In November of 1966, over 22,000 allied troops launched Operation Attleboro in Vietnam, and as part of the operation, U.S. Special Forces team led an unconventional force comprised mostly of ethnic Chinese Nung soldiers. During a fierce firefight against Viet Cong forces, a Huey on a routine mission was diverted to medevac wounded troops of the force, and when the limited space on the chopper filled, passenger SSG William (Bill) Hunt, a Special Forces NCO returning from R&R, gave up his seat, found a weapon on the battlefield, and joined the fight. After two days of fighting, the allied position was overrun and SSG Hunt, wounded, was left for dead by the Viet Cong. After he regained consciousness, SSG Hunt elected to provide cover while other survivors withdrew. He died of his wounds and his body was never recovered. In 2010, he was submitted for the Congressional Medal of Honor.

A group of former military personnel, outdoor enthusiasts, and knife fanatics began discussing the formation of a new knife manufacturing company and decided that they needed to make their first knife a show stopper. Every one of them had a story or two about good knives that just weren’t good enough, and they aimed to produce one that met their own very high standards. As ideas for the design began to come together, SSG Hunt’s son Ken, a member of the group, related the story of his father and suggested that they name the new knife “The Attleboro.” With a knife that they could all be proud of and a backstory like that of SSG Hunt and Operation Attleboro, they knew they had what they wanted.

The Attleboro Battle Knife is a combat utility knife with an industry-leading S35V cryo-treated 4-inch stainless steel blade. It has a spear point and an aggressive swedge. The blade is .150 inches thick. It has a thumb ramp for quick and sure indexing and is equipped with a polycarbonate-edged glass breaker. The black phenolic canvas laminate handle is skeletonized for weight reduction and is has a lanyard hold spaced away from the glass breaker. It has an overall length of 9 inches and comes with a Kydex sheath.

The Attleboro Battle Knife is available with either a tan or black blade and there is a choice of straight or serrated blade edges. It has an MSRP of $349.95. A percentage of Attleboro Battle Knife sales have been allocated to the Green Beret Foundation.