My brother Dan was the lead combat field medic during the battle of Hamburger Hill. He was honored with the Bronze Star with Valor. 50 tears later to the exact day of the final day of that battle he was laid to rest at N.H. Veterans Cemetery. My oldest brother Jim was also in Viet-Nam. He too a 101st Screaming Eagle (LRRP) All of you who served are true heros. THANK YOU ALL!
Sorry for your loss. My dear friend Nikko (Nicholas) Schoch was with B Co., 187th Inf Reg,101st AB Div. and on that fricken hill. Died from sever PSTD years later in Salt Lake City. He was the lead Medic. DSC, SSM, BSM with V x 2. Specifically named a hero of the battle at Dong Ab Bia. RIP Nikko! Me? I was At the 17th Field hospital in An Khe and later at the 18th Surg in Quan Tri
@@patrobas9291 My uncle was kia mid-3/68 , tail end of bloody TET , in SouthVietnams Central Highlands , 10days b-4 my 11th bday. He was near Pleiku , in 1st Cav. Airmobile . Still depressed about it currently , and taking ant- depressing meds.
@@patrobas9291 So sorry for your loss as well sir. My brother was a medic at that nightmare of a hill. He had only been in country for a short period of time before going to Hamburger Hill. He may have not been the head medic at that time but eventually became the head medic. In my opinion for the men who fought there are TRUE HEROS. I can't even begin to imagine what it was like for those soldiers and everything they had to endure. The saddest and probably the toughest battle for those men wasn't the battle of Hamburger Hill, but the battle all of them had to fight amongst their own countrymen when returning home. This country, especially our own government owe those vets a big kiss on the ass. THEY ANSWERED THE CALL, DAMN IT! Those men won all the battles but because of Washington, our government, we lost the war. In any war throughout history when a battle was won you claimed the real estate and you fought on. In Vietnam when a battle was won we walked away just to come back and claim it again. How insane! It must be so difficult to keep morale up when a war is being fought like that. It is said there weren't any heros in Vietnam, well that is the furthest thing from the truth. Young men who was sent over 8,000 miles away from home to fight for freedom for a country that nobody had even heard of should be considered heros in everyone's eyes. All you need to do is just open them. I had 3 brothers drafted for that war, my two oldest brothers Jim and Dan went to Vietnam as a 101st Screaming Eagles. There are 17 and 14 years in age between my two oldest brothers and myself so naturally I was and still am very proud of them. I had two jackets sent home to me from my brothers. One of them had the map of Vietnam all hand stitched on the back of it which read my brother is serving in Vietnam. Like I said I was very proud of them and excited to wear it to school one day. When my grade school teacher saw it she sent me home and told me never to wear that jacket to school again. A school that my brothers also went to. A very small NH town with a population of approximately 1,000 residents at that time. A school where my brother Dan was an honor roll student all four years and had scholarship offers from many colleges, but because we already had a brother fighting over there he thought it was the honorable thing to do. It was a long almost 5 mile walk for me back home that day. I had no idea what I had done wrong. It was already a difficult time for me having to watch my mother cry everyday for 4 entire years isn't easy for kid at that age. Well my father and his 4 brothers were all in WWII at the same time. My dad and an uncle fought the Japanese while my other 3 uncles were fighting the Nazis. When my father found out about what the school had done he took off his only day off from work in 37 years and he worked 7 days a week. NO BULLSHIT! And addressed the school about it. I never had a problem wearing that jacket again. I apologize for going off point with my story, but was done to me that day was what the Vietnam vets went through on a daily basis when returning home from a nightmare just to have to live even a worse nightmare here. Like I said before anyone who answers the call are true HEROS and to you sir, I salute you for a job WELL DONE!!!!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!
@@MarkNazer Good day Mark. Thank you for your comments and condolences. I believe everyone was effected by Viet Nam. It changed our country's history. I know the jacket you were wearing. Saw several as you were wearing. Shame on the teacher. You should never have been so humiliated. I come from a long line of US Army officers and some grunts. Revolutionary War, Civil War, GF in WWI. Father in Battle of the Bulge and Korea as one of the first "whirleybird" pilots and highly decorated: SSM, BSM x 2 With V device. There are two books that I would recommend for you if you wish to "get" what we went through in the Ashau Valley and elsewhere. The Crouching Beast, Frank Boccia and A Shau Valor, Thomas Yarborough (Especially pages 187-188 ref Nikko.). I came back with an unrecognized PTSD that even today can get to me every now and again. I agree with your assessment of that conflict but one objective was we did stop "Communism" from spreading further down the SE Asian peninsula. Are you still in New Hampshire? I am from Boston. Let's go Celtics!!
