Home › Glossary › Letter K

Khe Sanh

Battles
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A 1968 prolonged siege during the Vietnam War, where U.S. Marines held a remote base against NVA forces.

Detailed Definition
Khe Sanh evoked Dien Bien Phu and tested American resolve. In poetry, it symbolizes isolation, endurance, and the psychological toll of siege warfare—appearing in veteran verse as a metaphor for the war’s ambiguity, where holding ground mattered less than surviving the waiting, the rain, and the unseen enemy in the mist.
Example
Example in poetry:
Khe Sanh, 1968 siege, appears in American poetry as Dien Bien Phu redux; A modern sonnet might frame Khe Sanh’s hills as fortress of endurance; In a dramatic monologue, a Marine recalls artillery rain at Khe Sanh; A free-verse elegy could mourn the phantom battle that never came at Khe Sanh; Contemporary poets use Khe Sanh to reflect on media and myth in war; A haiku might capture monsoon rain filling Khe Sanh’s bomb craters.
Additional Notes
Khe Sanh (1968) was a prolonged siege that drew comparisons to Dien Bien Phu; in American poetry, it symbolizes isolation, endurance, and the psychological toll of static warfare in a war defined by mobility and ambiguity.
Also Known As
Siege of Khe Sanh
Skip to main content