As January neared its end, an offensive was beginning near the DMZ where a string of artillery, rocket and ground attacks were unleashed on Allied posts all along the buffer zone. Khe Sanh and neighboring Lang Wei were hit hard, beginning a three-month drama that would focus the eyes of the world on a small marine garrison in the rolling hills of the Laotian border country.
Street fighting broke out in the peaceful seaside resort of Nha Trang and Communist supporters breached the security of the U.S. Embassy grounds in Saigon. Street fighting raged in all eight major cities and at least 30 towns and provincial capitals. The North Vietnamese virtually occupied Hue. They assassinated more than 1000 civilians in that city alone. Foreign missionaries were killed and anyone that worked for the Americans was marked for murder or torture.
That’s how it began.