My dad was a 17 year-old drop out from the mountains in Colorado. Telluride was not a celebrity vacation place back then. My dad got in trouble for smoking pot, and they offered him jail or the U.S. Army, and a vacation package, all expenses paid to Vietnam. He saw his company get blown apart, and he was never right again. He spent his life addicted drugs, then the drink. RIP fy nhad.
Holy shit... Says a lot about the US. Some things there are always way too backwards for all its proclaimed progressivnes. Being punished with a life of mental illness and PTSD for smoking weed. I feel sorry for what happened to your dad...
A lot of good men died on 937 for nothing. It just churns my guts to think about that. I can't even understand how politicians are allowed to play with people's lives like that. It's disgusting and unacceptable!
Just reference Black Sabbath's War Pigs lyrics and you will know this is what they have always done. The message is don't let them have that power over you.
@@gregoryhagen8801 A brilliant man and good person. Shame he couldn't be allowed to bring more light to people's lives! Horrible for America to see that on TV. But it should never be forgotten and always learned from.
I was in the 2/502 Inf, 101st Airborne and my platoon spent my whole tour in the A Shaw Valley area, we constantly would fight these short battles in the 1970's, with the odd big ones. I walked point my whole tour... we would clear out areas and then be moved to a new area, only to go back in the same area and fight our way through again. I was surprised, as i grew up a farm boy and noticed the NVA dead or prisoners often had soft smooth hands, city folk, not farmers. I was to be the new team sniper, but we were so short of men, when our Team Sniper DEROSED, I just walked point. That area was pure hell, the NVA were great fighters, but so were we and many NVA died. My platoon averaged under 20 men many times, so we got replacements from 1st Cav who had been fighting VC down south, most of us took a Cav "newbe" as a partner, to help them understood how the NVA fought. I lost my new partner the first night. We had 5 dead and I'm unsure of how many wounded. I was lucky, because at first light, it was over and I did a check; I was out of Frags, no 45 cal magazines, all our claymores blown and one magazine in my rifle and 2 left (17 rounds each) ... blood trails everywhere. We blew some trees and CA'd to Firebase Bastone where we spent the day there getting new gear (even my Ruck sack was shredded), clothing, Ammo and a hot meal. They put us in a set of bunkers for the night and the next AM, it was same-same; some new guys from Eagle landed and we headed back into the Valley. All our medals, the "Brave Eagle" awards.... mean nothing, I lost my two closest friends, we were brothers.... and in the States you hated us .... Over 400,000 Vietnam Veterans have died AFTER they came home from illnesses directly related to Dioxin exposure, and no one cared. Thank you for your service??? I'm slowing dying, and my poor wife keeps hoping (I'm a 100% disabled) it will change... it won't.
Thank you for sharing your experience sir. Nothing I could say could ever express how grateful I am to read it so I will simply leave it at that. God bless you and your loved ones. Respect to you all 🙏
I could tell you about how the medical organisation is in fact a fraud. Without being a false conspiracy theorist, or criticizing the covid vaccine. Many seem to sense it but i.e. to start about this vaccine is even misleading.
I'm right there with you 3/5 calvary tank commander there in 69- 70 . 100% disabled and had many medical procedures and cancers related to agent orange exposure. Your right we're slowly becoming statistics from our service there.
@@hankfanelli719 Thanks for you kind thoughts. I so miss my friends,3 took their own lives after they found out they had advanced prostrate cancer .... and some crazy woman in congress thinks forest fires were caused by Jewish sponsored "Space Lasers" ??? You be safe ...
Following immoral orders is not honorable it's shameful. Those men that said no and went to Canada were fast more patriotic and real men than those that went to murder people that did nothing to the USA. They followed orders to destroy a beautiful country and poison the land for years to come. "Military men are just dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy." Henry Kissinger
I was a crew chief/door gunner on Hueys down south in '69/'70. It is unconceivable that our government made us do this kind of ridiculous, grade-making operations so that military personnel could further their careers. It happened every day. We didn't loose the war, they did.
