Just days before, as the Army of the . The monumental Battle of Khe Sanh had begun, but the January 21 starting date is essentially arbitrary in terms of casualty reporting. [86] The command and control arrangement then in place in Southeast Asia went against Air Force doctrine, which was predicated on the single air manager concept. American logistical, aerial, and artillery support was provided to the operation. For them, the battle started when the North Vietnamese attacks began in January. [105], Lownds estimated that the logistical requirements of KSCB were 60 tons per day in mid-January and rose to 185 tons per day when all five battalions were in place. [62], On 20 January, La Thanh Ton, a PAVN lieutenant from the 325th Division, defected and laid out the plans for an entire series of PAVN attacks. [24], The plateau camp was permanently manned by the US Marines in 1967, when they established an outpost next to the airstrip. [63] Hills 881 South, 861, and the main base itself would be simultaneously attacked that same evening. [75], Niagara I was completed during the third week of January, and the next phase, Niagara II, was launched on the 21st,[76] the day of the first PAVN artillery barrage. [171] When Hanoi made the decision to move in around the base, Khe Sanh was held by only one or two American battalions. An additional 413 Marines were killed during Scotland II as of the end of June 1968. The Twenty-fifth United States Infantry Regiment was one of the racially segregated units of the United States Army known as Buffalo Soldiers.The 25th served from 1866 to 1957, seeing action in the American Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War and World War II. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. The NVA 304th Divisions history notes that on 9 July 1968, the liberation flag was waving from the flag pole at Ta Con [Khe Sanh] airfield. On July 13, 1968, Ho Chi Minh sent a message to the soldiers of the Route 9Khe Sanh Front affirming our victory at Khe Sanh.. And it had accomplished its purpose magnificently. This is also the position taken in the official PAVN history but offers no further explanation of the strategy. In the aftermath, the North Vietnamese proclaimed a victory at Khe Sanh, while US forces claimed that they had withdrawn, as the base was no longer required. newsletter for the best of the past, delivered every Monday and Thursday. Once the base came under siege, a series of actions were fought over a period of five months. A platoon from Company D, 1/26 Marines was sent from the base but was withdrawn in the face of the superior PAVN forces. [151] From 12 June to 6 July 1969, Task Force Guadalcanal comprising 1/9 Marines, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment and 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 2nd ARVN Regiment occupied the Khe Sanh area in Operation Utah Mesa. Besieged, Khe Sanh could only be resupplied by air. To support the Marine base, a massive aerial bombardment campaign (Operation Niagara) was launched by the USAF. The report, originally classified as secret, noted that intelligence from many sources indicated conclusively that the North Vietnamese had planned a massive ground attack against the base. Indeed, had enemy forces not been at Khe Sanh, they could have joined the NVA and VC who occupied Hue, a much more important strategic target. Its mission was to destroy the Special Forces and their Vietnamese allies and to ambush any reinforcements coming from Khe Sanh. WALKI NA WZGRZU: PIERWSZA BITWA KHE SANH Edwarda F. Murphy'ego - twarda okadka w bardzo dobrym stanie | Books & Magazines, Books | eBay! Gordan L Rottman, Osprey Campaign 150: The Khe Sanh 1967-68, p. 51. by John Prados. [157], Commencing in 1966, the US had attempted to establish a barrier system across the DMZ to prevent infiltration by North Vietnamese troops. The lossesindicating that the enemy suffered a major defeatwere estimated at 3,550 KIA inflicted by delivered fires (i.e., aerial and artillery bombardment) and 2,000 KIA from ground action, for a total of 5,550 estimated North Vietnamese killed in action as of March 31. [142], Lownds and the 26th Marines departed Khe Sanh, leaving the defense of the base to the 1st Marine Regiment. [61] To cover a defilade near the Rao Quan River, four companies from 2/26 were immediately sent out to occupy Hill 558, with another manning Hill 861A. Battle of Hamburger Hill The 29 th North Vietnam Army had entrenched themselves on Hamburger Hill in South Vietnam; a joint US-South Vietnamese force was ordered to remove them. Thirty-three ARVN troops were also killed and 187 were wounded. Of the 7877 officer casualties, 7595 or 96.4% were white, 147 or 1.8% were black; 24 or . Hundreds of mortar rounds and 122-mm rockets slammed into the base, levelling most of the