Bearcat Base (also known as Bearcat, Camp Martin, Camp Cox or Long Thanh North) is a former U.S. Army base near the city of

Biên Hòa Biên Hòa (Northern accent: , Southern accent: ) is the capital city of Đồng Nai Province, Vietnam and part of the Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area and located about east of Ho Chi Minh City, to which Biên Hòa is linked by Vietnam Hi ...

in Đồng Nai Province in southern

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

History

Bearcat was originally a French airfield, later used by the Japanese during World War II. Early in the Vietnam War, the 1st Special Forces established a base there. It was later the base camp for the 9th Infantry Division from January 1967 until the division moved to

Đồng Tâm Base Camp Đồng Tâm Base Camp (also known as Đồng Tâm Army Airfield) is a former U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base west of Mỹ Tho in the Mekong Delta, southern Vietnam. History 1966–9 Đồng Tâm Base C ...

near

Mỹ Tho Mỹ Tho () is a city in the Tiền Giang province in the Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam. It has a population of approximately 169,000 in 2006 and 220,000 in 2012. It is the regional center of economics, education and technology. The majorit ...

in late 1967. The camp was located on Route 15, 16 km southeast of Biên Hòa. The camp took its name from its Special Forces radio call sign. Long Thanh Army Airfield, July 1967

Other U.S. units stationed at Bearcat included: * 7th Battalion, 8th Artillery (June–October 1967) * 7th Battalion, 9th Artillery (November 1966–August 1969) * 1st Battalion, 11th Artillery (January 1967–1968) * 5th Battalion, 42nd Artillery (1968) * 1st Battalion, 84th Artillery (February 1967–1968) * 214th Aviation Battalion (January 1967-November 1968) ** 191st Assault Helicopter Company (May 1967-late 1968 when it moved to Dong Tam to support the 9th Infantry) **

200th Aviation Company This is a List of aviation companies of the United States Army from the United States Army Aviation Branch The United States Army Aviation Branch is the administrative organization within the United States Army responsible for doctrine, manning ...

(March 1967–July 1968) **

240th Aviation Company This is a List of aviation companies of the United States Army from the United States Army Aviation Branch The United States Army Aviation Branch is the administrative organization within the United States Army responsible for doctrine, mannin ...

(May 1967–December 1971) * 244th Aviation Company (August–December 1971) * 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division comprising: ** 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry (June 1967, February 1970) ** 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry (January–February 1970) ** 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry (January 1970) ** 2nd Battalion, 18th Infantry (January–February 1970) * 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division comprising: ** 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry (October–November 1966) ** 3rd Battalion, 22nd Infantry (October–November 1966) * 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry (March–July 1968)1 *

135th Aviation Company The Experimental Military Unit (EMU) was a joint Australian-American company-sized helicopter assault force which operated during the Vietnam War. The unit was created in 1967 following a request from the United States military for Australia to ...

(January-unknown 1968) Bearcat also served as the base for the

Royal Thai Army Expeditionary Division The Royal Thai Army Volunteer Force ( th, กองพลทหารอาสาสมัคร), or the Black Panthers (กองพลเสือดำ) was a unit of the Royal Thai Army which served in the Vietnam War, replacing the Royal ...

forces from 1968.

ARVN use

In 1972 the

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. It is estimated to have suf ...

infantry school and armor school began moving to Bearcat Base from

Thủ Đức Thủ Đức is a municipal city (sub-city) under the administration of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The city was founded by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on December 9, 2020 from the districts of 2, 9, and Thủ Đức Dist ...

Current use

The base was abandoned and turned over to farmland although the Long Thanh North airfield is clearly visible on satellite images.

References

{{coord, 10.835, 106.96, type:_region:, display=title Installations of the United States Army in South Vietnam Military installations established in the 1940s