On 22 February 1965, General W.C. Westmoreland, Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam, requested two Marine battalions to protect the Da Nang airbase from the increasing threat by the Viet Cong. By early March, the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade landed there and by the end of March 5,000 Marines had taken up position. By war’s end in 1975 nearly 500,000 Marines would serve in Southeast Asia. This figure appears as he would have during the early stages of the war with his standard green combat fatigues, vest, M1 combat helmet and M14 rifle. From his belt hangs a three pocket pouch for fragmentation grenades, a hold over from the Second World War. 1/30 scale Matte Finish Single figure in box