As an ex British army infantryman I can say without a shadow of doubt, that this particular battle is a perfect example of how the military thinks. What’s the reason for the fight? Their were enemies on a hill those enemies need to be killed. Why did it go titts up? Because the army functions on communication and that went to shit very quickly. We used to call this phenomenon ‘on the bus, off the bus’. One man tells you to get on a bus, some other man asks why you’re on the bus go over there, then the first man shouts at you and tells you to get back on the bus. And so it continues. Fun times.
On The Bu$e$ ? , Q- UP for this lad..Every time I turn on the History Channel a 100,000 of you blokes are laying down their arms and being marched off to build bridges in Burma or filling your boots with sand in Libya....my grandpa marched with Monty in Market Garden , we call it a KLU$TERFCUK....OUI !.....3rd Anti Tank Reg. Juno Beach.....thankfully it was not Dieppe eh !
@@empirikal09 I’m guessing you’re either trying to be clever or witty! Whichever it is, you’ll need more context bud. Because that’s a fail of a statement, i think. 🤔
My uncle Edward Sandoval was a medic with the 101st. I believe he was there. He never talked much about his experiences during the war. Rest well uncle. We miss you.
my uncle Roy H Snyder was a b para-trooper 101 air born division and my dad allways said uncle Roy fought the battle of hamburger hill my uncle lived until april of 1970......and was killed in Viet-Nam
I wrote a book that was set in that vicinity. I crawled all over the location and was shocked to see that the dug in positions were all facing the open valley and very little was done to protect the flanks and rear. It was basic infantry defence stuff and it beggars belief that lessons from even WW2 were ignored. It really casts a grim shadow of the lack of good leadership at the time.
I served in the 3-187 and got to meet some of those men who fought on that hill, it was truly an honor to have served in the unit and talk to those men who will forever be my brothers. 🇺🇲RAKKASAN! 🇺🇲
I was on firebase Berchtesgaden firing the 105s in support of the battle. Hamburger Hill was directly across from us, and we saw the upper part of the Hill get browner and browner due to the artillery and airstrikes on it. It was a trip! Two weeks later I became an artillery RTO on an FO team, attached to B/2/506th Infantry till October of 1969. I DEREOS on 15th of December 1969.
My uncle rich was an artilleryman at firebase Bastogne in the a shau valley. He was on the 8 inch field gun tho. One of the things I remember him telling me was when he flew into fu Bai that on one of the he corrugated roofs of the quanset huts someone had painted "fu Bai is alright" lol always stuck with me. That and occasionally Huey crew chiefs would ask if anybody wanted to be a door gunner, he said he almost volunteered until he really thought about it. Why are they asking random guys if they wanna be a door gunner, I guess the attrition rate for door gunners during that time was extremely high. He changed his mind fairly quickly I guess as he didn't have it so bad at f.b. Bastogne. He had a relatively easy tour compared to what some of those poor guys went thru. The biggest action that occured while he was there, was about a dozen v.c. sappers tried infiltrating the wire...well they had a quad .50 at fu Bai that made short work of those guys. He said you couldnt really tell they were once human beings after those 4 .50s made mince meat of em.
I was 6 months old then. But I respect and Revere those brave men who fought for everything they were sent to do in a bad situation. May God Bless them, and I thank them for doing what they did. 👍🇱🇷
My heart goes out to the vets of Vietnam. They were treated like shit for a few that were jerks! My husband was a Vietnam vet and needless to say he never could let go. He ended his life 13 years and 2 days ago in front of me as I was trying to reason with him. It was a horrible place that our boys, men, girls,women just didnt need or have business to be! All political! 😢
I hope your husband found the peace in death he couldn't find in life. I also served in Vietnam. I don't believe we have had a valid war since WW II . MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT IS THEY ALWAYS HIDE THE ACTUAL FIGURES OF HOW MANY MEN WE LOSE. i KNOW WE LOST 5 MILLION IN VIETNAM, NOT58K. THEY HID WAR DEATHS. IF A MAN WAS KILLED IN AN ACCIDENT, SNAKE BITE, DISEASE, HE WAS NOT CONSIDERED IN THE CASUALTY COUNT. IF WOUNDED AND FLEW OUT OF COUNTRY FOR TREATMENT AND DIED, HE WAS NOT CONSIDERED BECAUSE HE DIDN'T DIE IN COUNTRY. THE MEMORIAL IS AN INSULT TO THE MEN WHO DIED AND ALL WHO SERVED THERE. ALSO WHAT ABOUT THE MEN WHO DIED AFTER LEAVING VIETNAM, FROM WOUNDS OR AGENT ORANGE ?. Or those like your husband ? He didn't die from suicide, he died from the horrors of war. He saw things no one should ever see or have to bear. Always be proud that he was a soldier who served because he loved his country.
