Documentary tells of Marine bond By JIM NEWMAN Gazette staff writer (Published February 19, 2001) The major wars of the 20th century have won such titles as the Great, the Good and the Forgotten, but Vietnam has come to be known by its veterans as the Forbidden War. In Vietnam in 1968, America's military had its hands increasingly tied by ever-stricter rules of engagement. It was the year of the Tet Offensive - a massive incursion into South Vietnam by the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army. A significant, but little-known battle took place during that foray - Hue City, which Marines would later term the "Iwo Jima of the Vietnam War." Against 4 to 1 odds, 2500 Marines defeated an entrenched enemy. Hue was well known as the "cultural" capital of Vietnam and, until Tet, had been so revered that it was spared the ills of war. It would cost 142 American lives during the month it took the First and Fifth Marine regiments to drive the North Vietnamese from the city. Nearly one of every two Marines who fought there was either killed or wounded. Thirty-three years later, these men are being remembered in a documentary that chronicles their combat in an urban setting unlike the jungle warfare traditionally associated with the Vietnam War. After two years of work, Ron Tucker of Good-To-Go Video in Beaufort is preparing to wrap up a video documentary titled No Less the Heroes: Marines at Hue, TET 1968. He hopes to have it ready for a Memorial Day release, perhaps premiering it at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island's theater. A former Marine, Tucker said he has come to empathize with the plight of American Marines at Hue, calling the venture his "passion project." He said he has been continually amazed at the valor shown by the men who fought there - more for one another than for flag or country. "The casualty rate was probably higher than listed because a lot of the Marines wounded never reported their injuries," he said. "They didn't want to let their buddies down. "Our program is about that Marine bond more so than it is about the Battle of Hue. It's about what keeps Marines, especially combat Marines, so close through the years." They needed to depend more on one another as more and more of the officers fell under fire, he said. "You had situations where lance corporals and PFC's were in charge of platoons." Rounding up surviving veterans of the battle has been a challenge, Tucker said, part of the time-consuming effort that has held up the project's completion to this point. However, it's been worth it, he said, just to see the expressions on the faces of these aging warriors as they tell stories about one of the most tumultuous times in armed conflict. "Their eyes are piercing," Tucker said. "It's amazing the detail that they remember, because some of these guys haven't spoken of this since. They're telling you something that they may be remembering for the first time in 30 years." Tucker and other Good-To-Go Video crew traveled to Vietnam with veterans of Hue two years ago to relive a bit of their past while touring a different Vietnam from the one they knew. One aspect of the war that continues to haunt Vietnam veterans, Tucker said, is the lack of credit they received since returning home. "They feel that, in their war, there still has not been that appreciation for what they had done," he said. "That's how we came up with the title. They are no less the heroes than those who fought in the other wars." Part of that lack of recognition, he said, had to do with the fact that so many senior officers were wounded or killed during the battle. "You could probably have given a medal to everybody that fought at Hue City, but, because so many of the leaders died, there was nobody there to witness." Out of duty and respect, these Marines attend an annual memorial service aboard the AEGIS missile cruiser USS Hue City , dedicated to those who fell at Hue. In the coming months before wrapping up the production, Tucker and his team will travel to Corpus Christi, Texas, to interview the mother of Marine Sgt. Alfredo "Freddy" Gonzalez. Gonzalez was killed while commanding the 3rd Platoon, A Company, 1st Battalion of the 1st Marine Regiment. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his sacrifice there. The combat at Hue was street-to-street and house to house. The battle for Hue City became a template Marines would use in coming years to train for similar urban conflicts. "I don't know that we were fully prepared for urban warfare," said retired Lt. Gen. George Christmas, who was the commanding officer of H Company during the battle. "I don't think any of us really had a great deal of training. "As an example, my lieutenants had been subject to an hour lecture at the basic school because somebody said, RGee, you'll never fight in an urban area in Vietnam; therefore, we should cut that part of the curriculum out.'" Charles McMahon, who was a squad leader in H Company, got that hour's training and it served him well. "I was attacking a house with my squad and, being a squad leader, I felt I should be the first person through the door," he said. "When I burst through, there was a family in the center of the floor. "The father grabbed me and said, RGod sent you here.' So he was safe from the Communist goon squads, which were rounding up civil servants, leading them out and executing them. It was a very nice moment for me." Another Hue veteran, retired Marine Capt. Dale Dye, might have summed it up best. Dye has acted as a military consultant on films including Rules of Engagement, part of which was filmed on Hunting Island. "It gave me an appreciation for what young Americans can do," he said of the battle at Hue. "It gave me confidence; it gave me courage; and it told me I was a survivor. "I think nothing will ever be like it again. I think no matter what I do - and I have lived a very weird life - nothing will ever touch me like that war touched me. "If Vietnam ever had a shining hour, if there was an example of how extraordinarily tough, re-sourceful and dedicated the American fighting man was in that war, it was Hue." Back To Top For More Information Contact: Address: PO Box 998 Beaufort, SC 29901 Phone: 843.522.3196 or 1.800.889.6734 Email: sandbar@hargray.com Good To Go Video is maintained by Virtual Marketing Concepts © 2002 - 2003