Camp Evans is a former U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps base northwest of

Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...

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 ...

History

1966-7

Camp Evans was established by the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines in late 1966 as part of

Operation Chinook Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

. The camp was located to the west of

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 S ...

, approximately 24 km northwest of Huế in Thừa Thiên–Huế Province. The camp was named after Marine Lance Corporal Paul Evans who was killed during Operation Chinook. Marine units based at Camp Evans during this period included: *

4th Marine Regiment The 4th Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. Based at Camp Schwab in Okinawa, Japan, it is part of the 3rd Marine Division of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. Mission Close with and destroy the enemy b ...

1968

In January 1968 Camp Evans was taken over by the 1st Cavalry Division. UH-1 damage in rocket attack on Camp Evans, 21 May 1968

On the night of 19 May 1968 the ammunition dump at Camp Evans was hit by

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 Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the armed wi ...

(PAVN) rockets and exploded causing a chain reaction and fire that lasted more than 12 hours and damaged or destroyed 124 aircraft rendering the 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division combat ineffective for a week until replacement aircraft arrived. On 3 October 1968 a USAF C-7 Caribou (#63-9753) that had just taken off from the Camp Evans airstrip collided with a 1st Cavalry

Boeing CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, C ...

(#66-19041) resulting in the death of all 24 passengers and crew on both aircraft.

1969-72

Camp Evans was taken over by the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

. Army units based at Camp Evans during this period included: * 158th Assault Helicopter Battalion *3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment *2nd Battalion, 94th Artillery Regiment (November 1969 – 1970) * 18th Surgical Hospital (March–December 1969) * 63rd Signal Battalion (March 1970-January 1972) * C Battery, 4th Battalion, 77th Artillery (Aerial Rocket Artillery), 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) * 101st Military Police, Third Platoon. The 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron used Camp Evans as a forward operating base.

Current use

The base is abandoned and turned over to farmland.

References

{{reflist

External links

Camp Evans, Vietnam (1971)

Texas Archive of the Moving Image The Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) is an independent 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2002 by film archivist and University of Texas at Austin professor Caroline Frick, PhD. TAMI's mission is to preserve, study, and exhibit Texas film h ...

Buildings and structures in Thừa Thiên Huế province Military installations of the United States Marine Corps in South Vietnam Installations of the United States Army in South Vietnam Military installations closed in the 1970s