Battle of Hill 488 Battle of Hill 488 The Battle of Hill 488 was a military engagement of the Vietnam War that took place on the night of 15–16 June 1966. A small United States Marine Corps (USMC) reconnaissance platoon inflicted large casualties on regular People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) fighters before withdrawing with only a few dead. In June 1966, the 1st Marine Division began expanding its Tactical Area of Responsibility north into Quảng Tín Province (today part of Quảng Nam Province). In order to interdict enemy fighters between Tam Kỳ and the Hiệp Đức District, Brigadier General William
Hamburger Hill during the Battle of la Drang in 1965, had been driven to an emotional breakdown by cruel phone calls from anti-war college students gloating over his son's death. Frantz relates a story on how he volunteered for the airborne. "The only reason I went airborne was Collins," he said. However, when orders came down for a dangerous operation, "Collins" refused to participate. Later, Frantz also has a confrontation with a TV reporter, telling him that he has more respect for the NVA on the hill than for the reporter. The increasingly exhausted platoon continues their attempt to capture Hill 937,