I'm so sorry for your lost mam. People sometimes don't think or realize what the wives had to go through. So much was happening in our country during that era and the woman during this time were also changing. It was easier now for a woman to just up and walk away when times were tough. For the woman who took their vows for better or worse and meant it was no easy task, not during that time. To watch their husbands suffer from PTSD and flashbacks had to be so tough on them as well that they too would also suffer from PTSD. I'm so sorry for your lost and everything YOU also had to endure mam. If there was one good thing that happened to your husband, then it was probably being married to you, for you didn't leave when times got tough and still didn't leave when things got even tougher. NO, you stood by your husband the best you could. Wish there were more woman like you. I SALUTE YOU AS WELL. God bless you and may your husband REST IN PEACE
My dad was there during 67-68 with the 1st Marine division 2nd battalion G-company. Was stationed at khe sahn but remembered hearing about how bad it was in the Ashau. Had a buddy he met in the states that was there and told my dad that he walked up on an enemy sleeping and put the barrel in the dudes mouth until he woke up and put his lights out. Straight hard f*cks.
@@brucemacmillan9581 I wouldn’t say “lost”….. stacked them bodies 10 to 1 for the entire war. That’s a pretty hard ass whooping for North Vietnam if you ask me. Wiped the floor with they ass.
@@brucemacmillan9581 obviously your not American,BC if you were you would know that most of the soldiers were drafted,and had to go,they knew they were getting the shitty end of the stick,but they had too fight for each other 🇮🇪☘️
@@user-ct3qm8wk7j those men didn't invade your country. If you want to blame someone, start with the French government who invaded your country and started everything. We were there to try to stop communism. Communism is such a fabulous institution. Stalin, Khmer Rouge, and the list goes on... those boys did what our government asked of them. If you want to blame Americans, you can blame the politicians. Lay off the veterans. They've been through enough
@@deannalively4778 i am not vietnamese,i am chinese.china is no more communist,but socialism with chinese characteristics,it worked,china now second largest economy in the world.
@@user-ct3qm8wk7j then why say we invaded your country? We fought with your country in WWIi. Yes, your country is a manufacturing success but are you free? I'm honestly curious. I have been told that you have little freedom and although I have worked with people who are from China or traveled there I would like to hear from you. Do you still live there?
@@deannalively4778 i didn’t mean US invaded my country but vietnam,korea,afghanistan,Iraq,random killing muslim by millions,is it war criminals? in china internet,it’s true that censorship exists,but doesn’t mean not free,i don’t know what you mean by saying free or you have to define freedom.china is still developing country and poor,ccp to lift chinese people out of poverty primarily,not caring about those political nonsense.i am still living in china.
I listened to stories from World War II to Korea to Vietnam at the dinner table at Thanksgiving Christmas at my dinner table there were Marines Army Navy submarine in US Air I never seen a more beautiful table in my life
My uncle Richard Wernet was an artilleryman at firebase Bastogne in 68-69. 8 inch field artillery, the biggest field artillery in the army inventory at that time. He had a relatively easy tour compared to most of those poor guys. The largest action that occured during his time there, was one night when about a dozen or so v.c. sappers tried infiltrating the wire. F.b. Bastogne had a quad .50 on base and according to him after they opened up on those guys with that quad.50 you couldn't really tell that they were once people. Just turned them into minced meat (his exact words). He told me that after seeing something like that at 19 years old, it changes you. You're just never the same person after that. I can't imagine.
