La Vang Base (also known as La Vang Combat Base or Firebase La Vang) is a former

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 near

Quảng Trị Quảng Trị () is a district-level town in Quảng Trị Province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. It is second of two municipalities in the province after the provincial capital Đông Hà. History The Sino-Vietnamese name Quả ...

, Vietnam.

History

The base was located in

La Vang La Vang or Lavang is a location in Quảng Trị Province, Vietnam. It is the site of the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of La Vang (Đức Mẹ La Vang), a Roman Catholic sanctuary, commemorating a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary that was seen t ...

, 2km south of Quảng Trị beside

Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered ...

. The base was used by the ARVN 1st Regiment, 1st Division.

Cessna O-1 Bird Dog The Cessna L-19/O-1 Bird Dog is a liaison and observation aircraft. It was the first all-metal fixed-wing aircraft ordered for and by the United States Army following the Army Air Forces' separation from it in 1947. The Bird Dog had a lengthy ...

observation and

Forward Air Control Forward air control is the provision of guidance to close air support (CAS) aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by a forward air controller (FAC). ...

aircraft of the 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron used the airfield at La Vang as a forward operating base, with 4 aircraft usually operating there by 1968. On 20 January 1968 the

3rd Marine Regiment 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 Divisi ...

established their command post at the base as they took over responsibility for

Operation Osceola Operation Osceola was a security operation around the Quảng Trị Combat Base, Quảng Trị Province, South Vietnam from 20 October 1967 to 16 February 1968. Background The Hải Lăng Forest was the location of the People's Army of Vietnam ...

. Other US units at the base were the

1st Battalion, 1st Marines 1st Battalion 1st Marines (1/1st Marines) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Camp Pendleton, California, consisting of anywhere from 800 to 2,000 Marines and Sailors, but the number fluctuates depending on th ...

, a 105mm artillery battery of the

3rd Battalion, 12th Marines 3rd Battalion 12th Marines (3/12) is an artillery battalion comprising four firing batteries and a Headquarters Battery. The firing batteries are not permanently assigned to the battalion- they are all on 6 month rotations in Okinawa from the 1 ...

, a provisional 155mm artillery battery and

M42 Duster The M42 40 mm Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun, or "Duster," is an American armored light air-defense gun built for the United States Army from 1952 until December 1960, in service until 1988. Production of this vehicle was performed by the ...

s of Battery A, 1st Battalion, 44th Artillery. As part of Operation Jeb Stuart the 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division was to assume responsibility for the 3rd Marine Regiment area and take over the La Vang Base. On 27 January the 3rd Marines moved from La Vang to

Quảng Trị Combat Base Quảng Trị Combat Base (also known as Ái Tử Combat Base or simply Quảng Trị) is a former United States Marine Corps, United States Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base northwest of Quảng Trị in central Vietnam. His ...

. On 31 January 1968 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 forces o ...

, the

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 ...

(PAVN) K6 Battalion attempted to attack the base as part of the assault on Quảng Trị, however they ran into two ARVN

Airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

companies forestalling the attack. By dawn the ARVN at La Vang were able to start moving north to engage the PAVN forces in and around Quảng Trị despite sporadic mortar and rocket fire and sapper attacks on the base.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Vang Base Buildings and structures in Quảng Trị province Installations of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Military installations of the United States in South Vietnam Military installations closed in the 1970s