Hill 488

Ray Hildreth · Charles W. Sasser

Apr 2015 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Jonathan Yen

About this audiobook

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 . . .

Ratings and reviews

As a vet I loved this book. Too often in books, language and violence is white washed. The author chose to use language and vivid detail, giving the reader an unfiltered view from the point of a Marine.

About the author

Ray Hildreth was one of three Recon Marines who were able to walk off Hill 488 unassisted. He retired from the U.S. Postal Service in 2002 and is a martial-arts instructor in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Charles W. Sasser is a historian, journalist, photographer, and the author or coauthor of more than sixty books. He is a veteran of both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army. A former police officer, Charles has taught history, creative writing, and criminal justice for nearly forty years. He lives outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Jonathan Yen was inspired by the Golden Age of Radio, and he's carried that inspiration through to commercial work, voice acting, and stage productions. From vintage Howard Fast science fiction to naturalist Paul Rosolie's true adventures in the Amazon, Jonathan loves to tell a good story.