Before arriving in Khe Sanh, we also stopped at places such as Cam Lo Bridge, the ‘Eagle’s Nest,’ the ‘Rock Pile,’ and Lang Vei–all spots where there had been fierce fighting during the war. It seemed strange to be there now that it was quiet. The hills of Vietnam were peaceful and beautiful. It was another day to reflect on the sacrifices made by my fellow servicemen who had fought and died in this very area.

Subscribe Today

• Did you enjoy our article?
• Read more in Vietnam Magazine
• Subscribe online and save nearly 40%!!!
 

Khe Sanh was not what I had expected. I had had no idea of the size of the place. Now there is nothing left there to indicate the horror and fear the Marines who endured the siege must have felt during their prolonged ordeal. It’s just a flat area with a pepper plantation now in its place.

Next we visited some of the areas that I had operated in. Some of them were vaguely familiar. When we were there in ‘68, the scenery was not pretty, and the vegetation had been sparse. Now everything was green and growing again. The villages were once again inhabited and the people very friendly.

Our friend Doc Pittman related the story of how my amtrac platoon had saved a squad of Marines he was with in this area. Over the next few days, we would hear from others about what they remembered about the battles we had fought here. For the first time, we would grasp the big picture.

General Weise, who had been our commanding officer at the time, filled us in on his perspective as we traveled the countryside. We had our lunch that day in a small village named Ne Ha on the banks of Jones Creek. This village had been the site of fierce battles. As we ate our lunch along the banks of this now peaceful place, we remembered how fearful we had been 29 years before. I quietly said a prayer for all of those who died here so long ago.

Twenty-nine years before, there had been no villages left in this area, only NVA. Anything that moved was enemy and a danger to us. The rice paddies were not tended then. Today the paddies are full and green with the rice crops. The villages are once again filled with people and the sound of children’s laughter. It was hard to visualize the terror I had felt in this place when all was at peace.

We then returned to our hotel in Dong Ha. Our next journey would be to the village of Dai Do, where we lost 81 men killed and more than 300 wounded in three days. I had managed to blank most of this out of my mind, and I only hoped that it would not come back to haunt me after we visited it once again.

On day six of our tour we were joined by Mr. Hann, a former Viet Cong commander who fought against us during the battle of Dai Do. At the time, he was head man for the Viet Cong in the area. He was now honored by his countrymen for his efforts and bravery during the war. We met Hann just before boarding our sampan for the trip down the Cua Viet River. General Weise and Hann filled us in on the battle as we traveled. Hann told the general that we had been facing three full regiments of the 320th NVA division. We had suspected as much, but we were surprised when he revealed that they were reinforced by three full companies of Viet Cong. We must have been fighting against 5,000 to 7,000 enemy troops, and our battalion at the time had only a field strength of about 600 men. I was startled by this information, as I had no idea what we had actually faced so long ago.

We respected those troops who fought so hard, but we are also proud of the fact that we stopped them cold. If we had not met them and stopped them, they would have overrun the 3rd Marine Division headquarters at Dong Ha. The battle at Dai Do is not well known, but the fighting there was some of the heaviest of the War (see ‘Magnificent Pressure Exerted,’ by Michael D. Harkins, in the Summer 1989 Vietnam). I am proud to have served with this unit during the battle.

General Weise had a wooden turtle he had carried with him since he left Vietnam. The turtle had come out of a temple that had been destroyed in the village of Mai Xa Chanh. It was a pretty emotional moment when he returned this turtle to the new temple that had been erected in the village. We also held a memorial service for those who died during the battle, both the Marines and the enemy troops we had fought, on the banks of the Cua Viet River in the village of Dai Do. Hann kept the villagers from using the path that ran through where we stood while we paid our respects. He later told us that they also have services to honor people who died fighting.

Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to