This Day in United States History 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
On June 15, 1969, major U.S. newspaper headlines included: FOE KILLS 18 G.I.’S IN ATTACK ON BASE NEAR ASHAU VALLEY - with the New York Times Reporting: Saigon, South Vietnam, June 14 (AP) - North Vietnamese troops throwing dynamite and grenades fought their way to the edge of a United States brigade headquarters near the Ashau Valley today.
Striking before dawn, 40 to 50 enemy soldiers crawled up a jungle slope and attacked an advanced base of the Third Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, killing 18 American paratroops and wounding 47.
Why This Was Significant:
This incident was a direct follow-on to Operation Apache Snow (May 10 – June 7, 1969) and the brutal Battle of Hamburger Hill (Hill 937 / Dong Ap Bia, May 10–20).
U.S. and ARVN forces had just fought a costly 10-day battle to seize the hill at the cost of 72 Americans killed and hundreds wounded. The hill was then abandoned on June 5 because senior commanders (including Maj. Gen. Melvin Zais) stated it had “no real military value” on its own — the real goal was disrupting North Vietnamese Army (PAVN) forces and supply routes in the Ashau Valley.
In the world of pop music, Glen Campbell had scored a big hit with his song, "Galveston." It reached #1 on both the Billboard Adult Contemporary and Hot Country Singles charts. It remained on the charts for 14 weeks.
Enjoy part of my evening ride from last night. The traffic here is getting to be a real problem (mind you it was Sunday) with people fleeing BLUE states, making it hard to get out of my road. But after not riding on Saturday, you can hear me give a nice shout about 3/4 of the way through the video. 😉 It was a beautiful night and the music was so fitting. Volume UP!!! ⬆️🌞😎💪🎶
Galveston ~ Glen Campbell 🎶🎶🎶
Galveston, oh Galveston,
I still hear your sea winds blowin'
I still see her dark eyes glowin'
She was 21 when I left Galveston
Galveston, oh Galveston,
I still hear your sea waves crashing
While I watch the cannons flashing
I clean my gun and dream of Galveston
I still see her standing by the water
Standing there lookin' out to sea
And is she waiting there for me?
On the beach where we used to run
Galveston, oh Galveston, I am so afraid of dying
Before I dry the tears she's crying
Before I watch your sea birds flying in the sun
At Galveston, at Galveston