Taking the Fight to the Streets: Battle for Huế City

Join us for a symposium on one of the most important battles in American history. United States Marine Corps veterans and Navy Cross Recipients–retired Lieutenant General Ron Christmas, retired Colonel Myron Harrington, and retired Colonel Robert Thompson–will join Silver Star Recipient and retired Lieutenant Colonel Rob Black as they take part in a candid discussion of their roles in the pivotal Vietnam War Battle for Huế City.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Battle for Huế City–the bloodiest single battle of the Tet Offensive, one of the most important battles in American History, and a political turning point in the Vietnam War. Three understrength US Marine battalions consisting of fewer than 2500 men attacked and soundly defeated more than 10,000 entrenched enemy troops in Huế City during the Tet offensive.

Also featured on the panel will be John Olson, a military photographer who spent three days in Hue taking photographs for Stars and Stripes, a Department of Defense newspaper. Olson’s photographs were featured in Life Magazine and Olsen was awarded the Robert Capa Gold Medal for his iconic work. Photographs taken by John Olson at Huế City will be on display at the symposium.

The panel will discuss the situation in Vietnam before the Battle for Huế City, the battle itself and the impact the change from jungle to urban warfare had on the U.S. military, and the change in media coverage and the resultant shift in support for the war on the homefront.  The Battle for Huế City gave journalists a closer look at war than had ever been granted before and it therefore gave Americans back at home a better understanding of the realities of the Vietnam War.  As a result, despite winning the battle, support for the war waned more than ever before and the realities of war hit home.

The event is free and open to the public.  The symposium is sponsored in part by BAIRD and the Town of Mt. Pleasant.