Note 59 — PART VI SUPPORTING ARMS AND INTELLIGENCE

Not every artillery round that left Khe Sanh was high explosive. During March, Lieutenant Colonel Hennelly's battalion had accumulated more ammunition than it could safely store. Since the ammo would not fit in the berms and presented a hazard above ground, the decision was made to fire it all. This excess included some 90-odd rounds of green smoke. On 17 March--St. Patrick's Day--the Marines fired all the green smoke rounds on known enemy positions to honor the patron saint of the Fighting Irish.