Samuel Zaffiri

This book is about a battle that took place in the A Shau valley in South Vietnam between May 10 and 20, 1969. I had seen a movie about this battle and retained an interest that led me to buy the book.
The battle was fought for control of a mountain 3000 feet high in the tropical jungle on the border with Laos. The mountain was known locally as Dong Ap Bai, Dong meaning mountain, and by the United States Army as Hill 937, it's height in meters, or eventually as "Hamburger Hill" for what it did to American soldiers.
The mountain was honeycombed with tunnels and supply dumps as the center of a supply and headquarters center on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The road ran through the valley, a single lane of tamped earth, and the jungle canopy above was woven together to make it invisible from the air. The North Vietnamese did not fight and run as they usually did but stayed on the mountain and fought to the last man. The U. S. soldiers fought and climbed their way up the mountain for ten days before they could claim victory.
The book tells the basics of how America waged war in Vietnam. Engineering units carved out LZ's and firebases in the jungle and units moved in and began spreading out in the assigned area. The ground troops were aided by massive firepower from air support and artillery. Observation planes directed the support fire and allowed the officers to run the battle from the air. The soldiers spent a lot of time watching the firepower blow up the mountain. At the beginning of the battle the mountain was covered with jungle. The pictures of the mountain after the battle was over look like northwestern France at the end of WW I.
After a couple of hours of artillery, bombs and strafing the soldiers started climbing the mountain. There was a 30 degree slope in places and men would have to grab a tree root or vine and pull their way up. The NVA were in bunkers and spiderholes, foxholes with a cover. They used the trees for sniper rests. Four or five guys would shoot up a spot and a body would fall out of the trees hanging by a rope tied around his waist. The U.S. infantry carried a variety of weapons including several anti-tank weapons that in this battle were used on bunkers and personnel. The Americans used flechette rounds, something I had never read about. They were multiple quantities of small pointed metal spears, in shells from shotgun size up to artillery rounds.
The NVA made frequent use of satchel charges carried by sappers. During the battle one morning at 1:00 about 20 sappers with satchel charges attacked a base area inflicting many casualties until the Vietnamese were all dead.
I was very impressed with the bravery and courage of the American soldiers. Perhaps the author, who served with these men, decided to portray the soldiers with these qualities but I felt that there was a ring of truth in what I read.
Based upon the casualties this battle would have been a skirmish in the Civil War. Casualties were treated differently in this war. After the battle Sen. Edward Kennedy criticized command decisions for causing high casualties and the military changed the rules of engagement to reduce casualties.
The author fought in Vietnam in 1969 and heard stories of the battle from wounded survivors. He traveled extensively to do numerous interviews of veterans of the battle. The material from the interviews brings the action in the battle to life in real time vignettes told in the words of the participants. These episodes were very extensive and the soldiers particularly Lt. Boccia and the commander of the 3/187 Lt. Col. Honeycutt became recognizable people. It was only after looking at the photos in the book that I realized how young the men were.
I lived through this era and strongly disagreed with the political decisions that put our military into this war. This book provides a realistic example of the death and destruction that resulted from those decisions. For a variety of reasons I enjoyed reading the book.
On the last day a big push was planned to take the mountain. The American soldiers knew they were going to be fighting here until they took the mountain. During the fighting a several soldiers lost it and ran out in the open shooting the enemy until they were killed.
Shortly after the end of the battle the American troops were ordered off of the mountain. The North Vietnamese moved back in and resumed their activities.… (meer)

A good people-centered account of a futile Vietnam War battle close to the border of Laos about a hill which ran along a covered VC supply route. Two US batallions of the 101st attacked the 29th VPA regiment in uncoordinated platoon- and company-sized assaults which only led to slaughter. The grunts labelled the location "Hamburger Hill". After ten days of repeated attacks, the Americans managed to carry the hill with reinforcements.
The battle serves as an example of tactical futility commanders order if they have no strategy.… (meer)