Mögnuð átakasaga lítillar liðssveitar Bandaríkahers sem varðist áhlaupum hers N-Víetnams og Viet Congs skæruliða á lítilli nafnlausri hæð. Andstæðingarnir voru töluvert fleiri, sennilega 25falt fleiri, en þrátt fyrir það börðust bandaríkjamennirnir þrotlaust þar til þeim var bjargað í dagrenningu. Liðssveitin hlaut flestar hernaðarviðurkenningar BNA fyrir vikið allt til þessa dags, sumar hverjar voru veittar látnum hermönnum sveitarinnar (Congressional Medal of Honor, 4 Navy Crosses, 13 Silfur stjörnur og 18 Purpura hjörtu.) ( )

This is the stirring combat memoir written by Ray Hildreth, one of the unit's survivors. A passionate account of a tough but pointless small-unit action during the Vietnam War. Overstaying their reconnaissance mission, 18 Marines and Navy Corpsmen defend a strategically worthless hilltop against a VD batallion for a night with gruelling casualties for both sides. Aptly told by a survivor of the action, it captures the flavour of soldier life.
For some, Hill 488 was just another landmark in the jungles of Vietnam. For the eighteen men of Charlie Company, it was a last stand. This is the stirring combat memoir written by Ray Hildreth, one of the unit's survivors.
On June 13, 1966, men of the 1st Recon Battalion, 1st Marine Division were stationed on Hill 488. Before the week was over, they would fight the battle that would make them the most highly decorated small unit in the entire history of the U.S. military, winning a Congressional Medal of Honor, four Navy Crosses, thirteen Silver Stars, and eighteen Purple Hearts -- some of them posthumously.
During the early evening of June 15, a battalion of hardened North Vietnamese regulars and Viet Cong -- outnumbering the Americans 25-to-1 -- threw everything they had at the sixteen Marines and two Navy corpsmen for the rest of that terror-filled night. Every man who held the hill was either killed or wounded defending the ground with unbelievable courage and unflagging determination -- even as reinforcements were on the way.
All they had to do was make it until dawn....

Some slow and dragging parts, but overall served as a great time filler. Enjoyed reading, entertaining. ( )

A passionate account of a tough but pointless small-unit action during the Vietnam War. Overstaying their reconnaissance mission, 18 Marines and Navy Corpsmen defend a strategically worthless hilltop against a VD batallion for a night with gruelling casualties for both sides. Aptly told by a survivor of the action, it captures the flavour of soldier life. ( )