One of the biggest battles of the Vietnam War occurred at Hill 875. This harrowing film includes real time footage and interviews with veterans of the 173rd Airborne Brigade.
When the 4th Battalion passed through the 2nd Battalion, the 4th gave them their water...a day later they regretted doing that. 1/Lt Bill “Liam” Atkins, probably described it best. The year after the 173rd Airborne Brigade’s 4/503rd Airborne Infantry took Hill 875 on Thanksgiving Day, 1967, I had Thanksgiving with Bill and his family at Fort Bragg, NC. The women and children were in the house while the men gathered around the fire pit in the backyard working on a couple bottles of Kessler’s sipping whiskey. Bill presented a word picture that I will never forget. He told us of when they took Hill 875 on Thanksgiving morning how Brigadier General Schweitzer ordered his headquarters Mess Hall to prepare a complete Thanksgiving dinner for the survivors of the 4th Battalion and had it flown out to them on Hill 875 in Murmite cans. The general’s intent was good-the results were disastrous. Bill went on to paint a word picture, I will never forget. He told of three paratroopers sitting on a bombed down tree. The two sitting on the outside were eating heaping mess kits of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy while the paratrooper in the middle was holding a half-gallon carton of Neapolitan ice cream and a white plastic spoon. The ice cream was melting and running down his arm and as he ate he cried and the tears washed away the grime on his face leaving white streaks. One of his friend’s leaned over and puked up the too rich food. It was something I could visualize having left the Brigade only a couple days before they took Hill 875. The worst part was after the paratroopers who survived the attack on Hill 875 ate their meal, they were detailed to return to the base camp at the bottom of the hill and help police up the body parts of fellow paratroopers from the 4th Battalion and the 2nd Battalion; trying to match the body parts with torsos and place the parts in body bags. Eighty wounded paratroopers had died when two(?) 500 pound bombs were accidentally dropped on the aide station. Every combat paratrooper who survived Hill 875 (Dak-To) has never had a peaceful Thanksgiving since then and neither have I. The memories of that horrendous 5-month long battle always seem to reappear even a half-century after the battle. Only days before the fight for Hill 875 started I was on Fire Support Base 16 (12?) with Bill. An NVA company had attacked the base and we had driven them off. Brigadier General Schweitzer landed his helicopter on the FSB and was being briefed when he was told I was three days past my DEROS (Return to the States)-I should have left Vietnam but the intense fighting prevented any combat paratroopers from leaving the Brigade. Schweitzer, probably thinking he was doing me a favor told me to get on his chopper. He had the chopper drop him off at the Brigade’s forward base at Dak-To and then fly me back to the Brigade’s main rear area base camp. He had personally radioed ahead informing the commander at the base camp that I would be processed out with priority. A jeep was waiting for me at the helipad that took me to the HQ Company where I was escorted to a shower. I wondered why everyone was staring at me. I failed to realize they all were aware of the battle the Brigade was fighting and I was the first one they had seen coming directly from the battle ground. My uniform was filthy; I was filthy but at Dak-To, I had blended in with the rest of the paratroopers. I stayed in the absolutely fabulous hot water shower for a long time until a lieutenant colonel stuck his head in and told me I needed to hurry in order to catch my flight back to the States. While I had been showering, they located my personal gear in storage in the base area and had my Class B khaki uniform pressed and my jump boots polished. There are patches of memory still missing. I don’t know if I flew directly out of Thuy Hoa or hopped a flight to Saigon-all I remember is a very angry major who was bumped from his flight home and I took his seat. I was exhausted and fell asleep shortly after take-off and didn’t wake up until we were approaching Oakland, California. Policy was everyone had to debark the aircraft in Japan while they refueled, but I do not remember getting off (Or anything during the 21 hour flight). We landed at the Oakland Military airport and were out-processed quickly. I took a taxi to the San Francisco International Airport and instead of buying a ticket home I called my old recon sergeant, Bill Burkholtz and asked him if I could spend a couple of days with him in Malibu. Less than 34 hours after leaving the battlefield at Dak-To, where I had slept most of those hours in-between-I was sitting on the cliffs over-looking Little Dume Bay in the mist of multi-million dollar beach homes, alone with a fifth of Kessler’s, crying uncontrollably as I looked west over the ocean back toward Vietnam. I was one very screwed up lieutenant. Brigadier General Schweitzer thought he was doing me a favor, but the rapid transition from war to absolute peace-was just too much. I do not regret a second of the time I spent with those mighty fine paratroopers; many died and many more that lived must carry their own special burden. So when you get together at Thanksgiving with old paratroopers and they seem to drift off on their own for a while-just smile and ignore them. They’ll return soon from their battlefields long ago. For the most part, I keep Dak-To personal and share only with ghosts who can understand the language.