above-ground structures. [85] Westmoreland had given his deputy commander for air operations, Air Force General William W. Momyer, the responsibility for coordinating all air assets during the operation to support KSCB. The NVAs main command post was located in Laos, at Sar Lit. The enemy by my count suffered at least 15,000 dead in the area.. The Vietnam War: 11 Major Battles - warhistoryonline The Pegasus force consisted of the Army 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) plus the 1st Marine Regiment. Site will be misbehaving during our migration to new (better!) The Marines were extremely reluctant to relinquish authority over their aircraft to an Air Force general. [53] Two divisions, the 304th and the 325th, were assigned to the operation: the 325th was given responsibility for the area around the north, while the 304th was given responsibility for the southern sector. Ray Stubbe has published a translation of the North Vietnamese history of the siege at Khe Sanh. On April 20, Operation Prairie IV began, with heavy fighting between the Marines and NVA forces. The Armys 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), with more than 400 helicopters under its control, conducted airmobile operations deeper into enemy-controlled areas. By the end of January 1968, he had moved half of all US combat troops, nearly 50 maneuver battalions, to I Corps. "[52], Brigadier General Lowell English (assistant commander 3rd Marine Division) complained that the defense of the isolated outpost was ludicrous: "When you're at Khe Sanh, you're not really anywhere. The border battles, however, had two significant consequences, which were unappreciated at the time. Making the prospect even more enticing was that the base was in an unpopulated area in which American firepower could be fully employed without civilian casualties. Army deaths at FOB-3, however, were not included in the official statistics either. [116] Marine analysis of PAVN artillery fire estimated that the PAVN gunners had fired 10,908 artillery and mortar rounds and rockets into Marine positions during the battle. Had the plane been shot down departing Khe Sanh, the casualties would have been counted. During one 8-hour period, the base was rocked by 1,307 rounds, most of which came from 130-mm (used for the first time on the battlefield) and 152-mm artillery pieces located in Laos. Home > Features > Battle of Khe Sanh > View All. "[159] In assessing North Vietnamese intentions, Peter Brush cites the claim of Vietnamese theater commander, V Nguyn Gip, "that Khe Sanh itself was not of importance, but only a diversion to draw U.S. forces away from the populated areas of South Vietnam. "[91][92], Not much activity (with the exception of patrolling) had occurred thus far during the battle for the Special Forces Detachment A-101 and their four companies of Bru CIDGs stationed at Lang Vei. Operation Pegasus casualties included 59 U.S. Army and 51 Marine Corps dead. Lima Company finally seized the hill after overcoming determined NVA resistance. The opportunity to engage and destroy a formerly elusive enemy that was moving toward a fixed position promised a victory of unprecedented proportions. Officer casualties of all branches were overwhelmingly white. The most controversial statistic in Vietnam was the number of killed in action (KIA) claimed by each side. A group of 12 A-4 Skyhawk fighter-bombers provided flak suppression for massed flights of 1216 helicopters, which would resupply the hills simultaneously. Operation Scotland II continued until the end of the year, resulting in the deaths of 72 more Marines. The battalion was assaulted on the night of 23 January by three PAVN battalions supported by seven tanks. "[28], As far as Westmoreland was concerned, however, all that he needed to know was that the PAVN had massed large numbers of troops for a set-piece battle. U.S. battles of the war in Vietnam had young GIs or Marines humping into the boonies in search of the enemy. Marine Khe Sanh veteran Peter Brush is Vietnam Magazines book review editor. An airborne battlefield command and control center aboard a C-130 aircraft, directed incoming strike aircraft to forward air control (FAC) spotter planes, which, in turn directed them to targets either located by themselves or radioed in by ground units. The explanations given out by the Saigon command were that "the enemy had changed his tactics and reduced his forces; that PAVN had carved out new infiltration routes; that the Marines now had enough troops and helicopters to carry out mobile operations; that a fixed base was no longer necessary. [140] Operation Scotland II would continue until 28 February 1969 resulting in 435 Marines and 3304 PAVN killed. At 21:30, the attack came on, but it was stifled by the small arms of the Rangers, who were supported by thousands