RCII

By: Brian Nielson Executive Editor’s note: The following article received 1st place in the 2025 Leatherneck Magazine Writing Contest. The award is provided through an endowment by the Colonel Charles E.  Michaels Foundation and is being given in memory of Colonel William E. Barber, USMC, who fought on Iwo Jima during World War II, and was…

On January 2, 1968, 19 days before the siege of Khe Sanh began, an unusual and little-known event occurred there that may have helped prevent that Marine combat base from falling to the enemy, perhaps changing the course of the war. Captain Richard Camp was the commanding officer of Lima Company, Third Battalion, Twenty-sixth Marines,…

Early 1968: THE Prayer at Khe Sanh Faith in the Shadow of War Posted Facebook Khe Sanh Veterans November 18, 2025 The early months of 1968 marked one of the most turbulent chapters of the Vietnam War. The Tet Offensive had just shattered any illusion that the conflict was nearing an end. Cities that had…

I was Company Commander of Mike Company 3/26 on Hill 881S, having assumed that billet on January 31, 1968 as a 2nd Lt. when Capt. John Gilece was wounded by a sniper and medevaced to the U.S. In the early days of February, we were short of everything on the Hill, with our primary concerns…

The Marines on Hill 881S faced challenges in addition to fighting the NVA: drenching rain, rats, lack of water, you name it. And, on one occasion, too much pistachio ice cream. Author: Bob Koury & Bill Ring Date: November 16, 2004 Greetings Marine- Almost exactly 36 years ago, I was feeling really, really sorry for…

Arriving at Khe Sanh was relatively easy. Leaving the combat base, even after the battle officially ended, was a lot more challenging. Date: Spring, 1997 Author: Chuck Dahm Getting into Viet Nam was easy. Getting out was expected to be the same.   The red clay of the area in and around Khe Sanh gave…

Author describes his enlistment in the Marines, recruit training, Marine Corps schools, deployment to Vietnam, and finally patrolling and engaging the NVA in 1967 along Route 9 near Khe Sanh Author: Bruce “T-Bone” Jones Date: July 21, 2025 Part One – Becoming a Marine During the early years of the Vietnam War, the military draft…

Describes the lives of Robert McNamara, the American Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War, and Marine Lance Corporal Tom Mahoney, who were neighbors while growing up. On July 6, 1947, the Soviet Union began production of the Avtomat Kalashnikova-47 (AK-47), one of the world’s first operational assault rifles, a simple yet durable weapon that…

Spencer was a company commander at Khe Sanh during the 1968 battle. Here he describes his adjustment, including his antiwar activities, to civilian life after Vietnam. Author: Ernest Spencer Date: November, 1991 I’ve done three wars and I’ve had enough. I survived Vietnam. I was a founder of Nuremberg Actions out at the Concord Naval…

For nearly 80 days in early 1968, Marines on the hills surrounding Khe Sanh endured one of the war’s fiercest fights.   Date: 11/14/2017 The top of what became known as Hill 861-A was just virgin land covered with elephant grass and bamboo when I first saw it. My company, Echo 2/26, had to claw…