In other wars it could have been called Bunker Hill, Heartbreak Ridge or Pork Chop Hill. Scroll to the right to see the complete panoramic image. The elevation of the Rockpile is approximately 790 feet above sea level, and about 690 feet above the surrounding terrain. This is a panoramic photo of the Rockpile, taken from Highway Nine, and looking north. We are leaving Dong Ha and heading west on Highway Nine. An unknown number of Laotian troops and North Vietnamese troops were killed or wounded. Of the 24 Americans at Lang Vei, seven were killed in action, 11 were wounded and three were captured. The Montagnard and South Vietnamese suffered 309 killed, 64 wounded and 122 captured. It was a short bloody battle that ended within hours the camp was overrun and captured by the North Vietnamese. This was the first time the North Vietnamese used tanks in South Vietnam. Early in the morning of 6 February the camp was attacked by a force of heavily armed North Vietnamese infantrymen, plus 12 Soviet built PT-76 amphibious tanks.
On 6 February 1968, it had within its perimeter 24 American Green Beret soldiers, plus approximately 500 Montagnard and South Vietnamese irregular civilian troops, and 350 Laotian soldiers. Lang Vei Special Forces Camp was situated adjacent to Highway Nine, approximately 4 miles west of Khe Sanh and about 5 miles east of Lao Bao on the Vietnamese/Laotian border. That is the site of the Khe Sanh Combat Base.
The Khe Sanh Combat Base site is located where our route leaves Highway Nine, travels northwest a short distance, and then stops. The observed infiltration information was sent via radio communication to the Marine Air Base in Dong Ha, to be analyzed and acted upon. It was used by the Marines as an observation post to find and track North Vietnamese troops infiltrating into South Vietnam through the DMZ. The mountain at the turn, standing in the clear, is the Rockpile. The Rockpile is located where the route makes a 90 degree turn and starts heading south. I tracked the route using a GPS receiver and the tracked route is superimposed on the below Google Terrain Map. Today we viewed The Rockpile and visited the site of the Khe Sanh Combat Base we also visited a monument commemorating the Battle at Lang Vei. The Rockpile, Khe Sanh Combat Base, Lang Vei Special Forces Camp, and Lao Bao: 11 and 12 March 2013
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