Firebase 6 (also known as Hill 1001) is a former U.S. Army and
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 Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April ...
(ARVN) base southwest of
Đắk Tô in the
Central Highlands of
Vietnam.
History
The base was originally established in November 1967 during the
Battle of Dak To by the
6th Battalion, 29th Artillery. The base is located approximately 8 km southwest of Đắk Tô, east of the
Plei Trap Valley Legal awareness, sometimes called public legal education or legal literacy, is the Empowerment#Legal, empowerment of individuals regarding issues involving the law. along a mountain ridge that runs approximately north-south towards
Kontum, during the war this was nicknamed Rocket Ridge.
The
1st Battalion. 92nd Artillery was also located here.
[
The base was handed over the ARVN 42nd Regiment, 22nd Division in late 1970.][
The PAVN 66th Regiment attacked the base on 31 March 1971 overrunning the base. Lieutenant ]Brian Thacker
Brian Miles Thacker (born April 25, 1945) is a former United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in the Vietnam War.
Military career
Thacker join ...
team leader of an Integrated Observation System would be awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle. ARVN reinforcements were flown in and recaptured the base although PAVN units remained in force in the surrounding area. More than 280 PAVN were killed, mostly by airstrikes. The PAVN attacked the base again on 3 April with the ARVN reporting a further 900 PAVN killed and a total of 68 ARVN killed, though sources in Saigon expressed skepticism over these figures. By 11 April approximately 1,000 ARVN were defending the base, opposed by an estimated 7,000 PAVN. The PAVN were pounded with B-52 strikes and BLU-82
The BLU-82B/C-130 weapon system, known under program "Commando Vault" and nicknamed " Daisy Cutter" in Vietnam for its ability to flatten a section of forest into a helicopter landing zone, is an American conventional bomb, delivered from eith ...
Fuel Air Explosive
A thermobaric weapon, also called an aerosol bomb, a vacuum bomb or a fuel air explosive (FAE), is a type of explosive that uses oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion. The fuel–air explosive is one of the be ...
bombs. On 14 April a ground relief force reached the base encountering minimal opposition to lift the siege. On 15 April in a skirmish southeast of the base the ARVN killed 38 PAVN for the loss of four killed.
At the start of the Easter Offensive in 1972 the base was defended by a company of the ARVN 72nd Rangers and a platoon from the 42nd Regiment.
Current use
The base is abandoned and has reverted to jungle.
References
External links
* http://www.bravecannons.org/History/Typhoon_Aug69.html Photos and details of life at Firebase 6 in 1969
Installations of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
Installations of the United States Army in South Vietnam
Buildings and structures in Kon Tum province
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