Landing Zone Mack (also known as Hill 484) was a U.S. Marine Corps base located northwest of Cam Lộ, Quảng Trị Province in central Vietnam.

History

The base was located on

Mutter's Ridge Mutter's Ridge was the name given by U.S. Marines to the Núi Cây Tre ("Bamboo Mountain") ridge, in Quảng Trị Province. The ridge was formed by Hills 461, 484 and 400 and overlooked the southern edge of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DM ...

north of

The Rockpile The Rockpile (also known as Elliot Combat Base) and known in Vietnamese as Thon Khe Tri, is a solitary karst rock outcropping north of Route 9 and south of the former Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Its relatively inaccessible location, re ...

, approximately 16 km northwest of Cam Lo. Hill 484 was the scene of heavy fighting between the

3rd Battalion, 4th Marines 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines (3/4) is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Nicknamed "Thundering Third". Nicknamed "Darkside," it is based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, and consist ...

and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces during

Operation Prairie Operation Prairie was a U.S. military operation in Quảng Trị Province, South Vietnam that sought to eliminate People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Over the course of late 1965 and early 1966 the Viet ...

in early October 1966. It was captured by the Marines but then abandoned after the battle. The base was established by the

3rd Marines The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment is a regiment of the United States Marine Corps that is optimized for littoral maneuver in the Indo-Pacific Theater. Based at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, the regiment falls under the command of the 3rd Marine Divi ...

during

Operation Lancaster II Operation Lancaster II was a U.S. Marine Corps security operation that took place in northern Quảng Trị Province from 20 January to 23 November 1968 during the Vietnam War. The operation followed on directly from Operation Lancaster. The Mar ...

when it was dropped here on 13 August 1968 to head off the PAVN 64th Regiment which was believed to be moving into the area. The Marines were unable to locate the PAVN and Mack was abandoned on 15 August. On 21 November elements of 3rd Battalion 12th Marines were deployed to Mack and in early December 3/12 Marines conducted sweeps north of Mack. On 2 March 1969 the

1st Battalion 4th Marines 1st Battalion, 4th Marines (1/4) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California consisting of approximately 800 Marines and sailors. They fall under the command of the 1st M ...

began Operation Purple Martin north of the Rockpile to reopen Mack and engage the PAVN 246th Regiment which was believed to be located in the area. Despite early morning PAVN mortar fire 1/4 Marines seized the summit of Mack by mid-morning, however the Marines were then hit by mortar fire causing numerous casualties and forcing them from the summit. With bad weather limiting air support the Marines dug in and were subjected to small arms and mortar fire. On the afternoon of 5 March following an artillery barrage the Marines assaulted the summit of Mack clearing numerous PAVN bunkers. The actions at Mack in 1969 correspond to those at the fictional Firebase Matterhorn in Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War where the author

Karl Marlantes Karl Arthur Marlantes (born December 24, 1944) is an American author and Vietnam War veteran. He has written three books: '' Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War'' (2010), ''What it is Like to go to War'' (2011), and ''Deep River' ...

fought.

References

Buildings and structures in Quảng Trị province Military installations of the United States Marine Corps in South Vietnam {{Vietnam-war-stub