Hard not to get emotional reading all of that. When I was naive, I didn't know much about war. But now a lot of stories I hear make a lot more sense. Welcome home sir!
GREGORY CHARLES BAUER, Casualty was on Nov 20, 1967 Hill 875 2nd Day, South Vietnam, Kontum, SOUTH VIETNAM He was my cousin, does anyone remember him or have information about him
I replied several years ago to Faces on Wall. Still think about Greg and feel he took a bullet meant for Me. Was very glad someone posted pics of him and his grave. For what it's worth I'll never forget him. RIP Greg !! Love you man ,you'll be forever Young !!!
why did the amercians treat their fellow brothers so badly on their return. One of the worst outcomes and responses of any war. Young amervians were so caught up in drugs and selfishness they misplaced their souls. Shame on them.
Imagine if this world acted in peace instead of war, how good we all could have it. I wish we all could unite in peace so a form of tranquility might happen. Then, we'd all love it so much no one would want to ruin it. Instead, this world has a desire to create even more brave men, and even women nowadays.
To all US Vietnam Vet. You should blame that on your parents and grandparents and all those fellow Americans of yours for voting for Democrats President Truman, JF Kennedy, and LB Johnson as United States commander in Chief. Because they were one who brought communist to Vietnam and started the Vietnam War. US Democracts President Truman was the 1st US President who got Americans involve in Vietnam when he sent the 1st US MAAG to assist the French to recolonize Vietnam in 1950 after he reject Ho Chi Minh letter of support for Vietnam independence from France. Then US Democrats President JF Kennedy stage a military coup on South Vietnam President, Ngo Dinh Diem giving America power to start a War and to do what ever they wish to Vietnam and its Vietnamese peoples. And appoint an ex-Vietminh soldiers, Nguyen Van Thieu as their puppet President of South Vietnam to replace Ngo Dinh Diem after the military coup assination on Nov. 2, 1963. The following year on August 4, 1964. US Democrats President LB Johnson announce to the American peoples about the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Where a US Destroyer Maddox was patroiling at sea past the 17th parallel DMZ near the capital of communist North Vietnam, Hanoi. That even today that it didn't happen according to John White a nuclear weapon officier on the US Destroyer Maddox. Without the South Vietnamese President declare military action or War on North Vietnam. US Democrats President LB Johnson push for military action against North Vietnam which lead to the start of the Vietnam War. American peoples did this to Vietnam and all the 58,000 US troops killed during the Vietnam by electing these Truman, JF Kennedy and LB Johnson as their US Commaner in Chief. America brought War, death, and pain to the Vietnamese peoples of Vietnam. 3,000,000 innocents Vietnamese civilian had to die in their own country. While 10s of thousands Vietnamese die at sea of hunger, thirst, illness, and Thai pirates fleeing out of Vietnam as refugee. All those US President were all US War Veteran.
@@BinhLe-bz2eu.. Yup you are absolutely correct... I've been saying this for years that these damn democrats are the worst thing that has ever happened to this country.... Biden, especially is ranked right up at the top of absolute Democrat criminals... And you're right. We never belonged over in Vietnam.... Never.. Yes, I am a veteran.
@@tuanz8009 Look what happen to South Vietnamese Ngô Đình Diệm. The communist north wants to disrupt the South Vietnam. So on June 11, 1963, they force the Buddhist monk to cause chaos on the street of Saigon to distrupt the South and to make Ngô Đình Diệm look bad in the eye of American government. So the Communist North Vietnamese force one of Buddhist monk to display self inflict burning of a Buddhist monk out on the Street of Saigon. Ngô Đình Diệm had to send South Vietnamese military troops to dispand the burning of the monk on the street and mob of Vietnamese peoples on the street started attacking the South Vietnamese troops. While US Democrats President JF Kennedy saw this happening on TV along with his cabinet. Several months later on November 2, 1963. US Democrats President JF Kennedy sent his CIA to stage a military coup assination on South Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm and they appointed an ex-Vietminh soldiers, Nguyễn Văn Thiệu as President of South Vietnam.
Was it a 500 lb bomb that was dropped on them? Somehow that part of the story seems to always change. Ive heard at least three different things. From a source that had access to the official report, i read that the bombs that were dropped on them were two 250lb Mk-81s
Absolutely correct. We have a brotherhood that cannot be broken forever.. what I hate is watching what they call the public back home, who is nothing more than draft Dodgers with college deferments, trying to tell the rest of the world our veterans are wrong for being over in Vietnam. Its not like us veterans had a choice
