Camp Lê Văn Duyệt (also known as Capital Military District Headquarters, Capital Military Assistance Command or CMAC and Camp Goodman ) was a

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; ) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. Its predecessor was the ground forc ...

and

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

base located in District 10,

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. It remains in use today by the

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...

(PAVN).

History

The base was originally built during the French colonial period as the ''Nouvelles Casernes d'Artillerie Coloniale'' (new barracks of the Colonial Artillery). With the departure of the French from

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

in 1954-6 the base was handed over to the

(ARVN) and named after Lê Văn Duyệt, an 18th-century military commander. The base was the headquarters of the Capital Military District (CMD) responsible for the defense of Saigon. On 5 October 1963

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

officer Lucien Conein met with General

Dương Văn Minh Dương Văn Minh (; 16 February 19166 August 2001), popularly known as Big Minh, was a South Vietnamese politician and a senior general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and a politician during the presidency of Ngô Đình Diệm. ...

at the base to discuss the planned coup against

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Ngo Dinh Diem Ngô Đình Diệm ( , or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician who was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955) and later the first president of South Vietnam (Republic of V ...

. In preparation for the coup one of the coup leaders General Tôn Thất Đính moved 20 tanks to the base to ensure that the coup supporters enjoyed overwhelming strength against forces loyal to Diem. In 1964 the ARVN political warfare training center moved to the base but the facilities at the new location were so inadequate that they were moved to the Dalat Military Academy in 1966. The ARVN 1st Airborne Battalion was headquartered at the base. On the morning of 31 January 1968 at the start of the

Tet Offensive The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. The Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) launched a surprise attack on 30 January 1968 against the forces of ...

, US II Field Force commander

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Frederick C. Weyand directed his deputy, Major general Keith L. Ware, to establish a tactical command post at the base next to the CMD headquarters. Once operational, this headquarters known as ''Hurricane Forward'' would assume tactical control over all US units entering the Saigon– Gia Định Province zone. On the morning of 5 May 1968 at the start of the

May Offensive Phase Two of the Tet Offensive of 1968 (also known as the May Offensive, Little Tet, and Mini-Tet) was launched by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) against targets throughout South Vietnam, including Saigon from 29 April ...

Weyand directed his deputy, Major general John H. Hay, to re-establish ''Hurricane Forward'' at the base to perform the same function as in the Tet Offensive. On 27 June 1968 Weyand published orders establishing Headquarters, Capital Military Assistance Command (CMAC) (Provisional) at the base under the command of Hay, with an effective date of 4 June 1968. In this post, Hay exercised operational control over all US units and advisers in Saigon–Gia Định, with himself serving as adviser to General Nguyễn Văn Minh, the commander of the CMD and military governor of Saigon. Weyand assigned two US brigades, the 199th Infantry Brigade and the 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division to CMAC control to protect Saigon against further

Vietcong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the Communism, communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vi ...

attacks. The US 5th Special Forces Group's Camp Goodman was located within the camp until late 1968 when it was handed over to CMAC. In late 1969 II Field Force commander Lieutenant general Julian Ewell transformed CMAC into an advisory organization for the CMD, and charged it with transferring local American sensor and ground radar installations to the South Vietnamese.

Current use

The base remains in use by the PAVN as the headquarters of the Ho Chi Minh City Command (), which forms part of the 7th Military Region (Vietnam People's Army). The street address is 291 Hẻm 285 Cách Mạng Tháng Tám, Phường 12, Quận 10, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam.

References

External links

Photos of Camp Lê Văn Duyệt in 1968-9
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camp Le Van Duyet Buildings and structures in Ho Chi Minh City Installations of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Military installations of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 1860s establishments in Vietnam Military history of Ho Chi Minh City