HILL 881 NORTH, 8 KM WEST-NORTHWEST OF KHE SANH AIR FIELD 02-03MAY67
UTM grid reference is XD775450

Hill 881N
At 10:15 on 2 May Companies E and G 2/3 Marines assaulted Hill 881N from the south and east. Company G encountered a NVA position and pulled back to allow for artillery support. Company E almost reached the summit of the hill when it was hit by an intense rainstorm and the Battalion was pulled back into night defensive positions.At 04:15 on 3 May a NVA force attacked Company E's night defensive position, penetrating the east of the position and reoccupying some bunkers. A Marine squad sent to drive out the NVA was hit by machine gun fire and a scratch squad of engineers was sent to support them while air and artillery strikes were called in on the NVA. A flareship arrived overhead and the Marines on Hill 881S could see approximately 200 NVA forming up to attack Company E from the west and fired over 100 rounds of 106mm recoilless rifle fire to break up this fresh assault. At 08:50 on May 3 reinforcements were flown in to support Company E, while Company H 2/3 Marines attacked the NVA from the rear. Companies E and F 2/3 Marines began their assault on Hill 881N, NVA fire increased as they neared the summit and both Companies pulled back to allow for air and artillery strikes. The assault resumed at 13:00 and by 14:45 the hilltop had been captured. The last bunker was cleared at 15:00, 27 Marines were killed and 84 wounded in the attack, while the NVA had lost 137 killed and 3 captured. Prisoner interrogations revealed plans for another attack on the Marine positions that night, but this did not occur.

Picanso, Leonard, Jr., PFC