Badger Hunt/Foster
In Quang Nam Province, north of the concluded Beaver Cage area of operation, enemy contact during the fall of 1967 had been relatively light. The 1st Marine Division committed units of the 5th and 7th Marines to spoiling operations to prevent infiltration of the Da Nang rocket belt. In November SLF Bravo participated in Operation Badger Hunt as a continuation of the spoiling tactics. The division conceived Badger Hunt as an amphibious operation to support the 7th Marines' Operation Foster which two spectacular VC raids triggered. On 2 November and again on the 8th, the Viet Cong raided the district headquarters and refugee settlements at Hieu Duc and Dai Loc, approximately 15 miles south of Da Nang. The VC killed 22 civilians, wounded another 42, and destroyed or damaged 559 houses.
To rid the area of the Communist raiders, both operations focused on the river complex of Dai Loc District and the flat lands and foothills west of the Thu Bon River. SLF Bravo, under its new commander, Colonel Maynard W. Schmidt, and consisting of BLT 2 / 3, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Englisch, and a detachment of HMM-262, started Badger Hunt by landing at An Hoa. The 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Roger H. Barnard, began Operation Foster west of Dai Loc and north of the Thu Bon River.There was little contact during either operation, with the exception of one
company-sized engagement on the 29th. The Communists evaded both sweeps, heading
for the hills to the west. The enemy suffered some casualties as reconnaissance
teams and air observers called in air strikes and artillery fire on fleeing
enemy groups. The final tally for Badger Hunt and Foster totaled 125 Communists
killed and eight captured. Marines losses added up to 25 killed and 136 wounded.
The most significant accomplishment of both operations, other than driving the
enemy out of the area, was the destruction of most of the enemy's supporting
installations in the region. The Marines destroyed over 6,000 bunkers, tunnels,
and shelters and captured 87 tons of rice. Badger
Hunt ended on 29 November.