50 years ago I was halfway through a tour of duty at Phu Bai Combat Base in northern I Corps. In May of 1969, the brass decided to assault a NVA stronghold in the Ashau Valley called Dong Ap Bia Mountain about 25 miles west of Phu Bai and a mile from the Laotian border. The 101st Airborne attacked for 10 days and finally took the mountain. I remember being on perimeter guard and seeing the medevac choppers bringing in the wounded and dead. The wounded were inside the choppers while the dead were hanging by ropes, unfortunately, a sight I can’t forget. US losses were 72 dead and 372 wounded on a hill to be renamed Hamburger Hill. 2 weeks later, the brass decided to leave the mountain.
Another visual I can’t forget was seeing body bags a hundred feet long and stacked 2-3 high like cordwood outsides a mortuary company at the north end of the runway in Danang, being readied for shipment home.
My thoughts and prayers to all the men and women who died in service to their country. And also to the families they left behind.
