The Viet Cuong Hotel in

Qui Nhơn Quy Nhon ( ) is a coastal city in Bình Định province in central Vietnam. It is composed of 16 wards and five communes with a total of . Quy Nhon was the capital of the former Bình Định province. As of 2022 its population was 481.110. H ...

was bombed by the

Viet Cong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...

on the evening of 10 February 1965, during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. Viet Cong (VC) operatives detonated explosive charges causing the entire building to collapse. The operation killed 23 U.S. servicemen, seven Vietnamese civilians, and two of the VC attackers.

Background

The four-storey Khách Sạn Viet Cuong or Viet Cuong Hotel ("Strength of Vietnam") was used as a U.S. Army enlisted men's billet in the city of Qui Nhơn. Many of the 60 men billeted there came from the 140th Transportation Detachment (Cargo Helicopter Field Maintenance) who provided maintenance support for the 117th Assault Helicopter Company based at Qui Nhơn Airfield. Following the VC Attack on Camp Holloway on 6–7 February 1965, the U.S. and South Vietnamese launched Operation Flaming Dart, a series of retaliatory airstrikes against

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

. In retaliation for the Flaming Dart attacks the VC immediately planned to hit another U.S. target.

Explosion

At 20:05 the VC began their assault on the hotel, while two VC were killed by machine-gun fire by a U.S. sentry on the hotel roof; VC killed the South Vietnamese guards posted outside the building and placed satchel charges at the main door. A 100-pound plastic charge was detonated next to the staircase which provided the main structural support for the building. The explosion caused the entire hotel to pancake to the ground. 21 members of the 140th Transportation Detachment were killed as were two other soldiers and seven Vietnamese civilians.

Aftermath

Following this attack President

Johnson Johnson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English * Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...

ordered Operation Flaming Dart II. All U.S. dependents in South Vietnam were returned to the U.S.

References

{{coord missing, Vietnam Qui Nhơn Hotel bombing Explosions in 1965 Terrorist incidents in Asia in 1965 United States Army in the Vietnam War

February 1965 in Asia Vietnam War crimes by the Viet Cong 1960s building bombings Mass murder in 1965 20th-century mass murder in Vietnam Building bombings in Vietnam Terrorist incidents in Vietnam Attacks on buildings and structures in 1965