Amtracs Crossing the Vu Gia River

Eight amtracs are crossing the Vu Gia River while two tanks (far left) provide cover. One amtrac is on the far shore while another is still in the river. The other 6 are waiting their turn below Hill 52. One of the amtracs has an 81mm mortar mounted on it on a bed of sandbags while another has a 106 recoilless rifle on it. All of them have a bunch of Marines riding on top. The purpose of the trip across the river was to hunt elephants.

Intelligence had heard that the Viet Cong were using elephants to bring heavy artilliary over the mountains from Laos. They figured we'd have a slim chance of finding the artilliary and an even slimmer chance in finding the Viet Cong. The next best thing was the elephants. Without them the Viet Cong wouldn't be able to easily move the artilliary. Four elephants were killed on this mission.

The reflections at the base of the mountains in the distance are from a Special Forces airfield.