Friday, May 20, 2005

This Day in 1969 - Hamburger Hill

At 1000 hours, this day in 1969, four infantry battalions assaulted Hill 937 in Vietnam. They reached the first bunker line, which seemed deserted. Approximately a half-hour later, when they were about 75 meters from the top, they were under point-blank RPG fire, and grenades rolled at them.

The first Americans reached the top at 1145, nine days and five hours after the first contact on that hill. By the end of the day, most of the 29th NVA Regiment was dead or fleeing.

The total American casualties were 70 dead and 372 wounded.

For the next seventeen days, mopping up continued.

After the battle, one soldier wrote "Hamburger Hill" on a piece of a C-ration box, nailing it to a burnt tree trunk.

Hollywood's treatment of this battle doesn't come close to doing it justice.

For the more of the story of Hamburger Hill, see:
Hamburger Hill - The Real Story
A/101 and Hamburger Hill
Studies in Battle Command - Hamburger Hill
Hamburger Hill Revisited

Note: In my research for this post, I came across the Taps Gallery, a site that honors Vietnam's KIA's and the passings of veterans. It is a very moving tribute to those who served.

posted by Pam @ 11:00 AM |

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