Operation Starlite (also known in Vietnam as Battle of Van Tuong) was the first major offensive action conducted by a purely U.S. military unit during the Vietnam War from 18 to 24 August 1965. The operation was launched based on intelligence provided by Major general Nguyen Chanh Thi, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) I Corps commander. III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF) commander Lieutenant General Lewis W. Walt devised a plan to launch a pre-emptive strike against the Viet Cong (VC) 1st Regiment to nullify their threat to the vital Chu Lai Air Base and Base Area and ensure that its powerful communication tower remained intact.
The operation was conducted as a combined arms assault involving ground, air and naval units. U.S. Marines were deployed by helicopter insertion while an amphibious landing was used to deploy other Marines. The VC used a variety of tactics to counter the Marine assault, fighting from prepared positions and then withdrawing as the Marines gained local superiority and ambushing a lost supply column. The VC were unable to withstand the weight of the Marine assault and U.S. firepower.
Background
The United States had been providing material support to South Vietnam since its foundation in 1954. The Vietnam War effectively began with the start of the North Vietnamese backed VC insurgency in 1959/60 and the U.S. increased its military aid and advisory support to South Vietnam in response. With the worsening military and political situation in South Vietnam, the U.S. increasingly became directly involved in the conflict.
On 30 July, COMUSMACV General William Westmoreland told III MAF commander General Walt that he expected him to undertake larger offensive operations with the South Vietnamese against the VC at greater distances from his base areas. Walt reminded Westmoreland that the Marines were still bound by the 6 May Letter of Instruction that restricted III MAF to reserve/reaction missions in support of South Vietnamese units heavily engaged with a VC force. Westmoreland replied "these restraints were no longer realistic, and invited Walt to rewrite the instructions, working into them the authority he thought he needed, and promised his approval." On 6 August, General Walt received official permission to take the offensive against the VC. With the arrival of the 7th Marine Regiment a week later, he prepared to move against the 1st VC Regiment. To the Americans, the battle was considered a great success for U.S. forces as they had engaged a local force VC unit and come out victorious.
The VC also claimed victory, announcing that they had inflicted 900 American casualties (killed and wounded), destroyed 22 tanks and APCs and downed 13 helicopters, while suffering ~200 casualties before withdrawing. According to Lê Duẩn, the VC suffering 50 killed in this battle
The ambush of the Marine supply column was reported by journalist Peter Arnett and proved an embarrassment to the Johnson administration, who wanted to retain the secrecy of the operation. The story of the ambush of the Marine supply column was denied by the USMC.