6 February 1968 - Hue, Vietnam On this day in 1968, Marines recapture the provincial headquarters building in Hue, pull down the Communist flag, and run up the "Stars and Stripes." Photo: Happy Marines from Company H, 2d Battalion, 5th Marines display the Viet Cong banner that flew from a flagpole in the courtyard of the provincial building. The Marines raised the American flag in its stead, ignoring for a time a MACV directive that forbade the display of the U.S. flag without the South Vietname

Combat footage from ground fighting near the Perfume River, just outside Huế. U.S. Marines — the grunts — push through shattered streets and tree lines, trading fire with entrenched Viet Cong and NVA forces. Dirt and smoke rise as grenades burst and M16s crack through the chaos. The camera catches faces streaked with sweat and mud — young soldiers moving, firing, shouting to one another in the haze. They’re exhausted, fearless, and alive in the middle of hell. The grunts get some near the Perfum