Operation HAWTHORNE

Operation HAWTHORNE begins. Its objective is to relieve a garrison of South Vietnamese Regional Forces, which has been surrounded by the North Vietnamese at a Special Forces camp near Dak To, Kontum Province. Participants include elements of the 101st Airborne Division, two South Vietnamese battalions, and ample air support. After the allied troops rescue the garrison, they pursue a skillful and aggressive North Vietnamese force. The North Vietnamese 24th Regiment is eventually pushed back and pinned in its fortified base area, where it is shattered by B-52 Arc Light strikes. Enemy forces finally withdraw, and HAWTHORNE ends on June 20.¹