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U.S. Marine Corps Expands Its Mission in I Corps

May 7,1965

1965-05-07_III-MAF_patch
1965-05-07_III-MAF_patch
Insignia of the III Marine Expeditionary Force, later Amphibious Force (III MAF).

American officials and the U.S. Marine Corps restructure and expand Marine forces in Vietnam. The 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade becomes the III Marine Amphibious Force (MAF). This force consists of the forward elements of the 3d Marine Division and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. The III MAF mission is to support the South Vietnamese in the five I Corps provinces, the vulnerable region closest to the DMZ. Before the end of June, 9,000 Marines are added to the Marine Corps forces in Vietnam.1

1Jack Shulimson and Charles M. Johnson, The Landing and the Buildup, 1965, U.S. Marines in Vietnam (Washington, D.C.: History and Museums Division, 1978), 36, 45; Spencer C. Tucker, ed. The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History, (2nd edition; Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2011), 1204.