He was right, war does change you. I see so many people doing stupid things that could get them killed. I figure they have never faced death, so have no appreciation for life. War does that to you.
I had two friends in that action. One came home and one didn’t. October 1969 I landed in Vietnam. I’m 100% disabled now. Was the war worth it? I’m not sure but I would not hesitate to go again
Also amazing is that 101st fought another horrific battle at a place called Tam Ky, but was kept secret from the public due to the publicity of high casualties at Hamburger Hill. A recent book has been written about it called Courage Under Fire.
You can't even begin to imagine what these brave men went through ,it must have been hell on earth,I have nothing but the highest respect for those US soldiers
Agree,if there was a hell on Earth it was atop that hill,I'm trying to imagine been 18 yrs old,seeing the carnage all around,and still have the guts to fight up that hill,awe-inspiring
i have seen the actual paperwork on casualties and i estimate we lost 500k killed and the Vietnamese from both sides lost over 5 million. The govt lies to the American people about actual casualties from all wars.58k is an insult to those who gave all and those who served. Until we get an actual accounting of those who died, i refuse to visit the war memorial.
Thousands of lives lost so Raytheon could sell some more missiles. This isn't going to end until the MIC and the international banking cartel who controls it gets dismantled.
Even though I was at Chu Lai 68-69 1st MAW MAG 12 air base, I was still there. And from then until today, I’ve always wondered why were we there and what did we accomplish? The same answer comes to me…”I don’t know” and “nothing”. Either way…WELCOME HOME to my Nam Vet Brothers and Sisters. And to those that didn’t, SALUTE.
I had a friend at Chu Lai around that time. He was in charge of the radio's there. His name was Jerry Caudle. He should never have been in combat. He came home with PTSD so bad he has never been the same.
@@rondodson5736 I’m sorry to hear about your friend and what happened to him. And I’m sorry but his name doesn’t ring a bell for a couple or reasons…I’m bad with names and most of the people I remember used nicknames. I went by “Dallas” and I was a cook when I was there.
My best high school friend, Peter V. Blazonis from Chelmsford, Massachusetts was killed on the 3rd and final assault up that good for nothing rotten hill. RIP Pete...
Right after the marines moved off hamburger hill my army unit went up there for artillery security, I was a tank commander of the first tank up there and refused a handshake from some general that helicoptered in for a photoop. When we moved off the hill into the valley we got into one of the worst firefights in my year in the bush, we killed hundreds with only 3 tanks and 7 APCs, we lost 1 man and 7 wounded from an all night chaotic attack.
i was at hamburger hill, huey crew chief. there were no marines on that hill. thank the 187th rockasans for taking the hill. 101st airborne. i never saw a tank in the mountains the 15th mech. was in the valley floor at fire base currahee but they could not navigate the mountains so you sir are full of it! we took territory and then left all over the country the idea was to kill as many nva as possible and we did a damned good job of it! by the way the vietnam war was about controlling the world drug trade by the cia and our corrupt government
My Grandfather survived this event, I never got to meet the man as he died when my father was 3. His name was Dan, he ended up dying after stealing a corvette to bail one of his friends out of jail and after being pursued by the police he ran into an oil tanker, got covered in gasoline and burned to death on the side of a highway, I believe it was in Arizona or Nevada... I heard he was a good man before he was drafted, and that when he returned from this, he was completely dead inside, never smiled again, couldn't make any human connection even with the family he knew before the war... to hear what happened there, I absolutely understand why it broke him the way it did. He did 3 tours of duty, and this was during his 3rd. War is a terrible thing and makes good men do horrible things they would never do otherwise. What's worse is that the police called him "just another criminal turned to a statistic" and left him to rot in the desert after serving his country. Never knowing that it was out of friendship and that he was having a ptsd episode when it all went down. I only found out recently, and I feel like his spirit has followed me through life up to this moment. I wish he was still here to meet his great great grandson... nobody who bothered nobody deserves to die to a fate like this after living through what was essentially hell on Earth. I wish I could give his military info, but it's never been told to me. I only know his time, ending, and name. I never even saw a picture of his face. I hope his soul is resting easy... that's all I can wish for.
I was Battalion Commo Chief for 3/187 when the film came out. We were the first to see it before it eas released to the public,and by the way, we never wore "subdued " patches. I was with 2/11 FA for Ripcord in July 70.
