Journeys III: A Pictorial Essay of Artillery Hill and Ben Het, Vietnam

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In 1971, as the Vietnam War was winding down for US troops, Lieutenant Stanley was 24 years old and in charge of soldiers even younger than he. Leadership, courage, and presence of mind under combat conditions were paramount. Stanley was thrust into a command position at a remote former Special Forces Border Camp situated at Ben Het on a major infiltration corridor known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail, where he became the Officer in Charge of a new, high-tech (for 1971) instrument-the Integrated Observation System (IOS). Within a few days he was proficient on the IOS and calling in heavy artillery fire to support several joint US Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam combat operations all over the Central Highlands. On March 31st, Fire Base Six came under heavy attack and was captured by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) with 4,000 to 5,000 troops-considerably more than US intelligence had estimated at 400 soldiers. Stanley’s gripping biography chronicles the courageous international intervention between the Soviet Union and the USA that prevented the NVA troops from also capturing Ben Het and advancing all the way down Rocket Ridge, through Kontum City, and effectively splitting South Vietnam at the Central Highlands-a strategy that succeeded the following year.