Dầu Tiếng Base Camp (also known as LZ Dầu Tiếng or Camp Rainier) is a former U.S. Army and

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 ...

(ARVN) base in the town of

Dầu Tiếng Dầu Tiếng is a township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception ...

in Bình Dương Province in southern

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 ...

History

The base was established in October 1966. The camp was located in the Dầu Tiếng District, 60 km northwest of

Tan Son Nhut Air Base Tan Son Nhut Air Base () (1955–1975) was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility. It was located near the city of Saigon in southern Vietnam. The United States used it as a major base during the Vietnam War (1959–1975), stationing ...

and 24 km east of

Tây Ninh Tây Ninh () is a provincial city in Southeastern Vietnam. It is the capital of Tây Ninh Province, which encompasses the town and much of the surrounding farmland. Tây Ninh is one of nine provinces and cities in the ''Southern Key Economic R ...

between the

Saigon River The Saigon River () is a river located in southern Vietnam that rises near Phum Daung in southeastern Cambodia, flows south and southeast for about and empties into the Nhà Bè River, which in its turn empties into the South China Sea some no ...

and the Michelin Rubber Plantation. The 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division comprising: * 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry * 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry * 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry was based at Dầu Tiếng from December 1966-June 1967. On 1 August 1967 the 3rd Brigade became part of the 25th Infantry Division, while the 25th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade at

Đức Phổ Base Camp Đức Phổ Base Camp (also known as Đức Phổ Airfield, LZ Bronco, LZ Montezuma and Núi Đàng) is a former U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army base in the Đức Phổ District, Quảng Ngãi Province Vietnam. History 1966-71 The base was l ...

became part of the 4th Infantry Division. The 3rd Brigade was based at Dầu Tiếng from March 1968-July 1969 and from August–November 1970. On 24 June 1967 a

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 ...

(VC) mortar attack on Camp Rainier disabled 29 UH-1 helicopters of the 188th Assault Helicopter Company. On 4 July 1968 the base was subjected to a heavy

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) rocket and mortar attack followed by probes on the base perimeter resulting in 5 U.S. and 16 PAVN killed. On 23 February 1969 the base was attacked by PAVN sappers. SSGT

Robert W. Hartsock Robert Willard Hartsock (January 24, 1945 – February 23, 1969) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War. Biography Hartsock ...

would be posthumously awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

for his actions during the attack. 21 U.S. and 73 PAVN were killed in the attack. The 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division comprising: * 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry * 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry * 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry was based at Dầu Tiếng from July–November 1969 and January–February 1970. The 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division comprising: * 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry * 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry was based at Dầu Tiếng in August and from October–December 1970. Other units based at Dầu Tiếng included: * 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry (February 1970) * 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry * 2nd Battalion, 11th Artillery * 1st Battalion, 27th Artillery (November 1967-February 1970) * 1st Battalion, 77th Artillery * 2nd Battalion, 77th Artillery (October 1966 – 1969) * 2nd Battalion, 319th Artillery

Current use

Part of the base appears to remain in use by the PAVN. The airfield is no longer used but remains visible on satellite images

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dau Tieng Base Camp Installations of the United States Army in South Vietnam Installations of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Buildings and structures in Bình Dương province