Battle of Hamburger Hill, 1969
An unidentified soldier brushes his teeth, the desolate and torn-up landscape of Hill 937 of Dong Ap Bia, better known to Americans as Hamburger Hill, stretching on behind him. Once full trees are now nothing more than barren sticks of wood, strewn about the hillsides. The 101st Airborne Division, with armor from 3rd Battalion, 5th Mechanized Infantry Division, were on top of Dong Ap Bia as part of operations in A Shau valley. 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."