I was shot 6 times on that hill from hell. I was lucky all 6 shots where on my legs i lost both legs but i lived. I was only 19 there were 35 seniors from my highschool drafted out of 35 drafted only 13 made it back home we got drafted the most deadly year
There was a contract bounty on Honeycutt. This I was told when I arrived at Camp Eagle. Yes, there was such a thing as "Murder Inc." Never say,"for so much I would kill someone, "The money would be in front of you in 5 minutes!!!😮
These men are hero’s ,all. The top echelon were fools. When you call on troops to do the impossible, you have no right to turn around and give their victories away as if they were nothing. This is the strategy that lost us true victory and peace in Vietnam.
This reminded me of my granddaddy. Such a great man. Was in the airforce transporting men and supplies . he went out of this world how he wanted as peaceful as can be in his sleep,he was 27 years old . The other 6 passengers onboard were not so lucky as they were awake all the way up untill the nose of the plane struck the jungle floor.
Those soldiers in this battle - all of them - were disciplined and balls the size of boulders, HEROES all. Incompetent political and military leadership made these MEN suffer. BUT they fought like HEROES IN true PROFESSIONALISM of a combat soldier. They are right there with any WWI WWII KOREA combat unit. Semper Fi 🫡🫡🫡🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺
Ha! I lost my uncle mid 3/68 , tail end of bloody TET , in the Central Highlands of NAM , ,10 days b-4 my 11th day . TRAUMATIC ! Seen neighbors sons , and friends bro sent there from 65-69 . Last one hm by late 71.
My Buddy, Cpl. Rodney C. Rubisoff aka Rube, survived Hamburger Hill. He was a door gunner flying medivac with the 101 st. RIP Rube. ( he made it home.) 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 it says here a medivac chopper crashed here. His did at low altitude. He got a Purple Heart 💜 and a Bronze Star that day.
It was never about taking real estate so the “ Hill “ was just where the enemy was concentrated. It was rare that they got large numbers of Regulars in one place so I’m not at all surprised they went all in. Sounds like they did a good job too.
That battle was portrayed in the film"Hamburger Hill"!But the friendly fire incident was portrayed as fire from a 50cal:machine gun on the chopper!A bloody battle though!
Any battle or war that both sides measure victory by how many of your soldiers died compared to how many of the enemy you killed is a war that should never have happened.
What I never understood about that operation is why didn't we pull back, send in a bunch of Buff strikes, and then go in. It sounds like a big ego pissing contest...
Vietnam specifically the A Shau, had a triple canopy. That's three layers of trees. Even if you pulverized the place, assuming it penetrated the foliage, the VC and NVA were top notch bunker builders. Its never as easy or as simple as "Bombing them" like many would like to imagine. And isnt all that war is in the end?
@@xXPlumpkinXxnapalm to get rid of the trees and a few white phosphorus bombs to give the defenders something to think about while they burn and suffocate…
@@DonFelixGallardo Trust me man, I read over 100 books on the stuff, father is a Vietnam veteran. You can see it in Ukraine. You can see it WWII against the Japanese. And you saw it in Vietnam. Its just not that simple and it never will be. The guy commenting earlier is correct. We dropped more bombs on Ho Chi Minh Trail alone, than in the entirety of WWII. Think about that. It had little impact on the flow of supplies. A determined enemy simply rebuilds. And so they did I'm sure on Hamburger Hill. Im sure they knew exactly what they were up against. They were smart. And put heavy logs above them. These bunkers could withstand direct hits. Its just never as simple as "Bomb them" throughout history, even the soldiers on the ground often say, bombardments are almost more for morale, than anything... it sure looks like they catch hell, as shown in the movie A Thin Red Line. But its never as bad as you think because they hide in heavy bunkers to wait it out. They arent stupid, they knew our strategy.
I think you’ve been reading too many magazines or watching too many movies? As long as I was on the ground in that country(few years) in uncle Samuel‘s Marine Corps. I read about those things you’re talking about since I came home. We called them Arch Light Strikes! they were fantastic and they worked. Kind of think that you were never there? Were you ever in uniform?
