Tet Offensive & Khe sahn vietnam war footage

from the documentary 'Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam'

• Category

  Film & Animation

[snoopy21972]

My dad was a combat engineer & was stationed in Khe Sahn 68-70. Welcome Home....

[gerry301]

Entire jungles were not "blown aways" and such areas that did recieve damage grew back in a few years. Vietnham was then and is now a beautiful lush country with many shades of green. The jungle exists today as it did then. Which soldiers lives would you chose to end for the jungle?

[gerry301]

Attacks on base camps etc. were usually by surprize in so far as it is possible to land 250 troops in helocopters against an unknown number of enemy. The enemy usually would have look outs and any movement nearby would be reported . Bunkers surrounding a base camp are also normal with machine guns fire covering all lines of approach. Not always knowing the number of enemy in the camp also means US troops could easily find themselves outnumbered and needing to call in arty and bombs to stay alive

[josh dym]

America could've surprise attacked them and lose not a lot of lives. It all comes down to whether or not America is willing to lose a couple soldiers to save an entire jungle.

[gerry301]

They did that quite often. Using recon troops , signals intellegence or observers in the sky, if a target was found they were often attacked by troops. If well defended by NVA or VC and the troops couldn't make headway, they often softend up the area with bombs and/or artillory..If the base camp or supply depot was deep in enemy territory surrounded by thousands of troops they bombed them instead. Its makes more sense to bomb depots or troop concentrations than attack them and lose lives.

[josh dym]

Yes, they the Vietnamese had bases in the jungle but why couldn't America just invade them? Did that idea ever pop up?