How was the battle of Hamburger Hill pivotal in Americas efforts in the Vietnam War?
HINTON: The battle for Hamburger Hill was part of a much larger mission called “Operation Apache Snow.” The hill sits in the A-Shau Valley. During the war, this dense jungle became a major supply route for the North Vietnamese. It was a perfect haven for their supplies and units. To the valley’s west is Laos. The North Vietnamese used Laos as their own territory, but the U.S. severely restricted military action in this theoretically neutral country. In reality, it provided our enemy a safe haven. So the A-Shau was this gateway into the South for the North Vietnamese Army, or NVA. As a result, it became a constant problem for our generals. For a variety of reasons, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces never actually occupied the valley in the traditional sense. Special Forces camps and artillery firebases did dot the map during the war, but the enemy could simply avoid them. So keeping men on a base that the enemy avoided was silly. Additionally, the NVA rarely stayed in contact with U.S. u
