Refusing evacuation, this Marine packed dirt into his wound and continued to fight

Conducted from March 19 to April 19, 1967, Operation Prairie III was one of a series of movements by the 3rd Marine Division aimed at engaging and eliminating the communist units arriving in South Vietnam’s demilitarized zone.

Instead of Viet Cong guerrillas, however, the Marines would be meeting soldiers of the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN), more trained, disciplined and aggressive than…