Battle of Firebase Ripcord - One Way In, One Way Out

 The Battle of Firebase Ripcord was one of the bloodiest conflicts of the Vietnam War, and the last wide-ranging encounter between the US and the North Vietnamese Army before the war ended.

Even though American involvement in the Vietnam War was generally supported by the public at first, opposition eventually emerged as President Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964, dramatically increasing the presence of US soldiers in the area.

Unrest hit a high point after the Battle of Hamburger Hill in May of 1969. Targeting a hill with no real strategic value, many American lives were lost. The United States Congress had to intervene to reevaluate the US strategy in South Vietnam, and President Nixon began a withdrawal of American troops. 

But the incessant fighting continued with the Battle of Firebase Ripcord, which took place in a remote region of the A Shau Valley during the summer of 1970.

The objective was to take control of the valley, a key tactical point for the North Vietnamese Army.

American troops were sent to the abandoned Fire Support Base Ripcord as a first step to support the Operation Chicago Peak offensives against enemy supply lines in the area. However, Vietnamese forces unleashed thousands of troops in a fierce counterattack... 

VIDEO HERE  (9:20 minutes)