Hamburger+Hill

Aimee Hayward and Maddy Kerr

__**Hamburger Hill**__

Hamburger Hill is the location of one of the major battles of the Vietnam war. Located in the Thua Thien Province, the battle of involved the South Vietnamese and the American forces against the North Vietnamese forces. Hamburger Hill was located on Ap Bia mountain in the heavily jungled mountains of South Vietnam. While many soldiers called the mountain "Hamburger Hill", the actual American name for it was Hill 937, because it was 937 m high. This battle occured during Operation Apache Snow, which was the second part of a campaign that was broken up into three pieces. It's goal was to destroy the North Vietnamese Army's Base Areas in the A Shau Valley. Ap Bia mountain was thick with elephant grass and bamboo, making it a difficult battle location especially for the United States' forces. What made it all the more frustrating to Americans at home was the fact that this mountain had little to none strategic significance. It was heavily defended by NVA forces, and that seemed to be the only reason US troops wanted it so badly.



The battle lasted ten days, from the tenth of May to the twentieth of May in 1969. Once US troops captured the peak, a makeshift sign was put up naming the mountain "Hamburger Hill". Soldiers related Hill 937 to a human meat grinder, hence the nickname was born. After the mountain was captured by the allied South Vietnamese and American forces, they abandoned it, which led to further political outrage in the States since NVA forces almost immediately re-occupied it. Americans at home saw the battle as a major waste of American resources, lives, and time. Support for the Vietnam war continued to rapidly deteriorate.

The Americans ordered the capture of the hill by the movement of their forces towards the front of the North Vietnamese army. The Battle took place between soldiers on foot, it was mostly a ground battle. The United States airborne forces were dropped into the battle by aircrafts. They then moved up Hamburger Hill against the established NVA troops. The Americans continuously attacked the North Vietnamese Army but the NVA stood strong. The struggle involved hand-to-hand jungle fighting, and many friendly fire incidents. After five days of fighting, the 101st Airborne Division was able to directly assault the NVA, and caused extensive casualties to the opposing forces.

US aftermath included 72 dead, and 372 wounded, whereas the NVA suffered about 630 losses. After the battle, Life magazine published the photographs of one weeks worth of American casualties in Vietnam: 241. Back at home, Americans misunderstood the magazine, thinking that all men had been killed in the battle for Hamburger Hill. In reality, only 5 were photographs of those who fought there, but the damage was done, and the magazine was a major turning point regarding American views on the war.

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