3rd Battalion Patton tanks, 1969
Two Patton tanks from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Mechanized Infantry Division have taken up position overlooking the Laotian-Vietnamese border atop Hill 937 of Dong Ap Bia - better known to Americans as Hamburger Hill. The Mechanized Infantry Division and member of the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division are taking part in an operation in the A Shau Valley, designed to deny the Communists this traditional supply route. In May elements of the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne, together with North Vietnamese Army infantry troops fought fiercely to gain control of the hill, a battle that would become known as the Battle of Hamburger Hill. Despite the hard-won victory, Stars and Stripes photographer Bob Hodierne's original photo caption sheet already stated that "[The] 101st does not intend to make a permanent base on Hamburger Hill."
