"Summary of Hamburger Hill"
... Shau Valley, which isn’t seeing too much bloodshed at that point. Upon returning to camp, the base is mortared, leaving soldiers and civilians dead. The next day, May 10th, 1969, “Operation Apache Snow” begins. En route, they are attacked in the jungles of the A Shau Valley, leaving a soldier dead. They continue on, and the next day commence the attacks upon Dong Ap Bia, and are eventually saved by the AHC (Assault Helicopter Company) due to heavy attacks on the part of the NVA. After a long rainy night, the troops attempt to take over the hill once again, and American air supports drops napalm and Willie Pete (a white phosphorus mortar), but no harm was done due to the cover made by the NVA consisting of bunkers and other forms of hiding. During this exchange, allied forces accidentally shoot their own troops. When this happened in real life, Lt. Colonel Honeywell sent a message to the entire division staff saying, I want you to make sure that everybody gets this. And I mean the artillery people and the gunship pilots and the liaison officers . . everybody. I don't want ..(them) .. out here if they can't shoot the enemy instead of us. I'm tired of taking more casualties from friendlies than from the enemy. The next goddamn sonofabitch who comes out here and shoots us up, we're gonna shoot his ******' ass down. And that's final. Now you go back and tell 'em that.” (http://www.historyinfilm.com/hamhill/plot.htm) After several more attempts to secure “hamburger hill”, finally on May 20th, 1969 the hill was captured, only to be given back to the NVA a month later. Critics attacked soldiers and the importance and relevance of “Operation Apache Snow”, calling it a waste of American lives. As far as “Hamburger Hill” being a tool for history students to analyze, the film shows an element of anti-war, which was very common back in the states during the duration of the war. One specific example of this is found at the end of the movie when the division commander of the 101st infantry admitted that the only relevance to the hill was that the enemy occupied it. Another aspect of the war that was covered in this movie was the gory, negative characteristics of the war, which again shows a portrayal of anti-war beliefs present during Vietnam battles. As far as historical accuracy, from what I’ve read about the actual battle at A Shau Valley, the movie seems to over exaggerate the deaths and battles encountered by actual Vietnam vets. The anti-war message can also be considered a misleading element in terms of how Americans felt during the time of war. This takes away the relevancy of losses of life from the many veterans who died serving the duties of our country, and also away from the families of lost soldiers during combat. Discussion Questions 1) What, if any, aspect...