I want to make this clear, we didn't torture prisoners nor mutilate them...but to be a prisoner, you had to make it to rear. If he was with us, he was just one sorry fucker." #reality #zerofoxtrot #vietnamwar #war #gruntlife