What Really Happened at Vietnam’s Hamburger Hill?
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- In May 1969, the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division launched several assaults against a ridge near the Laotian border. Their objective - Hill 937, or “Hamburger Hill” - was heavily defended by hundreds of battle-hardened soldiers of the North Vietnamese Army’s 29th Regiment.
For more than a week, US troops climbed the steep slopes of the Ap Bia Mountain to seize the NVA stronghold. Their assaults came under constant enemy machine gun fire, rocket attacks, and mortar strikes. Sometimes the paratroopers fought amidst heavy tropical rainstorms that made visibility near impossible. Ultimately, the Americans captured the NVA garrison on the 11th bloody assault. The remaining defenders escaped into the jungle sanctuary of Laos.
The mission’s success was short-lived. Days after the hard-fought victory, US troops abandoned Hill 937 as it posed zero strategic value. The NVA reoccupied the position a month later.
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I think one of the biggest disrespectful moves you can do to an active soldier who fought hard in a battle days before is to "willingly" abandon it, giving it back to the enemy. A disservice to all who fought and died there.
They sacrificed hundreds taking worthless hills. A hill was a microcosm of the whole war, a total waste. But for the US the success or not of the war was based on body counts, nothing else. That´s why they ended up killing lots of villagers
"Tactical victories for objectives with little strategic importance" - well said.
Precisely.
With you.
A couple of weeks later Life magazine had pictures of every US soldier killed in one of the bloodiest weeks which was over two hundred. Combined with Hamburger Hill, these incidents started middle America who supported the war to turn against the war. Living and fighting through WW 2 and Korea they couldn't understand giving up ground back to the enemy that you spent blood taking and begin to see that this war could be unwinnable. This battle angered my dad who was a WW 2 army vet. I served two Nam deployments, USN 70-73.
I remember sitting on CQ Duty in 1990 in basic & listening to the 1st Sgt's in the next room reminiscing about running up & down the A Shau Valley in Nam.
It was history come to life.
This was the result of a war fought by attrition. The military wouldn’t let the American soldiers fight to win. The only strategy the military had in Vietnam was to have a 10-1 kill ratio or higher. As long as only one American soldier died to every ten of theirs, it was acceptable. My uncle was killed in Vietnam. He may have been that acceptable one in ten to the military, but he was everything to his family.
And the enemy casualties were only estimates.
FAMILY is Everything
Yep! That's why my Dad got out! He'd been in 2 and Korea.
And they wouldn't let him win in Korea. He got he's 20 years
In 65. He told me he knew they wouldn't be allowed to win in Nam and I was born, so he got the Hell out.
Lt. COL. Harry Pierkowski
Aviator, Marine corps.
Damn Great Pops!
@@derekpierkowski7641 -- we were allowed to win in Korea but due to MacAurthers incompetence we didn’t.
@@user-og1ux8nr3i
Yes. You are 100% right about that. That’s why he got fired. Vietnam was different. The body count strategy had the Americans killing innocent people, burning their homes and villages to the ground. That cause more and more people to join the North. It was a senseless war that cost the life of almost 60,000 young Americans, over 200,000 from the south Vietnamese , 1 million from the north and over 2 million Vietnamese civilians. For what?
"There are only 2 types of people who really know combat soldiers, fellow combat soldiers, and the enemy",,,, god bless em all
Amen
My Father In Law was there, an RTO w/101. Currently in Hospital this very moment having a bad reaction to his Chemo Treatment so fingers crossed.
RLTW
Appreciate you sharing this. Tell him to keep on fighting the good fight.
@CoffeeorDie Released, platelettes rose and stabilized.
Thank you for acknowledging
Best wishes
Never fight a war unless it's for your homeland. This is just ridiculous.
I joined the battle on May 12th with the artillery, B Btry/2/319th Artillery on firebase Berchtesgaden. Fire missions almost 20 hours a day. We were right across from the Hill, and it got browner and browner from all the artillery & airstrikes. Later I became an artillery RTO with B/2/506th Infantry on an FO team; Vietnam, November 15, 1968, to December 15, 1969. As we used to say in those days, "Man, that was a trip!"
This is what happens when leadership value their ego more than American lives.
Plus you can't fix stoopit.
And when politicians try to run a war to their own agendas
Still continuing today…
👍 dikhed honeycutt
The battle of Hamburger Hill is a perfect but tragic example of the ineptitude of politicians and power hungry commanding officers blowing their egos as well as the futility of war. What a waste of soldiers and innocent peoples' lives.😢
my cousin served on that lousy hill. he said the movie about it is full of s***. he told me how the Vietcong would chain themselves to a tree to show that they weren't scared of us and wasnt going to run. he also told me how our guys would hang arms and legs from trees like ornaments on a Christmas tree. he got real pissed when they had to give the hill back because then he said alot of the men felt like they fought and died for nothing
That's exactly what happened.
