Hill 55

Hill 55 or Nui Dat Son 15.92104°N, 108.15639°W was a hill southwest of Danang, Quang Nam Province, Vietnam. The hill was located 3 km northeast of the confluence of the Yen, Ai Nghia and La Tho Rivers. In the First Indochina War, two battalions of the French forces were wiped out on Hill 55. The hill was extensively mined by the Vietcong. As the hill was the dominant terrain feature in the area, the 9th Marines, supported by mine-clearing LVTE-1s of the 1st Amphibian Tractor Battalion and engineers from the 3rd Engineer Battalion took control of the hill, demined it and established a base there in late January/early February 1966. Captain Edward James Land operated a sniper school on the hill. The 1st Battalion placed a 105 mm artillery battery there. Notable snipers Carlos Hathcock and John Roland Burke were stationed on Hill 55.