Operation Prairie (August 3 – October 27, 1966) was a U.S. military operation in northern South Vietnam to eliminate North Vietnamese Army (NVA) forces south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). During August, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 4th Marine Regiment and other units engaged in heavy fighting with the NVA 324B Division. Prairie was a string of battles that were fought in the foothills south of the DMZ. The commander of E Company 2nd Battalion 4th Marines, Capt. Howard V.