training problems, including vertical envelopment (helicopter landing), airborne operations and attack, and defense against atomic weapons and missiles. In August 1953 the division arrived in Japan to support the 1st Marine Division in the defense of the Far Eastern area. In March 1956 the division moved to Okinawa and remained there in a readiness posture until 1965. The 3rd Marine Division moved to Okinawa in June 1955 making an amphibious landing. Vietnam War The 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines, 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, were the first Marines to be sent to Vietnam in March 1965 to protect the Da Nang Air Base. On 6 May 1965, the 3rd Marine Division opened the Marine Compound at the Da Nang Air Base, Vietnam. By the end of 1965 the division had all its regiments (3rd Marines, 4th Marines and 9th Marines) on the ground. In August 1966, the battalions of the 26th Marines (a 5th Marine Division unit) began arriving for combat duty in South Vietnam attached to the 3rd Marine Division. In October 1966, then commanding general Lewis W. Walt was ordered to establish strong points just south of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The 3rd Division moved its headquarters from Da Nang to Phu Bai in late 1966. At the same time the division was also building outposts along the southern half of the DMZ at Con Thien, Gio Linh, Cam Lộ and Đông Hà. The first major multi-regiment operations against the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) was Operation Hastings in July 1966. Operation Prairie followed in October. This area would come to be known as Leatherneck Square. In late 1967 the headquarters moved again from Phu Bai to Đông Hà in the Quang Tri Province and more outposts were opened. Camp Carroll, Rockpile, Ca Lu and Khe Sanh. The two main enemy divisions the Marines fought were the 320th Division and the 324B Division. On November 14, 1967, the 3rd Marine Division commander Major General Bruno Hochmuth was killed northwest of Huế in a helicopter crash. Some of the major operations in 1967 and early 1968 in this area were Operation Prairie III, Operation Prairie IV, Operation Hickory I, Operation Cimarron, Operation Buffalo, Operation Kingfisher and Operation Kentucky. Nearly 8,000 PAVN were killed during this time period. The Marines suffered over 1400 killed and over 9,000 wounded. There were five Medals of Honor awarded and nearly 40 Navy Crosses given