Quick answer

About 56 U.S. soldiers were killed in the Battle of Hamburger Hill (Hill 937) in May 1969, with roughly 367–420 wounded and a small number missing.

What the battle was

  • Official name: Battle of Hamburger Hill (also called the battle for Hill 937 / Dong Ap Bia)
  • When: May 13–20, 1969 (part of Operation Apache Snow)
  • Where: A Shau Valley, near the Laos border in I Corps, South Vietnam
  • Who: Primarily the U.S. 101st Airborne Division (especially the 3rd Brigade, including the 3/187th Infantry) alongside South Vietnamese (ARVN) units, against entrenched North Vietnamese Army (PAVN) forces.

The hill was heavily fortified with bunkers, trenches, and machine-gun positions. Dense jungle, steep slopes, and monsoon weather made air support and movement difficult, turning it into a brutal infantry assault.

U.S. casualties: the numbers you asked for

Sources vary slightly, but the most commonly cited figures are:

  • Killed in action (U.S.): 56
  • Wounded (U.S.): around 367–420 (some sources say 367, others 372 or 420)
  • Missing: about 7 (in at least one account)

One widely referenced summary states: “On Hamburger Hill, the North Vietnamese strategy was again effective: 56 Americans died, and 420 were wounded.” Another detailed account gives 70 dead and 372 wounded for “Allied forces” (which can include ARVN), while the more specific U.S.-only figure commonly repeated in histories and vet sites is 56 killed.

Why the name “Hamburger Hill”?

The nickname came from soldiers who said the intense artillery and air strikes “chewed them up like hamburger.” The battle became infamous not just for the close-quarters fighting but also for the heavy casualties relative to the hill’s limited strategic value—especially after U.S. forces withdrew from the position weeks later.

Why it mattered

  • It became a lightning rod for public and congressional criticism of the war’s conduct and cost.
  • Media coverage of the high casualty count for a hill that was soon abandoned fueled anti-war sentiment in the U.S.
  • It contributed to a shift toward more defensive, “Vietnamization”-style policies and greater emphasis on reducing U.S. ground casualties.

TL;DR

  • U.S. dead at Hamburger Hill: about 56
  • U.S. wounded: roughly 367–420
  • Fought May 13–20, 1969 , by the 101st Airborne against entrenched PAVN forces; the battle became a symbol of the war’s human cost and strategic controversies.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.