Hill 327 (also known as Brigade Ridge, Camp Perdue, Camp Reasoner, Division Hill, Division Ridge or Freedom Hill) is a former
U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), U.S. Army and
Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base southwest of
Da Nang in central
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 i ...
. The base was established on a ridgeline 4 km west of
Da Nang Air Base.
History
On 7 February 1965, following the
Attack on Camp Holloway
The attack on Camp Holloway occurred during the early hours of February 7, 1965, in the early stages of the Vietnam War. Camp Holloway was a helicopter facility constructed by the United States Army near Pleiku in 1962. It was built to support ...
, US President
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
ordered
retaliatory airstrikes against North Vietnam and the deployment of
HAWK missiles to South Vietnam to defend against any attacks by the
Vietnam People's Air Force
The Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF, ), formally refers itself as the Air Defence - Air Force (ADAF, ) or the Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF, ), is the aerial warfare service branch of Vietnam. It is the successor of the former North Vietnamese ...
(VPAF). The USMC
1st LAAM Battalion based on
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
was ordered to deploy to Da Nang. Arriving by
C-130
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...
on 8 February, by 9 February the HAWKs were operational at
Da Nang AB
Da Nang Air Base ( vi, Căn cứ không quân Đà Nẵng) (1930s–1975) (also known as Da Nang Airfield, Tourane Airfield or Tourane Air Base) was a French Air Force and later Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility located in the city ...
.
On 8 March 1965, the
9th Marine Regiment made an amphibious landing at
Red Beach north of Da Nang while the
1st Battalion 3rd Marines landed at Da Nang AB marking the first deployment of US combat troops to South Vietnam.
[ The 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (9th MEB) were tasked with defending Da Nang AB, while overall responsibility for defending the Da Nang area remained with the ARVN.][ In late March the ]3rd Battalion, 9th Marines
The 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines (3/9) is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Formed during World War I it served until the early 1990s when it was redesignated as 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines (3/4) during a realignment and ren ...
occupied the Hill 327 ridgeline and Battery B, 1st LAAM Battalion was moved to Hill 327 from the southwest of Da Nang AB.[
In July 1965 the Marines began construction of a ]3rd Marine Division
The 3rd Marine Division is a division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry divisions in the Marine Corps and together with th ...
command post on the Hill 327 ridgeline, the main bunker was long and deep and capable of withstanding a direct hit from a 120mm mortar.[
During the ]Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the force ...
, together with other attacks on US and ARVN facilities in the Da Nang area, at 02:30 on 30 January the Vietcong
,
, war = the Vietnam War
, image = FNL Flag.svg
, caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green.
, active ...
launched a sapper attack on the 1st Marine Division
The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF).
It is th ...
subsector Bravo command post on Hill 200, 1km north of the main command post, killing 4 Marines and wounding 7.
On 23 February 1969 as part of the Tet 1969
Tet 1969 refers to the attacks mounted by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) in February 1969 in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, one year after the original Tet Offensive.
Most attacks centered on military targets near ...
attacks, the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) launched sapper attacks on the northern slope of Hill 327 and on the 2nd Battalion 7th Marines
The 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines (2/7) is a light infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. They are based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms and consist of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors. The battali ...
position northwest of the Hill, both attacks were beaten back with 18 Marines killed and 80 wounded while the PAVN lost 75 killed or captured.
In July 1969 the 1st LAAM Battalion ceased operations and redeployed to the US.[
On 18 March 1970 the ]1st Marine Regiment
The 1st Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. The regiment is under the command of the 1st Marine Division and the I Marine Expeditionary Force. The 1s ...
moved its command post from Hill 55 to Camp Perdue. On 10 August the 1st Battalion 5th Marines assumed responsibility for the defense of Division Ridge.[ In September the 5th Marine Regiment moved its headquarters from Division Ridge to the area between ]Landing Zone Baldy
Landing Zone Baldy (also known as FSB Baldy or Hill 63) was a U.S. Marine Corps, Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base located northwest of Chu Lai, Quảng Nam Province in central Vietnam.
History
The base was located at the int ...
and Firebase Ross
Firebase Ross (also known as Hill 51) was a U.S. Marine Corps, Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) fire support base located in the Quế Sơn Valley southwest of Hội An, Quảng Nam Province in central Vietnam.
History
The base wa ...
.[
On 24 March 1971 the ]2nd Battalion 1st Marines
2nd Battalion, 1st Marines (2/1) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Camp Horno on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. Nicknamed "The Professionals," the battalion consists of approximately 1,200 Mar ...
assumed responsibility for the defense of Division Ridge.[ In late April as part of the general drawdown of U.S. forces, the 23rd Infantry Division took over the Marines tactical area of responsibility and the 196th Infantry Brigade occupied the Marine positions on Division Ridge.][
The base remains in use by the PAVN as Trường Bắn 327, with a large military cemetery adjacent to it.
]
References
{{Marine Corps
Military installations of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Military installations of the United States Marine Corps in South Vietnam
Installations of the United States Army in South Vietnam
Installations of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
Buildings and structures in Quảng Nam province