of artillery rounds and air strikes. That afternoon, as a rescue force was dispatched to the village, Army Lt. Col. Joseph Seymoe and other soldiers died when their helicopter was attacked. MACV therefore initiated an operation to open Route 9 to vehicle traffic. Even so, Westmoreland insisted for it not only to be occupied by the Marines but also for it to be reinforced. [110], As more infantry units had been assigned to defend KSCB, artillery reinforcement kept pace. There are still debates about the true number of casualties, but estimates range that 1,000 to 3,500 US soldiers died, and a secret report from the US Military Assistance Command, Vietnam,. [12], General Creighton Abrams also suggested that the North Vietnamese may have been planning to emulate Dien Bien Phu. [120], On 23 February, KSCB received its worst bombardment of the entire battle. Westmoreland echoed this judgment in his memoirs, and, using exactly the same figures, concluded that the North Vietnamese had suffered a most damaging and one-sided defeat. On July 10, Pfc Robert Hernandez of Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, was manning an M-60 machine gun position when it took a direct hit from NVA mortars. Westmoreland had been forwarding operational plans for an invasion of Laos since 1966. Setting out from Ca Lu, 10 miles east of Khe Sanh, Pegasus opened the highway, linked up with the Marines at Khe Sanh, and engaged NVA in the surrounding area. The battle of Khe Sanh is one of the most well-known battles of the Vietnam War. For most of the battle, low-lying clouds and fog enclosed the area from early morning until around noon, and poor visibility severely hampered aerial resupply. What is the 25th Infantry known for? Time magazine, in an April 12, 1968, article titled Victory at Khe Sanh, reported General William Westmoreland, commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, after flying into Khe Sanh by helicopter, declaring: We took 220 killed at Khe Sanh and about 800 wounded and evacuated. [25], In the winter of 1964, Khe Sanh became the location of a launch site for the highly-classified Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group. [65] The fighting and shelling on 21 January resulted in 14 Marines killed and 43 wounded. [143][144], On 15 April, the 3rd Marine Division resumed responsibility for KSCB, Operation Pegasus ended, and Operation Scotland II began with the Marines seeking out the PAVN in the surrounding area. [57][58] They were assisted in their emplacement efforts by the continuing bad weather of the winter monsoon. The PAVN, however, were not through with the ARVN troops. Consequently, and unknown at the time, Operation Scotland became the starting point of the Battle of Khe Sanh in terms of Marine casualty reporting. The Laotians were overrun, and many fled to the Special Forces camp at Lang Vei. The PAVN 130mm and 152mm artillery pieces, and 122mm rockets, had a longer range than the Marine artillery support which consisted of 105mm and 155mm howitzers. U.S. reconnaissance forces continued to monitor the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Construction on the line was ultimately abandoned and resources were later diverted towards implementing a more mobile strategy. I suspect he is also trying to draw everyone's attention away from the greatest area of threat, the northern part of I Corps. Of the 4953 Navy and Air Force casualties, both officer and enlisted, 4, 736 or 96% were white. How Many Were Really Killed at Khe Sanh? | RealClearHistory On June 19, 1968, another operation began at Khe Sanh, Operation Charlie, the final evacuation and destruction of the Khe Sanh Combat Base. The combat losses in February and March 1967 were a prelude to the "First Battle of Khe Sanh," one of the Vietnam War's hardest-fought battles, . Throughout the battle, Marine artillerymen fired 158,891 mixed rounds. On the afternoon of 29 January, however, the 3rd Marine Division notified Khe Sanh that the truce had been cancelled. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. 129131. These combined sources report a total of 354 KIA. 3% were Asian, 7 or . The Battle of Khe Sanh's initial action cost the Marines 12 killed, 17 wounded and two missing. Vietnam 40 years later: 101st Airborne Division veteran recalls Ripcord Unlike the official figures, Stubbes database of Khe Sanh casualties includes verifiable names and dates of death. The microwave/tropo site was located in an underground bunker next to the airstrip. Military History Institute of Vietnam, pp. On the first day of battle, a big Communist rocket scored a direct hit on the main Marine ammunition dump, destroying 1,500 tons of high explosives, 98 percent of available ammunition. [164] He cited the fact that it would have taken longer to dislodge the North Vietnamese at Hue