PK-17 (also known as Firebase Sally) was an

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) and U.S. Marine Corps and Army base located 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 ...

, Thừa Thiên Province in central Vietnam.

History

The base was located along Highway 1 at the 17 km mark from the city of Huế. Its name was an abbreviation of the French ''Poste Kilometre 17''. On 30 January 1967 a platoon of 2 M110 howitzers from the 1st 155th Gun Battery moved to PK-17. On 6 April 1967 PK-17 was attacked 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 Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...

(PAVN) forces, resulting in 2 Marines killed and 7 wounded. In January 1968 PK-17 was the base for two battalions of the ARVN 1st Division and one battalion of the Airborne Division. The base played an important role during the Battle of Huế in early 1968. On 2 February the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment was deployed from

Camp Evans Camp Evans Historic District is an area of the Camp Evans Formerly Used Defense Site in Wall Township, New Jersey. The site of the military installation () is noted for a 1914 transatlantic radio receiver and various World War II/Cold War labo ...

to PK-17 to launch an attack towards La Chu to close off the PAVN supply routes west of Huế. The 2/12th Cavalry was pinned down by superior PAVN forces and eventually broke out on the night of 3 February leaving their dead behind.

References

{{Marine Corps Installations of the United States Army in South Vietnam Installations of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Buildings and structures in Thừa Thiên Huế province