Thuatvo
Khe Sanh
Khe Sanh is the seat of government of Huong Hoa, a district of Quang Tri province, Viet Nam. It is situated about 63 km from Dong Ha city to the west and 20 km from Lao Bao border gate to the east. Khe Sanh is considered worldwide as “ The second Dien Bien Phu Combat Battle” or “ Hell on the Earth” by US Marine Force soldiers through the historical Khe Sanh Battle 1968
Khe Sanh played a strategically important part, so US Army set up a combat base ( located at Khe Sanh ) in the hope of blocking the North Viet Nam’s Army’s support into the South and cutting Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Khe Sanh is located in a valley of red soil that is 400m over sea level. From 1965 to 1966, US Army and South Viet Nam Army turned Khe Sanh into the largest combat base in defending line along Route 9. It is one of the so-called three holy eyes ( Khe Sanh, Lang Vay and Ta Con ) belonging to The McNamara Line. At Khe Sanh broke out big combats in Route 9 – Khe Sanh in 1968 and the combat on Route 9 and in the south of Laos in 1971
Khe Sanh is a place mentioned in some songs about Viet Nam and the title of songs by the rockband Cold Chisel about the hard time which Australian soldiers suffered in Khe Sanh combats. ( There were a limited number of soldiers joining combats at Khe Sanh during the time they were in Viet Nam combats ). In the speech of installation on January 20 ,2009, President Obama refered to Khe Sanh as the way of honoring American soldiers who died for the US.