At noon on March 30 the 2d Brigade opened its new command post at Camp Evans, ten kilometers northwest of LZ Sally, leaving its old area of operations in the temporary hands of the newly arrived 3d Brigade, 82d Airborne Division, which retained the 1/501 Infantry under its opcon. The 1/502 and the 2/17 Cav, along with the 2/327 from the 3d Brigade, also moved to Camp Evans, with responsibility for AOs nearby, and the 2/501 went into position at fire support base Hardcore at Utah Beach. These shifts in position made possible the deployment of the full 1st Cavalry Division in operations to relieve the Marines besieged at Khe Sanh.

The ensuing week was relatively quiet for the newly moved units, as they adapted to their new missions, established contact with the locals and with adjacent units, cleared assigned roads, guarded assigned bridges, carried out local reconnaissances-in force, and placed ambushes out each night.

From its base at Hardcore the 2/501 was back where the 1/501 had been in February, operating along the VC-infested Street Without Joy. The 2/501 worked out an operation with the Quang Tri province chief in which province would enter three hamlets with an armed propaganda team, band entertainment, medical treatment, PF platoons and national police, and the 2/501 would provide two companies and a recon platoon to cordon off those hamlets and protect the province forces – the province objective being to win friends in a pretty hostile area.

Cleo Hogan (Cdr, C/2/501), in his diary: “I’m sitting here watching the ocean break on the sand at a place called Utah Beach. We… are providing security for a Navy Depot. They are unloading ships day and night. The company gets to go swimming about every afternoon, then pulls guard duty at night… Hasn’t been any enemy contact in about a week... found some booby traps.” (That would change in the week that followed.)

Meanwhile, back in its old area, the 1/501 was active, reporting on April 4 this “wrap up on yesterdays activities. A Co (YD648297) found graves – 6 NVA bodies, 2 days old, killed by arty.
1254, Co C (YD696297) engaged NVA in bunker; results 3 NVA POW, 2 AK-47s, 2 M16s, 2 RPG-2s.
1358 A Co (YD700296) 2 NVA ran in bunker, 3 came out gave up, 1 in bunker killed.”
And on April 5: “0900 found 4 graves, 4 NVA bodies, 4-8 days old, killed by arty;
1208 booby trap, 82mm, destroyed;
1105 (YD683311) received SA fire, called arty, swept village, found 6 NVA bodies killed by arty, 3 AK-47s; C Co engaged unk size NVA force (YD672293) 3 NVA KIA, 1 NVA POW, 1 SKS; C Co contact (YD672293), 1 NVA KIA, 2 SKS, 2 AK 47s, 10 ChiCom grenades; C Co (YD677297) 1 NVA JIA, 1 ChiCom clayore, 1 RPG. Losses 11 WIA. all evacuated.”

My “personal memoir” has no record of the 1/502’s activities for the period.