Hill 488

By Wayne Curtis

Book Overview

For some, Hill 488 was just another landmark in the jungles of Vietnam. For the eighteen men of Charlie Company, it was a last stand--this is the stirring combat memoir written by Ray Hildreth, one of the unit's survivors.

On June 13, 1966, men of the 1st Recon Battalion, 1st Marine Division were stationed on Hill 488. Before the week was over, they would fight the battle that would make them the most highly decorated small unit in the entire history of the U.S. military, winning a Congressional Medal of Honor, four Navy Crosses, thirteen Silver Stars, and eighteen Purple Hearts--some of them posthumously.

During the early evening of June 15, a battalion of hardened North Vietnamese regulars and Viet Cong--outnumbering the Americans 25-to-1--threw everything they had at the sixteen Marines and two Navy corpsmen for the rest of that terror-filled night. Every man who held the hill was either killed or wounded defending the ground with unbelievable courage and unflagging determination--even as reinforcements were on the way.

All they had to do was make it until dawn...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743466438
• ISBN13: 9780743466431
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.6"

Customer Reviews

Hill 488 Tells it like it was

As a Marine I spent two tours in the Nam. My first trip over was in 1966 and my first assignment was Chu Lai. I was there when this took place. The author has done a fantastic job of researching the background and recreating the events of what took place. This story takes you there and places you in the middle of the action. It is a must read for any Veteren or anyone else who just want's to know what it was like to be...

Excels technically: great descriptive writing.

I was back "in country" while reading this fine work. Captain Joe De Guise USMC retired 2/3/3 1966-1967

Best Vietnam non-fiction title

I have read quite a few military and Vietnam related non-fiction titles. Hill 488 stands as the best book I have ever read. I can not understand how anyone could rate it lower then 5 stars. The first half of the book may start out slow, but the second half makes up for it in so many way. No other book I have read captures the emotion and intensity of a battle the way Hill 488 does. Hill 488 draws the reader in and doesnt let...

RIVETING!! SPELLBINDING. A REAL PAGE BURNER!!

I don't write many reviews, but this book deserves one.I won't go into all the details about why this is a great book to read, other than to say, it was well done/written. I couldn't put it down. A real page burner! You actually relive their night of horror on Hill 488. It was like being there! After reading the book, I loaned it to my 73 year old mother-in-law, who has little interest in "a war story". When I told her...

Instant Classic About Remarkable Unit & Battle

This is one of the best books on the Vietnam war to come out in awhile. I'm still filled with awe after reading this masterpiece of a book. It is a memoir from a veteran recon Marine about a hellish battle on Hill 488 in Vietnam. First we learn about Ray Hildreth and get to know him pretty well as he joins the Marines in 1965 and eventually becomes a sniper in a Recon Marine platoon. In 1966 he ships out to Vietnam and an...