In October 1967, as the North Vietnamese Army made final preparations for what would become known in early 1968 as the Tet Offensive, the 5th Marine Regiment was redeployed northward to reinforce the demilitarized zone. Replacing the leathernecks on Hill 63—which dominated the southern portion of the Que Son Valley 22 miles south of Da Nang—was our Army contingent, the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). The 1st Cav—famed for our yellow shoulder patch with a horse’s head—was the Army’s first and only airmobile division, with a huge inventory of helicopters capable of shifting