They were expendable.
F***ing disgusting. Heart breaking
The more I learn about this war, the more I realize the hippies were right after all.
Just not their treatment of the soldiers who made it back.
In the end it was all in vain. The North united with the South to form a unified Vietnam in 1975. The Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1980 and pulled out in 1989, unable to conquer a people group that refused to be conquered. Vietnam and Afghanistan - two tiny countries who refused to give in against two superpowers! Truly amazing and inspiring too!
If the hill was that important, the reasonable thing to do was pull back the US troops about a mile and send in the B-52 bombers to level that GD hill. Then, send in the tac air forces and napalm the hell out of what was left. After the fires burned out, THEN send in the 101st troopers to see if anything remained! Cost in American lives- ZERO!
G.D. generals spend decades in training, schools, leadership assignment and still can’t figure out you use weapons and bombs to kill the enemy, not waste American lives when a 500 pound bomb would do the job.
War is the last choice, not the first response!
This is what happens when politicians get involved in a war with no clear endgame 😢!
I have read the bookHamburger Hill by Samuel Zaffiri basicly it was a real slog up that hill. And the movie is reely good too.
That's a "reely" good pun!
Certainly better than Superman 4.
My father was on Hill 937 in 1967 with the 101st Airborne Division, they fought like tigers and did their best to push the enemy back into Cambodia, Laos, or North Vietnam!! My dad says that politicians told them they couldn’t enter any of those countries but he said they followed the enemy anyways and killed as many of them as they could!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
He committed murder for the defense industry. Prefect way to describe the 🇺🇸.
937 was in 1969 though.
Was there, may 1969
Who said they were the enemies?
“Military men are just dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy.”
― Henry Kissinger
Thanks for the video. It’s too bad the America and its leaders do not learn from the past.
Fight for a hill and then give it back? Our troops got screwed by leadership.
“Military men are just dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy.”
― Henry Kissinger
I like your documentary but on my ex Vietnam vet and I was there at it was horrible and I was only 19 I have no idea why they kept making us do this over and over and over
The big lesson from Vietnam.war to Afganistan is ( that The US Gov never learn from it ) is DO NOT INVADE OTHER COUNTRIES!....You never be WIN againsr people that want to rule their own country with their own way! Enjoy your freedom or Democratic way in your own country
War is hell! Friends and family die. To have them die needlessly! Thank u LBJ. all those people on the wall are hero’s. Why would u sacrifice our young people on some god forsaken hill in a country that most of these kids couldn’t find on a map.
My son in law was on hamburger hill
I served with corpal King. He was pissed they killed him in the movie, but he was forced into retirement in bagdad Iraq in 2005 as a 2-162 oregon National Guard in oif2 the stories he had when you got him drunk.
Always some king shit general/ commander who wants his pride and ego but doesn’t muster the balls to go out there themselves
Americans have to fight with honor while our enemies use mid evil tactics
Obviously someone have never fought at the very front
love th8s episode
Had nothing to do with right or wrong, it was about body count.
That’s because you can’t fight with rules when your enemies don’t have them …Total war is ugly and people are unalived.
ooooh who is the narrator that person has a very good voice
That is our senior editor, Ryan. We think so too.
Every Vietnam veteran I've met, I listened to their stories of the war. And every time I would tell them that I would have gladly taken their place on the frontline so they could have enjoyed a life of peace.
Exactly how I feel…
Sure bud, nobody wants relive the hell that was Vietnam. You'd be broken, traumatized just like them after only a couple of weeks of serving in a combat area. Casualty rates at such instances were extremely high up 50% at certain well placed and planned ambushes.
@@dobridjordje
I mean it in the most heart felt way to wish that to every veteran and to show that I care about them and that their sacrifices are acknowledged.
and thank you for telling the masses that GI are strong but manipulated by politicians...sad indeed
khe san also interesting
If I was America I would do anything to get the hamburger as well
Quarter pounder with cheese 🇺🇸
Just for NV to take it back over? Real smart
Meanwhile Dick "Dynamite" Thompson...
Those guys would have all been worm food if not for a single green beret with a broken back.
Why are we worried about other countries when we can’t have peace in our own
Another example of ineptitude leadership asking for nearly impossible results. I look back at my 31.5 months in Vietnam and wonder what we ever accomplished but the deaths of all the American lives. That includes several good men i served with. Along with the Vietnamese men and women who were defending their country. So many deaths for nothing to gain. Just made a lot of people a lot richer.
They should of coordinated their assault better. Artillery and fast movers with various bombs immediately followed by air assualt would of taken the area much faster and friendly casualties would of been minimal. High ground should be maintained and defended rather than build operating bases in valleys surrounded by high ground.
