Siege recalled

This article was published on 08.07.08

For 77 days in Vietnam in 1968, a U.S. post at Khe Sanh was under siege, prompting comparisons to the monumental French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. The world watched to see if history would repeat itself. The peril to the U.S. presence in Vietnam was so great that officials in Washington considered using nuclear and chemical weapons. But though U.S. forces were isolated at times, troops assisted by a massive bombardment (39,179 tons of bombs dropped during the siege) held out. More than 250 Khe Sanh vets held a reunion in Reno last week. George Owsley, left, and Dave Tonick looked over 1968 editions of Newsweek and Life magazines that carried the siege on the covers.

For 77 days in Vietnam in 1968, a U.S. post at Khe Sanh was under siege, prompting comparisons to the monumental French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. The world watched to see if history would repeat itself. The peril to the U.S. presence in Vietnam was so great that officials in Washington considered using nuclear and chemical weapons. But though U.S. forces were isolated at times, troops assisted by a massive bombardment (39,179 tons of bombs dropped during the siege) held out. More than 250 Khe Sanh vets held a reunion in Reno last week. George Owsley, left, and Dave Tonick looked over 1968 editions of Newsweek and Life magazines that carried the siege on the covers.

Photo By Dennis Myers

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