Oroville >> In the early morning hours of Jan. 21, 1968 the first explosions of artillery fire rang out through the dense jungle of the Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, marking the beginning of what came to be known as the Battle of Khe Sanh.
Veterans of that 77-day siege, in which 6,000 primarily U.S. Marines defended the small combat base against 10-times that many People’s Army of North Vietnam troops, will be marking the 50th anniversary together at the annual Northern California Khe Sanh Veterans’ Luncheon on Sunday.
This year’s event will begin at 10 a.m. at Table Mountain Golf Course, 2700 Oro Dam Blvd. The tri-tip luncheon is open to all U.S. veterans and their families who wish to honor those who fought at Khe Sanh. A $20 donation is requested.
“They say it was the Marines who fought there but just about every branch of the service was there. There are not many battles in history where guys from different branches fought shoulder to shoulder, but Khe Sanh was one of them,” said Tom Horchler of Oroville, event organizer.
A lance corporal with the 1st Battalion 13th Marines Headquarters Battery Motor Transport Section, Horchler spent his entire tour of duty in Khe Sanh, driving a truck hauling “bodies, bullets, bandages and beans.”
At 71, Horchler said he sometimes forgets things that happened yesterday but his memory is clear when it comes to what happened 12 miles south of the North Vietnamese border 50 years ago.
“You never forget. Never. You can’t forget. Ever. I remember every wounded man I hauled. I remember every dead body I hauled. I remember every round fired. I remember every second of every day,” said Horchler, a 1965 Chico High School graduate.
Horchler and fellow Khe Sanh veteran Craig Tourte of Rocklin organized the first Northern California Khe Sanh veterans’ lunch. Ninety-eight veterans attended, many with their spouses, children and grandchildren.
As the years have passed Khe Sanh veterans from Oregon and Idaho have also begun attending, but overall, veteran attendance has dwindled to about 50.
“We’re getting old now and we’re dying, many of us from complications due to Agent Orange exposure and there’s not one of us who has not lived and struggled with PTSD,” said Horchler.
The troops fighting at Khe Sanh were young, many in their late teens. Horchler, who had “celebrated” his 21st birthday a month before the battle started, was one of the “older guys.”
For 77 days and nights, these young men were under a constant bombardment of shells, rockets and mortars. At night, troops called the “Ghost Patrol” ventured into the surrounding foothills engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy.
“These guys, they kept the North Vietnamese from getting on the hills around us. If they hadn’t, we would have been right in the bullseye and none of us would have made it out. I get chills every time I’ve met one of them,” said Horchler.
There remains some controversy about how many U.S. troops died in Khe Sanh. Initial government reports said slightly more than 200, but later that number was increased to less than 500. Many Khe Sanh veterans, including Horchler, believe it was closer to 2,000.
“Everything that happened in Vietnam was a lie from the beginning right through Nixon’s ‘peace with honor.’ Everything was a lie including how many died at Khe Sanh. If you didn’t die in that square box of land that was the combat base, if you died fighting in the hills around the base or in a plane shot down over the base or days after you were injured and evacuated to a medical base, you weren’t officially counted as having died at Khe Sanh,” said Horchler.
When the veterans of that Tet Offensive battle get together they do so to remember all of their “brothers” who didn’t make it home. Sometimes they tell “war stories,” but mostly they come together just to be with others who shared an experience that those who haven’t fought battles will never understand.
“It’s almost a spiritual thing. I know when I walk into a room full of vets just like me, it gives you a calming sense. You are surrounded by true brothers. Men who would, men who did step up and take a bullet for you. It’s a special place to be when you’re together. When you have fought, bled and seen the death we saw, it creates a bond that undeniable,” said Horchler.