I served in Charlie Company 3rd Battalion 187 infantry regiment from 2018-2019. Proud to be apart of the famous company known for this engagement. “CHOPPIN’ CHARLIE!”
Just returned from a wonderful trip to Vietnam. I have always been amazed at how the people have forgiven America for trying to bomb them from the face of the planet. Perhaps, we in the West, have still a lot to learn about life. We certainly do not have the moral high ground with this conflict.
I don't think we have had the high ground in any war since WW II. We had the chance in 9/11. We should have just nuked the place and ended it. Then they would never have dared attack us again and all those lives that were lost and destroyed would still be with us and whole.
Ask the helicopter pilots who worked for the south and got their hands cut off by the northern communists how they feel. A lot of Vietnamese people fought and died so they didn't have to live under a communist regime. They continued to fight for another 2 years after the US left.
I knew a staff sergeant who survived this battle, back in the 1980s. He looked younger than I did, and I was 22-23 at the time. One day I saw him in uniform with a 101st Airborne patch sewed to his right shoulder. I joked that he was gonna get arrested for impersonating a combat veteran. After he set me straight for speculating that he must have been 9-10 years old, he told me about Hamburger Hill in horrific detail…not least, that the NVA muscled 12.7mm guns high enough up the mountain to fire *down* onto the Hueys and shoot their main rotors off. Other than the men who fought there, and their families, I wonder if anyone truly realizes how brutal a battle this was. For his part, the sergeant was one of the calmest guys I ever met. “After that, why would I be anything else?”
One of the many lessons paid in blood that the US learned during the Vietnam War was that we MUST "own the night." We had the advantage in technology, the numbers, the artillery, and the air, but the NVA and Viet Cong "owned the night" and them having that one advantage negated any success our forces had during the day.
I would imagine there was tremendous political pressure on the military leadership to create some good news articles for the sheep to eat. No strategy at all. Just go up there and get em. I would never been able to survive the insanity. Full respect for those on that hill. Both sides.
Good point. We were soldiers. I had nothing against those i killed. We were just doing our jobs. It wasn't personal. I also mourn for those we fought against and killed.
My dad used to work with a gentleman that was with the 101st and in Vietnam but unsure if he was in this battle. I personally don’t consider Vietnam And Korea as losses. We beat North Korea & Chinese back, they did not take over. North did not conquer all Vietnam while we were the main fighting force so we did our job there, and didn’t fall until after we left, save for handful of troops still there at end. South Vietnamese lost the war.
When the war started from Desert Shield to Storm the Batalion Commander called a formation and said men we are going in and there will be know more Hamburger Hills in my Unit. A guy named Friedley was standing next to me and said OMG we're all going to die. One of the few funny moments of the war. C CO 3-187 IN Rakkasan. Another was four days after cease-fire and the 502d was marching in Ticker-Tape Parade back home already we found out the war was over; We didn't know and appearantly neither did the Iraqi's. We found out from VOA radio.
This conflict started When I started the 5th grade my parents I recall at the time worried whether this war would go on And The war was over during my senior year and high school.
The movie portrayed the horror, valor and utter futility of the battle and entire war. RIP those many young men who died for nothing before they experienced life.
If you can wade through it (it's a big heavy read) I can highly recommend reading "a bright shining lie" by Neil Sheehan if you really want to know the full history of the clusterfuck that was the Vietnam War.
A book called Five Years to Freedom was also an excellent book about a Lt Rowe who was captured . He had total recall and wrote a book from memory about his five years as a prisoner and how he escaped. Later he was in charge of intelligence in the Philippines and was killed by a sparrow unit from the NPA (communist) in Manila.
Young people who lose their lives far from their family and country, not even knowing the real reasons for this butchery decided by politicians who are not wise enough.
My dad fought at hamburger hill he said what disturbed him most was the senseless friendly fire and that the hill was given back, he told me the story once and never spoke of it again
Yes that is true. Many lies were told and to this day continue like a bad habit. Every snake and nap that was let loose other than the one that strayed, was truly on the mark. I spoke to some that were on the firebase, and I quote...every shell launched was enjoyed at the enemy.
