Chapter 3, Part VI Khe Sanh Summary and Analysis

The feared attacks never materialize at Khe Sanh or anywhere else. By the spring most of the NVA troops leave the area and so do the weary Marines, relieved by the Cav (air cavalry). The once beautiful hillsides around Khe Sanh resemble moonscapes due to the heavy bombing, shelling, defoliation, and napalm strikes.

Operation Pegasus, the relief operation for Khe Sanh, begins on April 1. The Cav builds a sprawling base eleven miles northeast of Khe Sahn, then smaller bases along the route to Khe Sanh. Cautiously, Marines move into the hills and discover that the NVA has left in a hurry, abandoning their packs and equipment, an indication that the winter bombing worked. Herr returns to Khe Sanh where the conditions have greatly improved. He talks with a black Marine about the assassination...