if the PAVN had committed the three divisions at Khe Sanh to the battle there instead of dividing its forces. One of the first enemy shells set off an explosion in the main ammunition dump. According to the official Marine Corps history of the battle, total fatalities for Operation Scotland were 205 friendly KIA. The Marines recorded an actual body count of 1,602 NVA killed but estimated the total NVA dead at between 10,000 and 15,000. Battle of Khe Sanh : American Casualties : Showing All Results [170][140], One argument that was then leveled by Westmoreland and has since often quoted by historians of the battle is that only two Marine regiments were tied down at Khe Sanh, compared with the several PAVN divisions. Battle of Khe Sanh : American Casualties We have 535 casualty profiles listed in our archive. As a result, 65% of all supplies were delivered by paradrops delivered by C-130 aircraft, mostly by the USAF, whose crews had significantly more experience in airdrop tactics than Marine air crews. Both sides have published official histories of the battle, and while these histories agree the fighting took place at Khe Sanh, they disagree on virtually every other aspect of it. Due to severe losses, however, the NVA abandoned its plan for a massive ground attack. [109], The resupply of the numerous, isolated hill outposts was fraught with the same difficulties and dangers. [78], Thus began what was described by John Morocco as "the most concentrated application of aerial firepower in the history of warfare". At 0330 hours, soldiers of the NVA 6th Battalion, 2nd Regiment, 325C Division, attacked the Marines on Hill 861. Tolson was not happy with the assignment, since he believed that the best course of action, after Tet, was to use his division in an attack into the A Shau Valley. Two days later, the PAVN 273rd Regiment attacked a Special Forces camp near the border town of Loc Ninh, in Bnh Long Province. The village of Khe Sanh was the seat of government of Hng Hoa district, an area of Bru Montagnard villages and coffee plantations about 7 miles (11km) from the Laotian frontier on Route 9, the northernmost transverse road in South Vietnam. None of the deaths associated with Scotland II are included in the official count. The Hill Fights - Wikipedia Battle of Khe Sanh - Wikipedia [131], Planning for the overland relief of Khe Sanh had begun as early as 25 January 1968, when Westmoreland ordered General John J. Tolson, commander, First Cavalry Division, to prepare a contingency plan. The 26th Marines were activated in 1944 and fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II and were activated again on 1 March 1966, and fought in the Battle of Khe Sanh during the Vietnam War . They were not included in the official Khe Sanh counts. A historian, General Dave Palmer, accepted that rationale: "General Giap never had any intention of capturing Khe Sanh [it] was a feint, a diversionary effort. The distinctions between Operations Scotland, Pegasus and Scotland II, while important from the command perspective, were not necessarily apparent to individual Marines. A 77 day battle, Khe Sanh had been the biggest single battle of the Vietnam War to that point. [77] When weather conditions precluded FAC-directed strikes, the bombers were directed to their targets by either a Marine AN/TPQ-10 radar installation at KSCB or by Air Force Combat Skyspot MSQ-77 stations. [27][28] The Marines' defensive system stretched below the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) from the coast, along Route 9, to Khe Sanh. "[155], According to military historian Ronald Spector, to reasonably record the fighting at Khe Sanh as an American victory is impossible. Khe Sanh was situated on Route 9, the major east-west highway. The PAVN claim that during the entire battle they "eliminated" 17,000 enemy troops, including 13,000 Americans and destroyed 480 aircraft. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. The official, public estimate of 10,000 to 15,000 North Vietnamese KIA stands in contrast to another estimate made by the American military. The Battle of Khe Sanh (21 January 9 July 1968) was conducted in the Khe Sanh area of northwestern Qung Tr Province, Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), during the Vietnam War. Enemy artillery rounds slammed into the runway. The attack on Khe Sanh, however, proved to be a diversionary tactic for the larger Tet Offensive. During the darkness of January 20-21, the NVA launched a series of coordinated attacks against American positions. At 04:15 on 8 February under cover of fog and a mortar barrage, the PAVN penetrated the perimeter, overrunning most of the position and pushing the remaining 30 defenders into the southwestern portion of the defenses. The last of the American casualties were finally lifted off Hill 861 on March 17. