With the antiwar movement in high gear, the ongoing unrest would have turned any meeting in the nations capital between President Nixon and South Vietnam's President Nguyen Van Thieu into a flash point for additional street protest and violence. To avoid that possibility Nixon met Thieu at Midway Island in the Central Pacific.

     During a press briefing after the meeting, President Nixon publicly announced his plans for Vietnamization, and that the U.S. would withdraw 25,000 troops within the next few months with further withdrawals at regular intervals to be completed by August, depending on several factors: continued progress of the ARVN training program; ongoing progress in the Paris Peace Talks; and the level of communist military activity in the South. Although privately Thieu was wary of Nixon's future intentions, fearing a total U.S. abandonment, he publicly supported the reduction, and reiterated Nixon's position promising that the successful Vietnamization of the war would allow a U.S. troop reduction equal to one combat division that would be replaced in the field by the ARVN.

     MACV initiated its 11th Campaign, Summer-Fall 1969, which would last until 31 October. During the campaign the conduct of operations was increasingly turned over to the ARVN, and U.S. troops withdrew in greater numbers. American troop strength had peaked at 543,400 in April 1969, and would drop to 505,500 by mid October.

     More scattered than before, enemy attacks were concentrated on RF/PF and ARVN positions to thwart the Vietnamization progress, and embarrass the Thieu administration.

     U.S. combat deaths dropped in the early Fall, as U.S. units switched to small unit actions. The trend was not constant because U.S. troops deaths which had fallen well below l00 a week in the fall, would rise above 100 later in the year.

1600 Hours 74th Field Hospital, POW A/SGT [Acting Sergeant] Robert L. Darlington is advised by SP/4 Billy E. Eller, both with the C Company POW Hospital Guard Detail, that two Army of The Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) Intelligence interrogators were illegally using a field phone to interrogate a Viet Cong prisoner in a ward at the hospital compound.

     A/SGT Darlington took immediate action, confiscated the field phone, removed the two ARVN interrogators from the compound. The hospital commander was notified and an investigation initiated for violations of the rules of the Geneva Convention on treatment of POW’s. A/SGT Darlington issued his report on the incident.

TAOR  The II Field Forces failure on 23 February to have the Thai Army at Bearcat prosecute an immediate counterattack against the remnants of 274th (Dong Nai) Regiment when they fled south of the Battalion TAOR, allowed them to successfully retreat unmolested. And as a result, within three months they were able to convalesce, rebuild, reprovision and plan their next offensive in relative safety within the Thai AO

     In the evening hours elements of the 274th estimated to be of battalion strength attacked the Thai’s Bearcat base. It started with a bombardment of heavy mortar and rockets, quickly followed by a massive ground assault against their perimeter. With the assistance of artillery and gunships, the Thai’s successfully held their lines against the aggressive attack.

Bearcat Detachment  Commanding General of Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV), General Craighton W. Abrams, arrived at the Bearcat base camp and personally presented awards, mostly Purple Heart medals to allied troops stationed at the base. Most of the awards were presented to members of the Royal Thailand Army Volunteer Forces.

Dau Tieng Convoy  Elements of C Company escorted the 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry of the 1st Division on their move from Quan Loi to Dau Tieng.

1730 hours   Approximately ten rounds of 122mm rockets impacted on Long Binh Post resulting in light casualties and facility damage. None of the rounds were launched from the Battalion TAOR.