Your 12th Marine's Historian is "Joe Oldham"
The 12th Marine Regiment had displaced, in October of 1969 returning to Okinawa ending it's deployment in Vietnam. Elements of the 11th and 13th Marines remained. Their defense of the northern Quang Tri province, specifically the Demilitarized Zone had been held for five years without flaw. Never had a Marine Artillery unit fought more gallantly, yet quietly than the 12th Marines against North Vietnamese ground forces and their vaunted artillery regiments.
So effective was the six Marine 105 Howitzers that engaged two NVA artillery battalions (Twenty Guns) in the first artillery duel of the war, fought from Gio Linh 20 March 1967, the North Vietnamese never again set their artillery pieces in typical battery formations choosing instead to stay out of 105 and 155 ranges in single, isolated locations using their superior ranges against the Marines.
Long overlooked historically, the epic stands by the Marines and their guns will be remembered through the 12th Marine Association website bringing to life the batteries and their historic accomplishments. The ghosts of LZ Russell, Gio Linh, LZ Torch, Con Thien, LZ Neville, Khe Sanh, C-2, Ca Lau, and many more will never be forgotten nor the 12th Marines who gave their lives in defense of freedom...