The Old capitol city of Vietnam, Hue, is pronounced "Hway," NOT "Hyou." Helpful Dave assists again. Ho Chi Minh was a BIG fan of the US, whose BONE-HEAD Foreign-service officers(in the OSS and Department of State) betrayed Vietnam and gave it back to France AFTER promising to help that new country establish it's independence. Such a shame, as an independent, America-admiring Vietnam would have been an IDEAL US base of operations to keep an eye on China(and maybe influence the Chinese civil war between Chaing Kai Chek and Mao Zedong) and favorably change the course of History in favor of Capitalist Democracy instead of Communism.
Actually there was an OSS officer who told the American government exactly what you just commented,,, unfortunately money makes the decisions on a.war.table not tactics and victories
Ho also tried to see Woodrow Wilson during the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 but was blown off. He had hoped that the US would champion self-determination for Vietnam like they were for the the parts of Europe previously under the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires.
But now the Vietnamese govt does not support China and two years ago joined a group of nations from Philippines, Taiwan, India, Japan, Australia and the U.S. who actually battled China after they built a base on a Philippine Island. That base is now manned with Philipino and American marines. There are fighter pilots now assigned to Philippine bases, the old navy base in Manila has been reactivated and manned by American and Australian sailors. They are also building an Air Force base on Palowan Island.
I was a combat troop but i respect the support troops who supplied us because without them we couldn't have accomplished our missions, so respect to any who served with honor. That means kerry and mccain did not serve with honor.
The movie Hamburger Hill was filmed in the Philippines in late mid 80’s and I flew an F-4E from 3TFS from Clark AB in this movie…just a quick fly-by simulating a napalm drop like was actually done in the real fight.
Imagine if this was taught in modern day history classes, maybe the rainbow coalition wouldn't be what it is in 2022. This is what we call teamwork, its no so much about likes and tweets.
The truth is the govt lied about everything in Vietnam. Now i also believe since they lied about Vietnam they also have lied about all other wars and also about everything else.
Today people are more educated and more informed as to things actually happening, that is why the military is having a hard time meeting its recruiting goals.
These spoiled, weak minded kids of today, I'm afraid would fold up like a deck of cards if they were faced with just half of what these Heros stood up to. I have very, very little faith in the kids of today. Not all, but those kinds of kids are fewer and farther between these days. Most "advanced education" businesses these days have completely destroyed the minds of the ones who have attended them. So, so, sad, but we ALL are going to reap the damages of several generations!! Just read your history books folks!!
The South with carbine M2, and Thompson while the North have AK and B40. After Tet Offensive 1967-1968 the South had M15 - M16 The U.S. withdrew from Afghan, it fell in 2 weeks. The U.S. withdrew from South VN, it fought helplessly for almost 3 years (2 years and a half)
Remember? At the end of the Oh Chi Min trail? “NaMoDiaTangVongBoTat” phonetically pronounced. A prayer to a bodhisattva to help all those who have passed from whatever nation at the end of the trail.
I have sympathy for all who fought and especially those who died from both sides. I have been back twice to Vietnam since the war. People were very friendly and country beautiful. I know i have met soldiers i probably fought against. I am happy to call them friends now. We were all soldiers and we didn't kill because we hated, we killed because we were soldiers.
My unit worked Hill 881 north then to Pl-Rurang and cambodia. 10 days in then about face back in country. Armor can destroy the enemy base camps and arms caches. 4 div. B co.
Ho chi min the communist leader once admired the US 'democracy.' He stood witness to US imperialism instead. 'Nam was no threat and Muhammad Ali wasn't blind.
Yes apparently he wrote several letters asking for US help during the early days. He said that he expected Americans to understand the fight against colonialism. The US intelligence service worked with him during the Japanese occupation and it was only when Communism started to get into his organisation that he became viewed as a threat. The war against the French was the turning point and the US gave their support to the French. I recommend the Ken Burns series about Vietnam it goes into a lot of detail about the background of the war.
WarsofTheWorld...damn,I thought the movie titled "Hamburger Hill" was kidding about the fighting scenario conveyed in that movie. This upload confirms my suspicion regarding troop maneuvers.
What is truly upsetting is that Our love ones Go and Die, in the Millions JUST TO HAND IT OVER BACK TO TERRORIST, our love ones don't meant nothing, Many of our soldiers passed and were liquidfied and blended with Bullets in this Hamburger Hill, For no reason, just like Afghanistan
