Today in Marine Corps History. The Battle of Khe Sanh began.

  The Battle for Khe Sanh

via Marine Corps Historical Division...

The second battle for Khe Sanh began on 20 January 1968 when Marines from the 3d Battalion, 26th Marines attacked a North Vietnamese battalion between Hill 881 South and Hill 881 North. More than 100 of the enemy were killed. This week's publication is _The Battle for Khe Sanh_, by Captain Moyers S. Shore, II. First published in 1969, this was one of the earliest records of the battle and siege of Khe Sanh Combat Base.

The battle of Khe Sanh was taught to every Marine in boot camp not that long ago.  Its the story of Marines under almost constant fire, living in hellish conditions and with the assistance of some extremely brave airmen fought and won where the French had failed.

Its one of those "finest hour" stories that is known only inside the military (note also that this was a truly joint service fight...the US Army, Air Force, Navy...everyone showed up, everyone fought and everyone bled).

One of the sidenotes to the fight is the battle for the hills surrounding the base.  If those battles are analogous to what company landing teams will face (and that is my fear) then we're looking at sending future Marines into meat grinders.

This history is a must read.