Chapter 3, Part IV Khe Sanh Summary and Analysis

Herr spends several days and nights at Khe Sanh during the seige. The NVA probes the wire, which consists of spread rolls of razor wire surrounding the combat base, three circles deep. The Marines take incoming artillery and mortar rounds sporadically, and they take casualties steadily.

The NVA attacks a position called Langvei five kilometers away. Twenty-four Special Forces soldiers and four hundred ARSV troops defend against nine light Soviet-made tanks, something nobody expects from the NVA. Around half the Special Forces and three hundred of the Vietnamese die in the battle. At the same time of the Langvei battle, Khe Sanh receives a heavy artillery barrage at six rounds per minute. Survivors of Langvei make their way to Khe Sanh, and some have gone insane. Others cannot believe that the NVA has...