Clarksville, Tenn. (Q108) – On Tuesday, Scott Chase had an opportunity to spend his morning yesterday with over 700 soldiers at Nissan Stadium.  He shares his experience below.

Most of the soldiers were from the 3rd Battalion 187th Infantry, the Iron Rakkasans.  It wasn’t to watch a football game or a soccer match; it was to participate in walking 3,187 steps in honor of the fallen soldiers from the Vietnam battle of Hamburger Hill.  The Iron Warrior Stair Climb started promptly at 7:00 am in Nissan Stadium with a few encouraging words from several soldiers including Lt. Colonel Martin J. Bowling, and also from Tennessee Titans Head Coach Mike Vrabel.

The task at hand was to climb 3,187 steps.  According to Captain Justin Wright, “we’re doing 3,187 stairs here at Nissan Stadium to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Hamburger Hill where the veterans from our Battalion, fought a ten-day battle, took 70% causalities and still took their objective and won the fight.  We’re also going 3,000 feet in altitude which is the same height as Hamburger Hill”.

When I asked Lt. Colonel Bowling about the participation, he said, “I have about 700 in my battalion and my understanding is we’re expecting a couple hundred more from outside the battalion, so when you couple that with friends and family, we’re somewhere in the 900 to 1000 range.”

Lt Colonel Bowling (first one coming up the steps in this video) told me that the events planned to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Hamburger Hill have been in the works for 2 years; here is a list of other upcoming events.

May 10

  • 87 mile open water swim on the Boy Scouts of America course on Energy Lake

May 14

  • The Vietnam Vets arrive

May 15

  • Special Vets Breakfast
  • Range Firing Events
  • A 31.87 Ultra-Marathon featuring a special “Last Mile” event for the Vets and finish line celebration

May 16

  • Golf tournament
  • View Oliver North “War Stories and a Hamburger Hill Q&A between vets and active soldiers
  • Welcome Home ceremony and informal reception

May 17

  • Pylon Memorial Ceremony
  • Open House
  • A Memorial Dinner at the Bruce Center

May 19

  • Taking a large group of Vietnam Veterans to Vietnam to walk the sacred grounds of Hamburger Hill where they fought. They will also meet up with Vietnam Soldiers who were also there.  This event has been coordinated through the US Embassy and the Vietnam government over the last two years.

Even though I struggled to keep up and only accomplished about one sixth of the steps the soldiers did, I felt blessed to have had the opportunity to spend time with these amazing men and women.  Thank you!