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Heroes of Hill 488

Incredible bravery and a great read. Thank you for sharing.

CherriesWriter - Vietnam War website

You can listen to this article on Spotify by clicking this link: https://anchor.fm/john-podlaski/episodes/Heroes-of-Hill-488-e1b9k8q

A recon team of 16 Marines and 2 Navy Corpsmen were wreaking havoc upon enemy soldiers in the valley below by calling in artillery and airstrikes. When they were discovered, the enemy sent a battalion of soldiers to kill everyone on the hilltop. Read how it all played out.

By Lt Col Michael Christy (USA) Ret.

During the Vietnam War, one of the 1st Marine Division’s primary area of operation was the southern two provinces of I Corps – Quang Tin and Quang Ngai, located in the southern portion of South Vietnam’s I Corps Military Region. Astride the boundary between Quang Nam and Quang Tin provinces is the populous, rice-rich Que Son Valley, considered as strategically important in controlling South Vietnam’s five northern provinces. For that reason, it was a principal focus for the Marines in I…

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Peace and Horror

It’s peaceful here; Nary a human voice hits my eardrums; Only the fabulous songbirds and the occasional chirping of a chipmunk; It’s okay, though; We can coexist up here

Gentle slopes and charming wood lots; Rolling hills and sun drenched meadows; A calm, quiescent brook babbles in the not too distant; I sit here often and soak it all in

It wasn’t always this way; Our descendants experienced here quite differently; Cracks of musket fire and roaring of cannons once drowned out the songbirds of the day; Large trees reduced to rubble; Craters filled the hillsides; Limbs blown off, lifelessness strewn across the meadow; The desperate shrieking of young boys dying in the background forever to haunt those who were just out of harm’s way; When the dust settled, those who were left had to grieve for their fallen comrades all the while carrying them piece by piece off the battlefield

I sit here often and soak it all in; How many took their last breath underneath the rock upon which I sit? How many souls are forever stuck here in their personal hell, a place I come to for peace and tranquillity? How ironic…..

Old War Horse

He was a once proud military figure; Served our nation well; Beams at the stars and stripes

He’s fallen on hard times; No longer relevant; Series of poor lifestyle decisions; Direct path of harm’s way; These years have been anything but golden

There’s little use now; A blatant liability; It’s excruciating to have that discussion, what do we do with him now?

No longer a heroic figure like Longstreet

Rather, he’s a sad figure now, this Old War Horse