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. A Look at the Damage from the Secret War in Laos, How Operation Homecoming Was Sprung into Action to Repatriate American POWs, The Viet Cong Were Shooting Down Americans From a Cave Until This GI Stopped Them, https://www.historynet.com/recounting-the-casualties-at-the-deadly-battle-of-khe-sanh/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors, Few Red Tails Remain: Tuskegee Airman Dies at 96. North Vietnamese Army gained control of the Khe Sanh region after the American withdrawal. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. 239240. [115] This equates to roughly 1,300 tons of bombs dropped daily 5 tons for every one of the 20,000 PAVN soldiers initially estimated to have been committed to the fighting at Khe Sanh. Due to the nature of these activities, and the threat that they posed to KSCB, Westmoreland ordered Operation Niagara I, an intense intelligence collection effort on PAVN activities in the vicinity of the Khe Sanh Valley. [129][130] Nevertheless, according to Tom Johnson, President Johnson was "determined that Khe Sanh [would not] be an 'American Dien Bien Phu'". Two further attacks later in the morning were halted before the PAVN finally withdrew. . [25], Marino stated that "by 1966, Westmoreland had begun to consider Khe Sanh as part of a larger strategy." The 324th Division was located in the DMZ area 1015 miles (1624km) north of Khe Sanh while the 320th Division was within easy reinforcing distance to the northeast. The Marines at KSCB credited 40% of intelligence available to their fire-support coordination center to the sensors. NVA casualties were more than 200. The 1968 Battle of Khe Sanh was the longest, deadliest and most controversial of the Vietnam War, pitting the U.S. Marines and their allies against the North Vietnamese Army. [30], In early October, the PAVN had intensified battalion-sized ground probes and sustained artillery fire against Con Thien, a hilltop stronghold in the center of the Marines' defensive line south of the DMZ, in northern Qung Tr Province. Cushman was appalled by the "implication of a rescue or breaking of the siege by outside forces. [145], Author Peter Brush details that an "additional 413 Marines were killed during Scotland II through the end of June 1968". [26] From there, reconnaissance teams were launched into Laos to explore and gather intelligence on the PAVN logistical system known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail, also known as "Truong Son Strategic Supply Route" to the North Vietnamese soldiers. . [88] Westmoreland was so obsessed with the tactical situation that he threatened to resign if his wishes were not obeyed. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. [1] He goes on to state that a further 72 were killed as part Operation Scotland II throughout the remainder of the year, but that these deaths are not included in the official US casualty lists for the Battle of Khe Sanh. The next operations were named Crockett and Ardmore. [125], By mid-March, Marine intelligence began to note an exodus of PAVN units from the Khe Sanh sector. The 26th Marine Regiment (26th Marines) is an inactivated infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. During the course of the siege, the U.S. Air Force dropped five tons of bombs for each of the estimated 20,000 attacking NVA troops. [107] The greatest impediments to the delivery of supplies to the base were the closure of Route 9 and the winter monsoon weather. It was a two-part battle which took place from November 14 to 18, 1965 at the la Drang Valley, South Vietnam. [12] With the abandonment of the base, according to Thomas Ricks, "Khe Sanh became etched in the minds of many Americans as a symbol of the pointless sacrifice and muddled tactics that permeated a doomed U.S. war effort in Vietnam". Overnight, they were moved to a temporary position a short distance from the perimeter and from there, some of the Laotians were eventually evacuated, although the majority turned around and walked back down Route 9 toward Laos. On Easter Sunday, April 14, the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines (3/26), assaulted Hill 881 North in order to clear the enemy firing positions. Five Marines were killed on January 19 and 20, while on reconnaissance patrols. Only those killed in action during Operation Scotland, which began on November 1, 1967, and ended on March 31, 1968, were included in the official casualty count. Among the dead Marines was 18-year-old Pfc Curtis Bugger. Both sides suffered major casualties with both claiming victory of their own. This base was to serve as the western anchor of Marine Corps forces, which had tactical responsibility for the five northernmost provinces of South Vietnam known as I Corps. Battle of Dak To in the