The Battle of Hamburger Hill

Ap Bia Mountain was the host to one of the most famous battles that occurred during the Vietnam Conflict, the battle of Hamburger Hill. The mountain presented very formidable terrain of jungle, bamboo, and elephant grass referred to by the locals as, “the mountain of the crouching beast." Many parts of this mountain were so dense with jungle and overgrowth that there were not many ways to get across it.

The battle on hill 937, took place in 1969 in an operation dubbed “Operation Apache Snow” by the U.S. Military. It was a well planned effort to overwhelm and eliminate the PAVN (People’s Army of Vietnam) after several previous assaults to clear the area had not been as successful.

Three PAVN regiments met with two large U.S. divisions and fought a bloody hillside battle. Narrow pathways, dense jungle, and lack of intelligence made commanding and units and the implementation of tactics very difficult for the U.S. military.

The battle seemed endless, starting on May 1^st, 1969, and was officially concluded on May 11^th of 1969. During the battle and ensuing long after was much political debate as to the justification of taking the hill. A reporter working for the AP (Associated Press) was credited with naming the battle “Hamburger Hill” when he brought attention the American public that we were unnecessarily putting our troops into harms way.

The media frenzy that ensued brought the attention of hill 937 all the way to Congress, where there was much scrutiny over the issue. The U.S. lost 70 soldiers and had more than 300 wounded during the battle, effectively wresting control of the hill from the VC and inflicted massive casualties upon them. However, not even a month later, on June 6^th, General John W. Wright left the hill, as President Johnson began withdrawing our troops from the bloodied jungles of Vietnam.