 In the morning of December 31 , the 4th Marines Battalion returned to the crash site with the entire force and the American graves were located and their corpses were dug up . At about 3 pm , a single U.S. helicopter arrived on the battlefield to evacuate the casualties , but they only picked up the bodies of the four American crewmen , while South Vietnamese casualties were forced to wait for another helicopter to arrive . At 4 pm , Major Nguyễn Văn Nho ordered the 4th Marine Battalion to carry their casualties back to the village , instead of continuing to wait for the helicopters . As the 4th Marine Battalion began their return march , three Viet Cong battalions , with artillery support , suddenly attacked them from three directions . The battalion 's commanding and executive officers were immediately killed and air support was not available . Two ARVN Marine companies managed to fight their way out of the ambush and back to Bình Giã , but the third was overrun and almost completely wiped out . The fourth company desperately held out at a hilltop against Viet Cong artillery barrages and large infantry charges , before slipping out through the enemy positions at dawn . The 4th Marines Battalion of 426 men lost a total of 117 soldiers killed , 71 wounded and 13 missing . Among the casualties were 35 officers of the 4th Marine Battalion killed in action , and the four American advisers attached to the unit were also wounded . Backed by U.S. Air Force bombers , on January 1 three battalions of ARVN Airborne reinforcements arrived , they were too late as most of the Viet Cong had already withdrawn from the battlefield . 
 In the morning of December 31 , the 4th Marines Battalion returned to the crash site with the entire force and the American graves <a href='uninflect' title='1'><mark>were</mark></a> located and their corpses <a href='uninflect' title='2'><mark>were</mark></a> dug up . At about 3 pm , a single U.S. helicopter arrived on the battlefield to evacuate the casualties , but they only picked up the bodies of the four American crewmen , while South Vietnamese casualties <a href='uninflect' title='3'><mark>were</mark></a> forced to wait for another helicopter to arrive . At 4 pm , Major Nguyễn Văn Nho ordered the 4th Marine Battalion to carry their casualties back to the village , instead of continuing to wait for the helicopters . As the 4th Marine Battalion began their return march , three Viet Cong battalions , with artillery support , suddenly attacked them from three directions . The battalion <a href='null_genetive' title='4'><mark>'s</mark></a>commanding and executive officers <a href='uninflect' title='5'><mark>were</mark></a> immediately killed and air support <a href='negative_concord' title='6'><mark>was</mark></a> <a href='negative_concord' title='7'><mark>not</mark></a>available . Two ARVN Marine companies managed to fight their way out of the ambush and back to Bình Giã , but the third was overrun and almost completely wiped out . The fourth company desperately held out at a hilltop against Viet Cong artillery barrages and large infantry charges , before slipping out through the enemy positions at dawn . The 4th Marines Battalion of 426 men lost a total of 117 soldiers killed , 71 wounded and 13 missing . Among the casualties <a href='uninflect' title='8'><mark>were</mark></a> 35 officers of the 4th Marine Battalion killed in action , and the four American advisers attached to the unit <a href='uninflect' title='9'><mark>were</mark></a> also wounded . Backed by U.S. Air Force bombers , on January 1 three battalions of ARVN Airborne reinforcements arrived , they <a href='uninflect' title='10'><mark>were</mark></a> too late as most of the Viet Cong <a href='been_done' title='11'><mark>had</mark></a> already withdrawn from the battlefield . 
In the morning of December 31 , the 4th Marines Battalion returned to the crash site wit the entire force and the American graves was located and their corpses was dug up . At abt 3 pm , a single U.S. helicopter arrived on the battlefield to evacuate the casualties , but they only picked up the bodies of the 4 American crewmen , while South Vietnamese casualties was forced to wait fa anotha helicopter to arrive . At 4 pm , Major Nguyễn Văn Nho ordered the 4th Marine Battalion to carry their casualties back to the village , instead of continuing to wait for the helicopters . As the 4th Marine Battalion began their return march , three Viet Cong battalions , with artillery support , suddenly attacked em from three directions . The battalion  commanding and executive officers was immediately killed and air support ain't available . Two ARVN Marine companies managed to fight their way out of the ambush and back to Bình Giã , but the third was overrun and almost completely wiped outt . da fourth company desperately heldouttt at a hilltop against Viet Cong artillery barrages and bigass infantry charges , before slipping out thru the enemy positions at dawn . Tda4th Marines Battalion of 426 men lost a total of 117 soldiers killed , 71 wounded and 13 missing . Among the casualties was 35 officers of thdath Marine Battalion killed in action , and thedaur American advisers attached to the dat was also wounded . Backed by U.S. Air Force bombers , on January 1 three battalions of ARVN Airborne reinforcements arrived , they was too late as most of the Viet Cong done already withdrawn from the battlefield .