Buildup Their green twill uniforms and tan pith helmets identified them as North Vietnamese regulars. Intelligence said they belonged to Ho Chi Minh's 324B Division, which the U.S. Marines had routed out of South Viet Nam in Oper ation Hastings in July. Back up to full strength, the division was once more on the move. Advance units had infiltrated back across the supposedly neutral de militarized zone, perhaps to secure a foothold from which Ho's invaders could launch a major offensive.
The chosen foothold was Gia Binh, a coastal village 300 yards south of the DMZ, and the Communists went...