Just a little fact for ya!

Well being as Leroy brought it up it was a real battle the song talks about at the beginning of the actual song it tells the story of it. The guy who gave Big Kenny his top hat was one of the people in the battle that lived. This is what I have found out of that on though, "On 8 November, 1965, the 173rd took part in Operation Hump. They were ambushed by approximately 1,200 Viet Cong, resulting in the deaths of 48 men of the 173rd", complements of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/173rd_Airborne.