14, 1965 3rd battalion 4th Marines was deployed to an area near Chu Lai, South Vietnam. Two companies were sent north to Phu Bai to secure a small airfield just 8 miles south of Huế City. First contact was made on April 22 southwest of Da Nang with a Vietcong (VC) unit. The Marines at Phu Bai made their first contact on April 24. Both sides lost two men. These patrols continued until the whole battalion re-deployed back to Okinawa on December 24, 1965. In March 1966, the Battalion returned to the Phu Bai, Huế City areas. They participated in company and platoon size patrols and ambushes against the VC in the Thừa Thiên–Huế Province till the end of June 1966. At that time the entire Battalion moved north and just south of the DMZ, in the Song Ngan River Valley also known as "Helicopter Valley", because of all the helicopters that were shot down with Marines on board. There they participated in Operation Hastings which was a multi-battalion operation that ran from July 15 to August 3, 1966. This was the first major Marine campaign against the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). A total of 8,000 Marines participated in this large operation. It stop the PAVN from further advancing into South Vietnam. The PAVN 324B Division losses were put at 824 killed and 17 POW's. Total Marine losses were put at 126 killed and 448 wounded. Capt. Robert J. Modrzejewski and SSgt. John J. McGinty were both awarded the Medal of Honor for their action and leadership during this time. This operation was also the most costly of the war to this point. In August 3/4 was back in Phu Bai again running patrols and ambushes in search and destroy missions. Early September the battalion moved its headquarters north to Đông Hà. On September 22, 1966, the battalion was again in action against the 324B Division in Operation Prairie which ran from August 3 to October 27, 1966. Fighting for Hill 400 and Hill 484 and also called Mutter's Ridge in the Razor Back Mountains, a heavily fortified Nui Cay Tri ridge. It was very costly for both sides, losses were put at nearly 1,300 PAVN killed and total Marine losses were put at 200 killed and over a 1,000 wounded. Captain James J. Carroll was later posthumously awarded a Navy Cross for valor on Hill 484. Photojournalist Larry