Katum Camp (also known as Katum Special Forces Camp or Firebase Katum) 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 northeast of

Tây Ninh Tây Ninh () is a provincial city in south-eastern Vietnam. It is the capital of Tây Ninh Province, which encompasses the town and much of the surrounding farmland. Tây Ninh is approximately to the northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's lar ...

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 i ...

History

The base was originally established to support

Operation Junction City Operation Junction City was an 82-day military operation conducted by United States and Republic of Vietnam (RVN or South Vietnam) forces begun on 22 February 1967 during the Vietnam War. It was the first U.S. combat airborne operation since t ...

in February 1967 and the first US combat parachute jump of the war took place west of the camp. By 3 March 1967 the

1st Engineer Battalion The 1st Engineer Battalion is a unit of the United States Army with a record of accomplishment in both peace and war; an organization that provides sustained engineer support across the full spectrum of military operations. The 1st Engineer Batta ...

had completed an airfield at Kà Tum. The base was located 40 km northeast of Tây Ninh, 43 km west of An Lộc and 8 km south of the Cambodian border. The camp was used by the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division during Operation Yellowstone which ran from December 1967 until February 1968. In November 1967 the 5th Special Forces Group Detachment A-322 moved to Kà Tum from Camp Suối Đá to monitor infiltration activity from Cambodia. The base received frequent artillery and mortar fire from 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 ...

and

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...

leading to it being nicknamed Kaboom. On 1 February 1968 Bell UH-1C Iroquois #66-00686 collided with UH-1H #66-16061 while landing at night at Kà Tum resulting in 2 U.S. killed. On 25 June 1968 a

Lockheed C-130E Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...

serial #62-1861, of the

50th Troop Carrier Squadron 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...

, took 0.51 calibre AAA fire on takeoff from Kà Tum which set the port outer engine on fire which spread along port wing, the aircraft crash-landed at Tây Ninh. On 18 August 1968 the Vietcong 5th Sapper Battalion attacked the base but was beaten back. On the morning of 25 September following a mortar and rocket barrage the Vietcong attacked the base again, but were again defeated at a cost of 14 CIDG and 61 Vietcong killed and 10 Vietcong captured. On 27 May 1969 C-130A #56-0472 of the 21st Tactical Airlift Squadron was hit by ground fire while landing at Kà Tum and the starboard wing burned off in post-landing fire. On 23 June 1969 C-130B #61-0965 of the 772d Tactical Airlift Squadron, carrying artillery ammunition, was hit by ground fire on approach to Kà Tum and crashed killing all six crewmembers. The 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division operated from Kà Tum in April–May 1970. On 24 May 1970 a US medevac helicopter was shot down on approach to Kà Tum, passenger Sergeant first class Louis R. Rocco evacuated the wounded crew, actions for which he was later awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

. The 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division returned to Kà Tum in June 1970 to support the Cambodian Incursion. From 28 September to 2 October 1971 the U.S. Army's

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division ("Third Grey Wolf Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division") is a combined arms armored brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division (United States), 1st Cavalry Division based in Fort Hood, Texas. Its major equipment ...

and 2nd Squadron,

11th Armored Cavalry Regiment The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment ("Blackhorse Regiment") is a unit of the United States Army garrisoned at the Fort Irwin National Training Center in California. Although termed an armored cavalry regiment, it is being re-organized as a multi ...

mounted Operation Kà Tum, a security operation to cover the withdrawal of US personnel from the base.

Current use

The base has been turned over to farmland and housing.

References

{{reflist

External links

Photos taken at Katum in 1967/8
Installations of the United States Army in South Vietnam Installations of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Military installations closed in the 1970s Buildings and structures in Tây Ninh province