All of us were impressed with the discipline, intensity and aggressiveness of the enemy. A few weeks later, we learned that the area was defended not only by Vietcong, but also by large North Vietnamese Army units who, once they saw that only 12 helicopters dropped troops off, began to reinforce the village. It was here that our Marine training and precombat planning paid off — as junior leaders were wounded, their corporals and sergeants took over without skipping a beat.

Under heavy fire, we finally reached the meeting area, a Buddhist pagoda, around 4 p.m., but nearly all the Vietcong leaders had fled. There was nothing to do but to regroup for extraction. We had suffered many casualties on the trails and in the village, and it took time to recover them. At one point, some of us had to crawl under enemy fire to recover a wounded Marine.

In the end, we killed more than 50 North Vietnamese fighters and captured one senior cadre member. As we called for helicopters to evacuate our 32 wounded and five dead Marines, we needed airstrikes to break contact with the enemy and to protect the helicopters. We knew we couldn’t stay overnight, as we were short of ammunition, and not in an area where we could be reinforced by other Marine units.

At this point in the war, we still felt confident that we could defeat the guerrillas and the North Vietnamese Army units. But it was also apparent that not enough was being done by the government of South Vietnam to remove the causes of the insurgency or the conditions that had driven so many Vietnamese to want to live under Communism. When, later, I had a few moments to think strategically, the nagging thought arose: Yes, we can win on the battlefield, but is that enough to win the war?

I was proud to serve in the Marines in Vietnam, and I believed in our mission. I later went on to a 35-year career in the financial sector, including positions as the chief executive of a Fortune 500 company and the chair of the New York Stock Exchange Group. But I never felt I had as much responsibility as being the commander of the 224 Marines of C Company, who put their faith in my leadership abilities, and entrusted me with their lives.