-Combat Vet
Many victims for a simple tactical victory... My respect for ALL veterans and victims : every war is a true hell !
A lot people die becouse few have huge ego
Young men from the US had their lives thrown away for no good reason, in fact the whole debacle that was Vietnam was a bad reason. Either way these poor guys were sent into a meat grinder, they took the objective and within 48 hrs they were gone, within days the Viet Cong were back in place. What a waste of lives and this was a common occurrence, take an objective, then pull out only to have to do it all again.
What is the best book based on this battle if any?
Uh... 1961?
Edit: Thought I'd add constructive points here instead. The PAVN had occupied the valley since at least 1964 - their operations saw the retreat of American SF-led South Vietnamese forces by 8 Dec, 1965, and allowed for a successful bridgehead off from the Ho Chi Minh trail into South Vietnam. US forces had attempted to move back into the valley by March 6th, 1966, however the PAVN successfully defended it against the attacking CIDG force led by 5th Special Forces with a successful counterattack on the SF FOB.
US forces returned in 1968 under Operation Delaware. PAVN forces were forced to retreat, most notably from the so-called "Signal Hill" that gave fire control over the valley. The PAVN, however, shot down nearly 12 Hueys, as well as several fixed wing aircraft, and the casualties inflicted on the 101st saw the formation withdraw by May 10th as the PAVN eluded superior firepower. Operation Somerset followed, which again saw elements of the 816th and 818th PAVN battalions inflict costly losses on the 101st as they retreated back into Laos. Again, they reoccupied the valley as American and South Vietnamese forces departed.
Operation Dewey Canyon followed in January 1969. 9th Marine Regiment tookover from the 101st and went up against the 9th Regiment of the PAVN, having now established a major logistics hub in the valley. The Marines captured several assets from days of fighting, including several 122mm guns, but failed to destroy the 9th Regiment as it again retreated. The casualties inflicted to the Americans (130 dead), as well as the souring of the war among servicemen served to inspire the VVAW's "Operation Dewey Canyon III" protest rally in Washington DC in 1971.
The PAVN returned again, and garrisoned the 7th and 8th battalions of the 29th Regiment on Hill 937. Operation Apache Snow was initiated on May 10, 1969, and saw... yet again, the 101st chase after the PAVN's 29th as it fought a successful fighting retreat around Hill 937 back into Laos. The 7th and 8th stood their ground against superior aerial and artillery bombardment, and held the hill for 7 days - aided by elaborate bunkers, pre-positioned fire zones, and probably some iron-clad discipline.
Anyone's guess how many PAVN troops are still lying in that valley (as well as ARVN who fought alongside the 101st and the Marines). Unlike US MIAs, no one has ever gone out to catalogue Vietnamese dead. Nonetheless, the PAVN fought tenaciously and effectively in the A Shau campaign - they deserve at least some appreciation for their own operations and conduct.
My dad took part in Op Delaware. He was with the first unit into the A Shau valley to recon for the rest of the 101- A 2/17 Cav. Worst battle he was in he said.
It was to destroy a stronghold to let the enemy know that America could. A lot of "senseless" battles have been fought to demonstrate audacity in the face of the enemy, which is as necessary as supply lines
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
What’s the name of the song in the background? Thanks
I dont blame the,soldiers, i blame the government
sometimes you just gotta kick some ass! 💪😎🇺🇸. US Army infantry operation Iraqi freedom 200607. “ never surrender”
This is what happened when soldiers die overseas for strangers people we don’t know neither need to know
The Vietnam war was a 100 percent waste
History Major here, there is a serious doubt about US only taking 70 casualties in this battle.
Exactly, US hid a lot of their casualties in Vietnam (Though they did the same in WW2 and Korea), but I'm absolutely certain that several hundred US soldiers were killed at Hill 937 and not 80. Same goes for just about every battle from Ia Drang to An Loc.
Could been cheeseburger hill but the government was to cheap to buy cheese.
Just a waste of soldiers lives for a hill that would have no importance.
Were the people who planned this meat grinder ever held accountable?
No era un punto estratégico, concentraron mucho esfuerzo y hubieron muchas bajas luego de varios días tratando de desalojar al Vietcong, militarmente fue un fracaso. Hoy la colina es un sitio de guerra turístico visitado por veteranos Estadounidenses y Vietnamitas, aun se conservan los túneles y trincheras desde donde disparaban los jóvenes combatientes.
It's a mess😅
The movie says it's all.
No, it doesn't. Hollywood's version of events always has to be taken with several grains of salt.
Vietnam war, and unavoidable and unwinnable war.
