77 Days Under Siege — The Hill Fights
77 days of relentless siege in the jungles of Vietnam. The Marine combat base sits on a red-dirt plateau surrounded by mist-shrouded hills. Trenches zigzag across the perimeter, sandbag bunkers reinforced with steel planking line the defensive positions. The airstrip — the base's lifeline — cuts through the center, pockmarked with mortar craters. NVA trenches creep closer each night, their approach parallels visible from the perimeter wire. Hills 881 South and 861 rise in the background, sites of savage fighting. The fog and jungle canopy create an atmosphere of isolation — you can feel the siege closing in.