Vietnam veterans who served together in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade — known as the Redcatchers — are gathering Tuesday for a mini reunion lunch at Boneshakers Restaurant in Portland, Texas.
The veterans, who live in Rockport, Ingleside, Odem, Portland, and Corpus Christi, are meeting at 11:30 a.m. at the restaurant at 1008 Wildcat Dr. to continue a friendship that has lasted more than 57 years.
The 199th Light Infantry Brigade was first organized in 1921 as part of the U.S. Army Reserve. It was reconstituted on March 23, 1966, in the Regular Army and activated on June 1, 1966, at Fort Benning, Georgia. The unit was designed as a modern light infantry counterinsurgency force — with the motto "Light, Swift & Accurate" — built for rapid mobility with minimal heavy equipment.
After training at Fort Benning and Camp Shelby, Mississippi, the brigade deployed on Dec. 10, 1966, to Sông Bé, Vietnam. It was the only combat unit to train at Camp Shelby during the Vietnam War. The unit operated mainly in the III Corps Tactical Zone, north of Saigon. The nickname "Redcatchers" reflected their mission to hunt down communist forces.
The brigade participated in 11 campaigns in Vietnam and Cambodia, suffering more than 750 killed in action and more than 4,000 wounded. Soldiers conducted aggressive patrols through rice paddies, swamps, jungles, and urban combat zones.
Among the unit's major operations was Operation FAIRFAX, which began in January 1967 and involved working alongside ARVN Rangers to clear Viet Cong strongholds around Saigon. During the Tet Offensive in January 1968, the brigade defended Long Binh and Bien Hoa Air Base, engaged in house-to-house fighting in Cholon, and attacked enemy command posts inside Saigon. In 1969, the unit secured areas north and east of Saigon, and in 1970, it entered the Iron Triangle during the Cambodian Incursion.
The brigade earned numerous honors, including the Presidential Unit Citation, the Valorous Unit Award, the Meritorious Unit Commendation, the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm — awarded twice — and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal First Class.
The unit was inactivated on Oct. 15, 1970, at Fort Benning. It was briefly reactivated at Fort Lewis from 1991 to 1992 before being reflagged as the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (Light). On June 27, 2007, it was redesignated as the 199th Infantry Brigade at Fort Benning, where it now serves primarily as a training formation.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today!
