known as “Hamburger Hill”, one of the bloodiest and most infamous battles of the Vietnam War. This battle took place from May 10-20, 1969 in the A Shau Valley of Vietnam. This battle took place during “Operation Apache Snow” which was the second part of a three phase campaign intended to destroy North Vietnam Army (NVA) Base Areas in the remote A Shau Valley1. This was not the most casualty producing battle but because it took place toward the end of the Vietnam War when it had become very unpopular
the insertion of 10 battalions of American and South Vietnamese troops into the valley to disrupt the enemy from building up and to destroy enemy forces. Major General Melvin Zais commander of the 101st Division had ordered Colonel Joseph B. Conmy Jr to move into
rugged, jungle-shrouded mountains along the Laotian border of South Vietnam. Ap Bia Mountain anchors the northwest corner of South Viet Nam's A Shau Valley. The valley has been a major infiltration route for Communist Forces from the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos to the coastal cities of Northern I Corps since1966. Ap Bia Mountain dominates the northern valley, towering some 937 meters. Official histories of the engagement refer to it as Hill 937. The American Soldiers who fought there dubbed it "Hamburger
The battle of Dong Ap Bia Mountain is commonly referred to and know by many as Hamburger Hill or Hill 937 derived from the height of elevation in which its highest peak reaches. Hamburger Hill earned its nickname due to the intense, bloody battle that took place on this key terrain feature over the course of ten days in May of 1969. Dong Ap Bia Mountain is located in South Vietnam, only a couple miles east of the Laotian boarder and the and Trung Pham River, with Dong So Ridge to its North and Rao
On May 17 1969, some of the bravest soldiers within the United States Army were given an order to take control of Ap Bia Mountain (hill 937) in the A Shau Valley of Vietnam. The battle was part of Operation Apache Snow, which purpose was to stop North Vietnamese Army soldiers from infiltrating the A Shau Valley from Laos. Hill 937 saw some of the most ferocious fighting that was ever seen and was later named Hamburger Hill, due to the grinding of the soldiers to reach the crest and to be a like
The politics of the ultratight resonated deeply with Richard Nixon. Nixon had cut his political teeth as a young Red-hunting member of the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s. His home district in Orange Country, California, was widely known as a Birch Society stronghold. The Los Angeles-area Birch Society claimed the membership of several political and economic elites, including members of the Chandler family, which owned and published the Los Angeles Times. According to the writer