Black smoke rises over a US airbase in South Vietnam as fires burn beyond a pair of radar domes and a parked UH-1 helicopter, a scene emblematic of the opening days of the Tet Offensive in late January 1968. Coordinated Viet Cong and North Vietnamese rocket and sapper attacks struck major American installations across the country, including key airbases, catching many units by surprise during the Lunar New Year truce. This faded Kodachrome slide preserves a rare eyewitness view of an airfield under fire during one of the pivotal campaigns of the Vietnam War. Project: 218415