Hell on a Hill at Khe Sanh - HistoryNet For nearly 80 days, Marines on the hills surrounding Khe Sanh endured one of the war’s fiercest fights The top of what became known as Hill 861-A was just virgin land covered with elephant grass and bamboo when I first saw it
The Hill Fights - Wikipedia The Hill Fights (also known as the First Battle of Khe Sanh) took place during the Vietnam War between the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 325C Division and United States Marines on several hill masses north of the Khe Sanh Combat Base in northwest Quảng Trị Province
The Marines Tenacious Stand | Naval History Magazine - February 2018 . . . By mid-January 1968, Marines and Special Forces “Green Berets” were scouring the area around Khe Sanh Combat Base for the North Vietnamese The enemy’s first blow fell on Hill 861, occupied by K Company, 3d Battalion, 26th Marines (Kilo 3 26)
THE WALL OF FACES - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Several thousand yards from its perimeter, hills 881 South, 861, 861A, and 558 figured prominently in the defense of the base In early February 1968, Company E, 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines held Hill 861A When they arrived, the area was nothing more than elephant grass and blown-out banana trees
The Hill Fights - “Hill 861” - National Museum of the Marine Corps On the afternoon of 28 April, the 2 3 Marines moved up Hill 861 with minimal opposition as the PAVN had withdrawn from the hill The Marines found 25 bunkers and numerous fighting positions and reported an odor of dead bodies across the hilltop
Bill Smarts War - Hill 861A - YouTube On 5 Feb 1968, after just being in country for 2 days, 18 year old Bill was assigned to Echo Company atop Hill 861 Alpha at Khe Sanh, as a replacement rifleman He had no combat experience
A Dangerous Game – Khe Sanh Veterans Early morning hours of February 5, 1968, amid a large-scale NVA attack on Marine outpost Hill 861A, two miles away The “Khe Sanh brain trust” anxiously convenes to discuss the most effective means of artillery and air support to save those defenders
Winona Daily News, 5 February 1968 — The North Vietnamese attacked a Marine company holding Hill 861A with Bangalore torpedoes, explosive charges and bazooka-type rockets The bill is a bald patch of scarred earth that dominates the northwestern approach to the Khe Sanh Marine base three miles away
HILL 861 KHE SANH AREA, SOUTH VIETNAM - The World Factbook LOCATION: HILL 861 IS LOCATED 5,750 YARDS NORTHWEST OF THE U S MILITARY CAMP AT KHE SANH 3 MISSION READOUT: POSITION ENCOMPASSED BY A FIRING TRENCH AND CONTAINING NUMEROUS BUNKERS A SECOND FORTIFIED POSITION (ELEVATION 800 METERS) IS LOCATED 350 YARDS NORTHEAST OF HILL 861
The Siege of Khe Sanh - The American Legion The Khe Sanh siege opened Jan 21, 1968, more than a week ahead of Tet A major bombardment of the combat base, followed by an assault on Khe Sanh village and the strongpoint atop Hill 861, started the action