Commencing on March 29, 1966, Operation Abilene was a U.S. search and destroy mission through Phuoc Tuy Province, targeting the VC 274th and 275th Regiments of the 5th Division and their base areas in the May Tao Secret Zone.

The next phase of the operation began on April 10, 1966, with soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division moving into positions between Saigon and Vung Tau in search of the elusive VC D800 Battalion.

On the following day as Charlie Company moved through the Courtenay Rubber Plantation, they encountered sporadic fire with VC snipers attempting to knock the Americans off one by one.

Through the night, small units from the VC D800 Battalion breached the American perimeter, retrieving their own casualties and slitting the throats of wounded U.S. soldiers along the way.

[citation needed] After five hours of brutal fighting, what was left of Charlie Company formed a tight perimeter, protected by a barrage of artillery fire which came down at a rate of five or six rounds per minute.