Original Item: One of a Kind. Vietnam War Era carved wooden Budai (aka “Laughing Buddha”) figure with three inscribed brass plaques commemorating the United States Army 1st Battalion/9th Infantry Regiment (Manchu), including one mounted to the chest reading FROM THE OFFICERS OF / 1ST BN 9TH INF (MANCHU) / AUGUST 1969, one (1) reading KEEP UP THE FIRE, and one across the base listing the names of the officers who presented the carving. The figure weighs 26 lbs, and measures approximately 18 1/2" H x 13" W x 11" D.

The statue is carved out of one solid piece of wood, and shows signs of expected wood shrinkage, and age. The carving itself could possibly be at least 100 years old, from the late 19th century-early 20th century. Budai is particularly venerated in Vietnam, where the 4th Battalion served attached to the 25th Infantry Division (“Tropical Lightning”) from 1966 to 1970. During that time, the Manchus were engaged in heavy combat against both North Vietnamese Army Regulars and Viet Cong forces. It is our belief that this carving of Budai was presented from officers of the 4th Battalion to officers of the 1st Battalion Manchus serving along the DMZ in South Korea at that time.

The 1st Battalion was reorganized and redesignated on 25 January 1963 as the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry, and assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division

The 9th Infantry Regiment in Vietnam:
On 14 January 1966, the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, was relieved from assignment to the 171st Infantry Brigade and assigned to the 25th Infantry Division "Tropic Lightning" at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. A month earlier these Manchus had been in Alaska preparing for annual winter maneuvers to be conducted in temperatures of 50 below zero. Eight weeks later the battalion was preparing for deployment to the heat and humidity of South Vietnam.

On 29 April, the battalion disembarked the ship General Walker at Vũng Tàu, Vietnam. Within hours of their arrival they found themselves under fire as their convoy made its way to the 25th Division's Củ Chi Base Camp. The next day, a little more than 24 hours after arriving in country, Alpha company engaged the enemy in a firefight – setting the tone of regular contact that would characterize the Manchu experience for the next four and a half years.

Many operations were conducted by company-sized or smaller units but there were also notable larger scale operations in which the entire battalion took part. They included Asheville, Wahiawa, Joliet I and II, Helemano, and Kahana I and II.

On 22 February 1968 the Manchus closed the Katum Camp which had served as the large forward base for the 1st BDE near the Cambodian border. After a day at Tây Ninh Combat Base to prepare, the Manchus moved out to Củ Chi and eventually arrived north of Tan Son Nhut on 25 February. The mission was to find and destroy rocket sites that had been used to fire on Tan Son Nhut Air Base since the Tet Offensive began nearly a month earlier.

At 9:00 AM on 2 March 1968, the Manchus walked into what was to become one of the worst single-encounter loss of life incidents in the history of the Vietnam war. Forty-nine members of Charlie Company were killed and 24 wounded in an ambush by a large communist force on Route 248 north and east of Tan Son Nhut near the small village of Quoi Xuan. In addition, C Company suffered 24 wounded while D Company suffered casualties in the fighting to reach Charlie Company. SP4 Nicholas J. Cutinha would be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Quoi Xuan. Manchu Alpha, Bravo, and Delta continued operations in this area and took many more casualties until finally leaving on 11 March 1968. Rocket sites had been destroyed, and a formidable communist force had been weakened, if not destroyed. But, it had come at a great cost to the Manchus and particularly Charlie Company.

In the four years and six months of service in Vietnam with the 25th Division, the 4th Battalion of the Manchus received two Presidential Citations and added 12 campaign streamers to regimental colors for combat operations in the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). It is estimated that 450 4th Battalion Manchus were killed in the Vietnam War.

Three Manchus were posthumous recipients of the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest award for valor: Nicholas J. Cutinha, Ruppert L. Sargent and Maximo Yabes.