Joseph P Hupy - UWEC Geography Department

A new type of landscape

The Khe Sanh battlefield is definitely not the same triple-canopy forest it used to be prior to the events of 1968. The area is vegetated, no doubt, but the vegetation reflects a landscape dominated by cattle and coffee. Prior to traveling there in Spring 2007, I had read accounts that despite 40 years to recover, the area remained unvegetated due to disturbances associated with the battle. Now, after doing some reading, talking with the veterans, and observing the landscape first hand, I believe this landscape is in the state it is in due to subsequent land-use patterns.