June 18, 1967
Beacon Torch started at 0630 as assault elements of Fox, followed by the Command Group landed in what the helicopter pilots thought was LZ Cardinal. Actually, the troops landed one mile south of Cardinal. Hotel landed at what the pilots believed was LZ Wren. It, too, landed in the wrong place and one mile south of its planned starting position. While the first companies untangled their LZ problems, Golf landed on Red Beach, followed by the 2d Platoon (Reinforced), Company A, 3rd Tank Battalion. Once the squadron resolved the LZ location problems, it lifted Echo into the correct LZ Cardinal. Hotel made the first contact at 0930. Light encounters continued throughout the day until 1540 when Hotel engaged about 100 enemy troops. In the ensuing firefight, 43 of Hotel's Marines succumbed to non-battle causes, most were heat casualties. The enemy killed 5 Marines and wounded 25 while the Communists left 23 bodies behind. The enemy disengaged at sunset.

June 19, 1967
The Marines moved out at 0730 hours. Small actions flared up throughout the day and the advancing Marines began discovering hidden enemy food stocks. LCpl David Mitchell Wood was killed in action.

Wood, David Mitchell, LCpl