Mutter's Ridge was the name given by

U.S. Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...

to the Núi Cây Tre ("Bamboo Mountain") ridge, in Quảng Trị Province. The ridge was formed by Hills 461, 484 and 400 and overlooked the southern edge of the

Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone The Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone was a demilitarized zone established as a dividing line between North and South Vietnam from July 1954 to 1976 as a result of the First Indochina War. During the Vietnam War (1955-1975) it became important as t ...

(DMZ) to the north and Route 9 to the south. The ridge was contested between the Marines and the

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...

(PAVN) starting with

Operation Prairie Operation Prairie was a U.S. military operation in Quảng Trị Province, South Vietnam that sought to eliminate People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Over the course of late 1965 and early 1966 the Viet ...

in August 1966 and was named for the radio callsign of the

3rd Battalion 4th Marines 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines (3/4) is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Nicknamed "Thundering Third". Nicknamed "Darkside," it is based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, and consist ...

which secured the ridge in September/October 1966. From 1966-1969 the Marines variously established and abandoned bases along the ridge to support operations against the PAVN, including

Landing Zone Mack Landing Zone Mack (also known as Hill 484) was a U.S. Marine Corps base located northwest of Cam Lộ, Quảng Trị Province in central Vietnam. History The base was located on Mutter's Ridge north of The Rockpile, approximately 16 km nort ...

on Hill 484,

Landing Zone Margo Landing Zone Margo was a U.S. Marine Corps base located northwest of The Rockpile, Quảng Trị Province in central Vietnam. History The base was located on Mutter's Ridge northwest of The Rockpile. The base was first established by the 3rd Bat ...

and

Landing Zone Sierra Landing Zone Sierra was a U.S. Marine Corps base located northwest of Cam Lộ, Quảng Trị Province in central Vietnam. History The base was located on Mutter's Ridge north of The Rockpile, approximately 16 km northwest of Cam Lo. On 15 ...

. It is on this ridge that

Larry Burrows Henry Frank Leslie Burrows (29 May 1926 – 10 February 1971), known as Larry Burrows, was an English photojournalist. He spent 9 years covering the Vietnam War. Early career Burrows began his career in the art department of the Daily Express ...

shot his famous picture of a wounded black sergeant "reaching out" to a white comrade sitting in the mud.

References

Buildings and structures in Quảng Trị province Landforms of Quảng Trị province Military installations of the United States Marine Corps in South Vietnam {{Vietnam-war-stub