Vietnam Combat Memories: Ground Combat Action Of The Vietnam War Through The Eyes Of Soldier: History Of The 1968 Tet Offensive

It was just after 2 a.m. on Jan. 31, 1968, when the crackle of celebratory fireworks in South Vietnam's capital gave way to the pounding of machine guns, grenades, and rockets. As the country celebrated Lunar New Year, communist forces launched a wave of surprise attacks that became known as the Tet Offensive and would change the course of the Vietnam War.

During the TET offensive, 85,000 North Vietnamese Army troops and local Viet Cong launched attacks on cities and military installations across South Vietnam. One of their targets was Danang, the second-largest city in South Vietnam and home to a massive military installation including the airbase. On January 29, several thousand NVA troops came out of their mountain hiding places and moved toward their objective, the military base at Danang. Only a handful would make it inside the perimeter of the military base. Hundreds would die trying. In one case, an entire NVA Battalion was wiped out by a 12-man Marine recon team with artillery and air support before they got within 20 miles of Danang.