As of the 10th of October 1965, the 1st Infantry Division, had been in Vietnam for just about four months. Combat operations against VC forces in the region have been frustratingly low impact with the enemy proving to be quite elusive. A fresh batch of draftees and volunteers had arrived to reinforce B Company, 2nd Battalion 16th Infantry, and new search and destroy operations were due to begin.
The new draftees of the 1st carried out a foot patrol to the north of the Duc Thanh Airbase with the aim of initiating the search and destroy operations. The focus of this patrol was the Lao Duong Valley, in which they were engaged from both the jungles and villages. Eventually they made their way to the village of Lang Long where they discovered an enemy command point and supply dump. These were successfully eliminated, concluding a fruitful patrol and setting up the 1st for future operations of this kind.
