Defeating enemy in Vietnam while media loses war

Arthur Herman:

CRITICS of the war in Iraq like to claim they "oppose the mission" but "support the troops." But the experience of Vietnam shows that turning our backs on the mission always means turning our backs on the courage of those who fought for that mission, and what they achieved through their skill and sacrifice.

Consider the battle that ended 40 years ago today, when US Marines and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) troops retook the Imperial Palace at Hue, South Vietnam's third largest city, from Communist forces after a 27-day siege.

The fight for Hue tested the Marines in Vietnam as never before - and still offers vital lessons as we contemplate wars present and future.

Hue demonstrated how the media could distort American courage and success into a narrative of stalemate and defeat, with tragic political consequences. It also revealed how that narrative cheated US servicemen of the recognition they deserved for their skill and valor.

Aside from those who served there, few now know what the Marines accomplished at Hue. After 40 years, it's time to set the record straight.

The communist attack on the city was part of North Vietnam's 1968 Tet offensive. Viet Cong units had infiltrated the city dressed as ordinary civilians and after midnight on Jan. 30, 1968, they seized key strongpoints. Five thousand North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops also swarmed down on the city.

There were no American units in or near Hue, and half of South Vietnamese troops were off duty because of the declared Tet cease-fire. The first inkling Americans had that the war had come to Hue was when a NVA rocket blew up a jeep outside Marine Maj. Frank Breth's window in the American command compound - which would be at the center of fierce fighting for the next six days.

Breth and others in the compound managed to beat off the initial attacks. Reinforcements arrived only piecemeal, company by company, starting with Company A of 1st Battalion, 1st Marines under Capt. Gordon Batcheller.

Beyond their limited numbers, the Marines were hampered by bone-chilling cold weather and rain that limited visibility and air support. And Hue's historic citadel and charming narrow streets, however charming to tourists, proved a nightmare for the men who had to fight for them.

Above all, the Marines suffered from strict rules of engagement that excluded the use of heavy artillery and air strikes within the bounds of the historic city until the very end. Apart from a handful of tanks, Marines had to retake Hue with the weapons they could carry on their backs.

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The Marines had to learn on the job how to charge a house with hand grenades, then douse it room by room with M-16 fire. They discovered how a 106 mm. recoilless rifle could blow a hole through a reinforced wall, so they could storm in under cover of the dust and smoke of the backblast.

Sgt. Alfredo Gonzalez typified the Marines at Hue. Just 21, he took command of A Company when its CO was wounded. For five days, he led his men with the skill and determination that earned him the battle's only Medal of Honor - posthumously.

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Though outnumbered from start to finish, the Marines cleared the enemy from the southern and eastern sectors of Hue by Feb. 11. Then they relieved exhausted South Vietnamese troops to retake the city's historic citadel.

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The city was declared secure after 147 Americans had been killed in action and 857 wounded, and more than 5,000 enemy had died.

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But Americans at home learned nothing about it. The media was so set on painting Tet as a US defeat that they largely ignored how the Marines at Hue had achieved a stupendous victory. They also ignored the discovery of bodies of 5,000 civilians who'd been ruthlessly murdered by Viet Cong death squads: teachers, doctors, nurses, businessmen, students.

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To many in the media still ignore the wickedness of the enemy and the heroic efforts of our troops. It is still happening in Iraq where to often the US media has played along with the enemy's PR script blaming the US for the wickedness of the enemy. At best they use the passive voice to describe the enemy's mass murder of non combatants. At their worse they blame the US for not stopping the enemy's war crimes, which they never describe as war crimes. In fact enemy war crimes is not a subject of much interest to the US media. While violations of the Geneva conventions are a routine aspect of the enemy's way of fighting, it is never mentioned in stories about their attacks.