On March 2, 1968, the men of Company C, 4th Batalion, 9th Infantry "Manchus" walked into what was to become one of the worst single encounter loss of life incidents in the history of the Vietnam war. Many of the people who visit this site were members of C Company, members of nearby units that assisted the survivors, or others whose lives have been touched directly or indirectly by this action. This page is dedicated to all Manchus killed in action in Vietnam, and dedicated on the 30th anniversary of the aforementioned event.

On March 2, 1968 48 members of Co C 4th/9th and 2 members of the 65th Engineers gave all they had to give in service to their country. Their loss occurred during an ambush by a large communist force on Rt 248 north and east of Tan Son Nhut near the small village of Quoi Xuan. In addition, Co C suffered 24 wounded while Co D suffered casualties in the fighting to reach Co C. On February 22, 1968 the Manchus closed the base at Katum which had served as the large forward base for the 1st BDE near the Cambodian border during Operation Yellowstone. After only one day at Tay Ninh to prepare, the Manchus moved out to Cu Chi and eventually arrived north of Tan Son Nhut on February 25. The mission was to find and destroy rocket sites that had been used to fire on Tan Son Nhut Air Base since the Tet Offensive began nearly a month earlier. Numerous other infantry units were operating in the surrounding areas, and the Manchus were dropped into the middle. Bravo lost two men killed in action the first day. Initially, various Manchu companies suffered casualties nearly every day. On February 27, Bravo was pinned down nearly all day with a KIA. Attempts to recover the body resulted in several more wounded and the death of the Bn Executive Officer, MAJ William Roush while making his own brave recovery attempt. This same day Charlie company succeeded in finding the rocket site - a major objective of the operation. On March 1, Bravo was again pinned down by a significant communist force, suffering several killed and wounded, and was eventually forced to withdraw with the assistance of Alpha Co. Because of this action, the plan for March 2 was for air strikes and artillery into this same area followed by an assault by companies A, C, and D with Co B in reserve. The Bn was to move south down a section of Rt 248 believed to be relatively secure before moving off the road toward the objective to the west. The order would be Charlie Co. followed by Delta, and then Alpha. At 9:00 AM, Charlie Co. came under heavy fire from a large enemy force concealed in bunkers and spider holes along Rt 248. The initial barrage lasted approximately 8 minutes, but sniper fire by rear guard elements hindered movement by Delta, Alpha, and Bravo for much of the day. For courageous action during the battle, SP4 Nicholas J. Cutinha of Charlie Co. was to be posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Manchu Alpha, Bravo, and Delta continued operations in this area and took many more casualties until finally leaving on March 11, 1968. Rocket sites had been destroyed, and a formidable communist force had been weakened, if not destroyed. But, it had come at a great cost to the Manchus and particularly the courageous men of Charlie Company.