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helicopters landed the headquarters unit and
Company C in a blocking position 6 km north of the base and then landed Companies A and B 9 km further east, Companies A and B then swept west meeting no PAVN and joined up with Company C on 21 April and the force then returned to the base. Reconnaissance
599:. Since its abandonment, most of the base has become overgrown by wilderness or coffee and banana plants. A small museum on the site contains exhibits of historical pictures, weapons, and ubiquitous "impression books" common among battlefield and heritage museums in Vietnam. Additionally a C-130,
576:, the South Vietnamese invasion of Laos. On the night of 23 March a PAVN sapper attack on Khe Sanh resulted in 3 Americans killed and several aircraft and 2 ammunition dumps destroyed, PAVN losses were 14 killed and 1 captured. The base was abandoned again on 6 April 1971.
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US Army
Special Forces (Detachment A-101, Company C, 5th Special Forces Group) constructed a camp with airfield outside the village of Khe Sanh in July 1962. It served as an outpost of the Civilian Irregular Defense Groups. Its purpose was to keep watch on
565:. On July 5, 1968, the combat base was abandoned, the U.S. Army citing the vulnerability of the base to dug-in enemy artillery positions in neutral Laos and the arrival of significant airmobile forces in I Corps (1st Cavalry and
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was issued, with the operation to begin on 5 April. On 4 April an advance unit was landed at Khe Sanh, but the arrival of the rest of the force was delayed by bad weather and the effects of the
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In
January 1966 the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) attacked the camp with 120 mm mortars and intelligence indicated that a PAVN buildup was taking place in the area. In March
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launched
Operation Niagara to break the siege of the base. All three brigades from the 1st Cavalry participated in this vast airmobile operation, along with a Marine armor thrust.
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over the base. In March 1973, American intelligence reported that the PAVN had rebuilt the airstrip at Khe Sanh and were using it for courier flights into the South.
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patrols of the northwest sector indicated no PAVN presence and so the 2nd phase of the operation was cancelled. III MAF then ordered 1/1 Marines to march east along
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were able to complete the deployment. The plan called for sequential sweeps to the northeast, northwest and then southwest of the base. On 19 April
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flew into Khe Sanh to plan his deployment and found the
Special Forces there to be nervous and leaving all patrolling outside the perimeter to
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which had been closed for several years to determine if there was any PAVN buildup south of the DMZ. The artillery unit was moved to
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838:"Narrative of Events of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) During LAM SON 719"
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Seabees of Mobile
Construction Battalion (MCB) 301 set and seal runway mats into place at Khe Sanh, 29 November 1967
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divisions). However, the closure permitted the 3rd Marine
Division to conduct mobile operations along the DMZ.
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In
December 1966, Special Forces Detachment A-101 moved from Khe Sanh to a site near the village of Lang Vei.
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to cover Route 9 and on 1 May the 1/1 Marines completed the 30 miles (48 km) march from the base to
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The defense of Khe Sanh commanded international attention and was considered the climactic phase of the
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In 1971, Khe Sanh was reactivated by the U.S. Army (Operation Dewey Canyon II) to support
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and supporting artillery and mortar batteries to Khe Sanh. 1/1 Marines commander Lt. Col.
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Messages from the Heart: Agent Orange and
Narrative Conflict in Contemporary Vietnam
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607:, artillery and armor, restored bunkers and portions of the airstrip are visible.
461:(III MAF) to plan a one-battalion security operation around the camp. On 27 March
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866:. History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. p. 32.
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775:. History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. pp.
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450:(PAVN) infiltration along the border and to protect the local population.
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Military installations of the United States Marine Corps in South
Vietnam
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Khe Sanh Combat Base can be visited daily as part of tours starting in
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Lurps: A Ranger's Diary of Tet, Khe Sanh, A Shau, and Quang Tri
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U.S. Marines In Vietnam: The War That Would Not End, 1971-1973
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The Vietnam Experience South Vietnam on Trial: Mid-1970–1972
539:, which would permit the U.S. to wield enormous air power.
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891:(Master's). The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
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alone dropped more than 75,000 tons of bombs on the PAVN
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Installations of the United States Army in South Vietnam
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Fighting began at Khe Sanh in late April 1967 with the
551:divisions encroaching the combat base in trenches.
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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939:Buildings and structures in Quảng Trị province
772:U.S. Marines in Vietnam: An Expanding War 1966
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489:forces. On 3 April the operational order for
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812:Fulghum, David; Maitland, Terrence (1984).
924:Military installations established in 1962
816:. Boston Publishing Company. p. 96.
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109:Learn how and when to remove this message
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919:Military installations closed in 1971
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929:1962 establishments in South Vietnam
579:On 27 January 1972 a U.S. Air Force
47:adding citations to reliable sources
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684:Outside view of a restored bunker
554:On April 1, 1968, the U.S. Army's
497:and it wasn't until 18 April that
404:3,300 feet (1,006 m) PSP
360:1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division
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934:1971 disestablishments in Vietnam
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16:Former US base in South Vietnam
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431:Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone
887:Blattenberger, Phil (2016).
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746:Where we were in Vietnam
744:Kelley, Michael (2002).
448:People's Army of Vietnam
374:1,608 feet (490 m)
537:Battle of Dien Bien Phu
521:encountering no PAVN.
502:Lockheed Martin KC-130s
433:(DMZ) used during the
231:16.65420°N 106.72423°E
58:"Khe Sanh Combat Base"
574:Operation Lam Son 719
429:outpost south of the
341:Operation Lam Son 719
601:Boeing CH-47 Chinook
556:1st Cavalry Division
419:Khe Sanh Combat Base
366:Airfield information
347:Garrison information
201:Shown within Vietnam
195:Khe Sanh Combat Base
124:Khe Sanh Combat Base
43:improve this article
708:Khe Sanh landscape.
636:Khe Sanh base, 1968
475:Phu Bai Combat Base
471:4th Marine Regiment
463:3rd Marine Division
356:3rd Marine Division
236:16.65420; 106.72423
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126:(Khe Sanh Airfield)
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533:Battle of Khe Sanh
491:Operation Virginia
396:Length and surface
337:Battle of Khe Sanh
273:United States Army
156:Quảng Trị province
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846:. Retrieved
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467:Wood B. Kyle
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323:Battles/wars
288:Site history
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99:January 2010
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41:Please help
36:verification
33:
529:Hill Fights
483:Van D. Bell
435:Vietnam War
333:Vietnam War
308:In use
275:(U.S. Army)
234: /
222:106°43′27″E
210:Coordinates
903:Categories
848:2013-02-18
823:0939526107
731:References
219:16°39′15″N
69:newspapers
392:Direction
371:Elevation
311:1962-1975
283:Abandoned
280:Condition
842:Archived
725:Khe Sanh
714:See also
499:VMGR-152
425:) was a
352:Garrison
260:Operator
152:Khe Sanh
611:Gallery
591:Tourism
511:Route 9
506:HMM-163
441:History
386:Runways
313: (
298: (
83:scholar
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648:Museum
519:Cam Lộ
423:Ta Con
266:(ARVN)
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545:304th
515:Ca Lu
401:10/28
293:Built
90:JSTOR
76:books
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781:ISBN
779:-3.
750:ISBN
547:and
487:Nùng
455:MACV
376:AMSL
315:1975
300:1962
296:1962
247:Type
62:news
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597:Huế
473:at
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