Perfume River
A panoramic view of the Perfume River from Thien Mu Pagoda.
Vietnam is at about its thinnest at this point. The distant mountains seen here are more than three-quarters the way to the Lao border. Beyond the mountains, and running parallel with the border, lies the A Shau Valley, scene of much desperate fighting during the Vietnam war, particularly on the infamous Hamburger Hill, which lies between the A Shau and the Border.
Between the 10th and 20th May 1969, US Airborne and South Vietnamese troops (mainly the former!) succeeded in capturing the hill, on and in which North Vietnamese troops were deeply dug in. There was much debate afterwards about the cost and value of attacking and subsequently abandoning an otherwise meaningless jungle covered mountain. In my view, this misrepresents the point of the battle, which was to destroy the enemy regiment on the mountain, not capture the mountain itself.
The Americans lost 72 men KIA on Hamburger Hill while the bodies of 630 members of the 29th regiment of the People's Army of North Vietnam were counted. Many more are believed to have been buried within their bunkers by the 450 tons of bombs and 69 tons of napalm dropped on them.
Shortly after, Life Magazine published the photographs of 241 Americans killed in one week in Vietnam, which is considered to be another watershed point in the war. While only five of these were casualties on Hamburger Hill, many Americans had the perception that all the dead were victims of the one battle.
Perfume River
A panoramic view of the Perfume River from Thien Mu Pagoda.
Vietnam is at about its thinnest at this point. The distant mountains seen here are more than three-quarters the way to the Lao border. Beyond the mountains, and running parallel with the border, lies the A Shau Valley, scene of much desperate fighting during the Vietnam war, particularly on the infamous Hamburger Hill, which lies between the A Shau and the Border.
Between the 10th and 20th May 1969, US Airborne and South Vietnamese troops (mainly the former!) succeeded in capturing the hill, on and in which North Vietnamese troops were deeply dug in. There was much debate afterwards about the cost and value of attacking and subsequently abandoning an otherwise meaningless jungle covered mountain. In my view, this misrepresents the point of the battle, which was to destroy the enemy regiment on the mountain, not capture the mountain itself.
The Americans lost 72 men KIA on Hamburger Hill while the bodies of 630 members of the 29th regiment of the People's Army of North Vietnam were counted. Many more are believed to have been buried within their bunkers by the 450 tons of bombs and 69 tons of napalm dropped on them.
Shortly after, Life Magazine published the photographs of 241 Americans killed in one week in Vietnam, which is considered to be another watershed point in the war. While only five of these were casualties on Hamburger Hill, many Americans had the perception that all the dead were victims of the one battle.