Our story is only now beginning to be written. Until now, our story has been told mostly by others; including historians, authors, in journals and subject of countless research articles and essays. Of these, some have already been told directly by some of our own who shared our experiences at Khe Sanh and Hill 881 South. We owe a debt of gratitude to all those who in the past have made it their personal mission to provide accurate documented accounts of our battle ground.

Now it is our turn to share, In Our Own Words our personal thoughts, memories, and perspectives of our time on Hills 881 South and North. No matter the job we performed each and every one of us did those jobs under the most intense and prolonged conditions as any Marine unit in the history of the Corps. It's time to share our story, and in our own words.

Why should we share our stories? We are the very source of the most accurate minute by minute account of one of the Marine Corps most historical battles. We each hold in our mind, body and souls accounts and perspectives that we and only we can possess. Personal health, life span and just the passing of time alone are reason enough to begin the process of preserving our stories for all others.

While others study historic combat documents and research sources, we hold in our minds and hearts first hand individual experiences that cannot be found in any Command Chronology and most publications to date. We must take this opportunity to tell our story now.

All Warriors of Hill 881S who defended and/or supported in the defense of Hill 881S during the period of December, 1967 through April, 1968 are invited to submit an individual account of their experiences then as well as throughout their entire tour in the United States Marine Corps. Your story can be shared in written form, audio recording, and/or video recording.

A link from the Warriors of Hill 881 South web site will be created to connect to all stories. Helpful information can be found on the Purple Foxes page by clicking this link: oral-histories

Ultimately, the goal is to create a collection of individual and oral histories as a way for each of us to "tell" our story and to create an historical reference for anyone now and in the future in our own Warriors of Hill 881S Oral History Library.

For additional information and/or assistance, please contact Project Volunteer John Ortiz ortizjohna@aol.com or call at 316-942-2558

Please submit your individual story directly to Dave Magee dave@hmm-364.org , Host/Webmaster, HMM-364.org.

For all other clarification / inquiries regarding this project please contact Warriors of 881 South Site Sponsor Tom Esslinger jtesslinge@aol.com

Semper Fi
John Ortiz
Wireman, H&S Comm. Co., 81mm Mortars, India Co. 3/26th