Americans are good at losing, brought to you by politicians
IRON RAKASSANS ⛩️
We didn’t learn any lessons from what happened to the French in Vietnam!
The grunts on the ground won the war, the politicians at home made us lose it
Bet they had some fire ass hamburgers FUCK YEAHHH
Rock n Rolling in the Bush
My grandpa fought here.
Nakubkob nila ang IA DRANG VALLEY Hamburger Hill naman
April 1961? Shouldn’t that be May 1969?
That is our mistake! and you are correct! Grateful you brought it to our attention. Thank you.
I am still curious why, in the year 2023, the People's Army of Viet Nam (or PAVN) is still referred to as the 'North Vietnamese Army'?
My dad was.at Hamburger Hill and was the leading Sgt there. SFC. G.W. Davis. The movie had a white Sgt in the main roll. Which is not the truth. Remake the movie with a My Black Sgt as the one that capture the Hill. SFC G W Davis. As a Black man and he made it home.
Also Rip SFC Gilmer W. Davis died 2019. The real Sgt of Hamburg HILL 101st Airborne.
the first person to reach tge summit was a black American SP4 Johnny Jackson followed by his friend an Italian American Michael Vallone.
I was a squad leader and each target when we gathered to map out our attack, they factored in losing 20%. I said who wants to be in the 20%?
Rakkasans!
SPETTA AI MORTI ORA LA PAROLA!
Clausewitz politics by other means
An incredibly useless waste of life for no reason
Before the start of the Vietnam War. The South Vietnam had 250,000 troops and the North had 60,000 troops and the DMZ was establish at 17th parallel. There were No War and many Vietnamese peoples from both North and South did Not support going to War and killing one and another over the idea of communist. Even though both leaders from North and South of Vietnam believe Vietnam should not be divided and wanted to disrupted the other side from gaining support among the Vietnamese peoples. While in United States, the Civil Rights movement had already started since 1955 and America had a racial problems between Whites and Blacks. Several members in the US Demorats Party were segregationist and they had their eyes on dumping their Blacks problems on Vietnam. With all the chaos between Communist North Vietnam and Democratic South Vietnam. Weeks before on Nov 2, 1963, US Democrats President JF Kennedy order his CIA to stage a military coup assination on a Catholic South Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm and his younger brother Ngô Đình Nhu. This gives America the Power to do what ever they want to Vietnam and to the Vietnamese peoples. And the US appointed their puppet ex-Vietminh Nguyễn Văn Thiệu as President of South Vietnam. The South Vietnamese President, who cause the live of 500,000 South Vietnamese killed or capture by the North Vietnamese and their communist allies The Pathet Lao and the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia when order to them to patrol over in Kampuchea. Who order Nguyễn Văn Thiệu to do so, US. Fear more American would be killed in Laos and Cambodia. On Nov. 22, 1963, LB Johnson was appointed as President of the United States after JF Kennedy was killed in Dallas, TX.The following year on Aug 7, 1964, US Democrats President LB Johnson declare US military action to Vietnam over an alleged attack on a US Destroyer Maddox, who was order to patrol past the 17th parallel near Hanoi. The capital of North Vietnam while supporting the South against them. When 500,000 US ground troops was sent to fight in Vietnam. 40% of those Blacks male was drafted along with white male high school drop out, non-college white male, trouble teen white male, and convicted white male was all drafted to fight in Vietnam. When the US military did their "Search and Destroyed mission." The Communist North gain mass support for their cause and their army grew from 60,000 troops to over 1,000,000 troops. In 1975, the Democrats control congress cuts all funds to US military aids to South Vietnam. Causing the April 30, 1975 Fall of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam to the Communist North. Thus began the mass flow of Vietnamese refugee out of Vietnam. Ten of thousands of Vietnamese refugee die at sea from hunger, thirst, illness, Thai pirates, and Chinese warship. And now 10 of thousands of young South Vietnamese young childrens born of birth defect from US biological Agent Orange.The Vietnam War is the worse Untied States War Crime to another country.
You know during the Vietnam War there were a lot case of US ground troops commit a lot of attrocities toward many South Vietnamese villagers during their "Search and Destroy Mission." Many were never reported and a lot was being covered up by US General William Childs Westmoreland. There were many US ground troops saw the attrocities done by their fellow American troops and did nothing. While other participate. Vietnamese peoples were the victim of the Vietnam War. Even though many Vietnamese didn't start the War and didn't ask for it. That was the decision by the American peoples who voted for Democrats President JF Kennedy and LB Johnson as their Commander in Chief for their country. And Democrats President Truman who brought Communist support to Vietnam by allowing and supporting France to reclaim Vietnam as their colony. A country who value their freedom and independence from England. Deny other country of their own. America has never a democracy country. America is a Republic.
So they die for nothing haha like always in evry war