Vietnam War - ThoughtCo On January 21 at Khe Sanh, 30,000 North Vietnamese troops attacked an air base held by just 6,000 United States Marines. Casualties were heavy among the attacking PAVN, who lost over 200 killed, while the defending Marines lost two men. [81] The sensors were implanted by a special naval squadron, Observation Squadron Sixty-Seven (VO-67). They too were left out of the official Khe Sanh casualty count. Ten more Marines and 89 NVA died during this period. He subsequently ordered the US military to hold Khe Sanh at all costs. The attacks hindered the advancement of the McNamara Line, and as the fighting around Khe Sanh intensified, vital equipment including sensors and other hardware had to be diverted from elsewhere to meet the needs of the US garrison at Khe Sanh. With Khe Sanh facing a full-scale. 26th Marine Regiment (United States) - Wikipedia While climbing, the C-123 was struck by several bursts of heavy machine gun and recoilless rifle fire. January 30 marked the first day of the Vietnamese lunar new year celebration, called Tet. In the 43-day . It was the only time Americans abandoned a major combat base because of enemy pressure. That did not mean, however, that battle was over. [133] The Marines would be accompanied by their 11th Engineer Battalion, which would repair the road as the advance moved forward. Operational control of the Khe Sanh area was handed over to the US Army's 1st Air Cavalry Division for the duration of Operation Pegasus. As the relief force made progress, the Marines at Khe Sanh moved out from their positions and began patrolling at greater distances from the base. During this time, KSCB and the hilltop outposts around it were subjected to constant PAVN artillery, mortar, and rocket attacks, and several infantry assaults. That proved to be the last overland attempt at resupply for Khe Sanh until the following March. The United States and its South Vietnamese allies pulled many huge offensive . A smaller slice of the action saw Americans on the receiving end, defending some firebase or outpost. The Battle of Khe Sanh began Jan. 21, 1968, with inconclusive ground activity by US and North Vietnamese patrols. Two days later, US troops detected PAVN trenches running due north to within 25 m of the base perimeter. During aerial resupply:1 KC-130, 3 C-123 ARVN losses: 229 killed, 436 wounded (not including CIDG, RF/PF and SOG losses)CIDG losses: 1,000 1,500 killed or missing, at least 250 captured (in Lang Vei), wounded unknown[16] Kingdom of Laos: Unknown. Declassified documents show that in response, Westmoreland considered using nuclear weapons. The latest microwave/tropospheric scatter technology enabled them to maintain communications at all times. Background [ edit] The United States Marines gave the actual body count of the NVA troops killed to be 1,602, but estimates show that the total number of NVA troops . Not including ARVN Ranger, RF/PF, Forward Operation Base 3 U.S. Army, Royal Laotian Army and SOG commandos losses. [163] Other theories argued that the forces around Khe Sanh were simply a localized defensive measure in the DMZ area or that they were serving as a reserve in case of an offensive American end run in the mode of the American invasion at Inchon during the Korean War. Sunday marked the 50th anniversary of the start of the war's most famous siege, a 77-day struggle for a rain-swept plateau in central Vietnam that riveted the U.S. in 1968, and opened a year of . It reveals that the nuclear option was discounted because of terrain considerations that were unique to South Vietnam, which would have reduced the effectiveness of tactical nuclear weapons. As journalist Robert Pisor pointed out in his 1982 book, The End of the Line: The Siege of Khe Sanh, no other battle of the entire war produced a better body count or kill ratio than that claimed by the Americans at Khe Sanh. [55] They were supported logistically from the nearby Ho Chi Minh Trail. After failing to respond to a challenge, they were fired upon and five were killed outright while the sixth, although wounded, escaped. Name State Date War Branch; 1: Steven Glenn Abbott . [44], On 14 August, Colonel David E. Lownds took over as commander of the 26th Marine Regiment. The Tet Offensive - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund The report continues to state, "this prompted Air Force chief of staff, General John McConnell, to press, although unsuccessfully, for JCS (Joint Chiefs of Staff) authority to request Pacific Command to prepare a plan for using low-yield nuclear weapons to prevent a catastrophic loss of the U.S. Marine base. Fighting around Khe Sanh was continuous. Week of February 19, 2023 | Vietnam War Commemoration In an unconventional war without conventional frontlines, statistics became the most critical measure of progress.