Operation Jefferson Glenn ran from 5 September 1970 to 8 October 1971 and was the last major operation in which U.S. ground forces participated during the Vietnam War and the final major offensive in which the 101st Airborne Division fought. This was a joint military operation combining forces of the 101st Airborne and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) 1st Infantry Division.
Background
The purpose of this operation was to shield critical installations in Huế and Da Nang by patrolling rocket belts along the edge of the mountains. During the 399 days of operations the Allied troops established multiple firebases throughout Thừa Thiên Province and regularly encountered People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) troops.
Operation
1970
On 7 September Troop B, 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment gunships killed 6 PAVN. On 15 September a bomb damage assessment mission by Troop B found five PAVN trucks destroyed. On 18 September 1970 Troop A, 2/17th inserted the ARVN 1st Division's Hac Bao Reconnaissance Company resulting in one PAVN killed and one AK-47 captured and a further five PAVN observed killed from previous helicopter attacks. On the same day Troop C gunships destroyed a PAVN truck in the A Sầu Valley and follow-up airstrikes destroyed another truck, a .51 calibre machine gun and several bunkers. On 21 September Troop C gunships killed four PAVN. From 24–26 September Troop A gunships killed three PAVN and US airstrikes killed a further five. On 28–29 September Troop C gunships killed two PAVN.
On 5 October the Troop A, 2/17th aero-rifle platoon was landed to recover two PAVN packs, they engaged and killed two PAVN and a mortar position was destroyed by artillery fire killing a further three PAVN. On 24 October Troop A, 2/17th found and destroyed 50 boxes of 122mm rocket warheads.