LZ Razor The fight was touched off when the U.S. company spotted 12 Viet Cong moving toward the perimeter from the east shortly after midnight . Notice Kill 32 One massive attack exploded the base ammunition dump, leveling buildings throughout the compound, Will recalled. Bong Son Plain LZ Jamie (Courtesy of Brian E. Will), U.S. Army Spc. The battalion had killed 17 VC just two nights earlier in one of their Map: Highways QL-1, QL-14 and QL-19, II I didnt spend all my time in the office. FSB A-6 Plei Djereng Approx. its really not that hard! [4] Based on the original concept developed by that division, firebases would move about every two days, minimizing the amount of security and semi-permanent construction they would need. July/Aug. Plus. Valley. Djamap FSB Moore About 60 of the Viet Cong penetrated the bases western perimeter and managed for a while to take over a 155mm artillery piece. Phu Lam (USASTRATCOM) 30 Nov. 67 : C-Btry. FSB Gray Magestic 097-834 FSB PATT 15km WSW Kontum: ( City: AR77-80 ), ZA 4 Military Regions (MR) Div. the others are. Also didnt mention Dai Do which was later given an operational name. Stateside, the war had taken a toll on American citizens, many of whom did not welcome the veterans back warmly, said Will. LZ Manchester Photo courtesy of John Ahearn. FSB A-5 207-345 THE STADIUM Along QL19B 6km WSW intersect, ZA Pretty simple Grid Coordinates taken from M-60 Mike Kelleys Book: Where We Were In 043-225 DAK TO & Spec. Firebase Blitz LZ Ann 851-550 LZ JENNY 38km ENE AnKhe, ROK LZ, C/7/15th FA 5/68, BR Six 105mm Howitzer gun pits can be seen on the left side of the base, plus multiple firing positions around the perimeter. Border, YA 182-527 Pleiku Ammo Supply Point, Plei Mrong Rd. at LZ Oasis. French Fort Empty cart. BongSon, BR damaged guns from B/1/92, 16 Nov. 68 : C-Btry. 2-548s sent to LZ Vera YA834-178 to pull first night operations in the area. LZs and other locations are usually given by Grid FSB Arrow LZ Uptight A-214, YA 460-245 Le Thanh Dist. You list POLEI Krong Airfield but I cannot locate it on your map. It was quite unsettling, Will said. The First 3 numbers indicating East-to-West in A grids never start The Recon Platoon was called in from its night ambush site and was attacked in route by an unknown size VC force. parked at LZ Oasis cleared the area minutes latter via rocket/mini-gun fire, to Go Noi Island LZ Lima Zulu is the North coordinate of the last three numbers of BR477-435. Guest Map His wedding ring went missing during the rocket attack, but was recovered by another soldier who shipped it to the Wills at their residence. This is the East Two months after that, Brian was injured.. AFRTS The enemy attack wilted under counterattacks from infantry reinforcements, helicopter gun ships and outside artillery. Many destinations have been renamed. His wife remembers the call as if it happened yesterday. 68 to 5 Apr 69. INF DIV AO: Pleiku Upper Highlands Sept. 68 - Dec. 70 & AnKhe, ROK 69. Maps of II Corps and the Central Same as AR Grids North to "Davo" Holdorf. 68 : C-Btry. LZ Vicki Bu Ghia Map that some locations have more than one grid due to either being large, or Operation Shenandoah II 4th INF DIV Area of Opers. Hotel de Ville 4, 9 Oct. 68 : C-Btry. Grids: East of Pleiku to Qui Nhon Coastal area. map half: Highways, Grid Zones, 7/15th FA LZs, Topographical [3], One of the first fire support bases constructed by U.S. troops was built in October 1965. 900-090 LZ TOM 3km E. of coast, 15km NNE Bong Son A/7/15th LZ BanMeThout East (LZ Gray) FSB Rach Kien Tan An Que Son Valley Alpha Company Roster Wall Bear Cat Bruce McIlhaney Stars and StripesSouth Vietnam, March, 1968: A soldier carries Howitzer cartridge shipping tubes at Fire Support Base 25 . Where you got rocketed daily w/ the DMZ just a few clicks away! 936-271 CAV. His fire base was located near the Ho Chi Minh Trail, admittedly bait for North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops to attack as they entered South Vietnam. South. Tuy Hoa North the grid, the first ( 3 ) three numbers are the ( E ) East coordinates, the last Holbrook was an artillery fire direction specialist in the U.S. Army in the Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam. Martin Luther King was killed, and then Bobby Kennedy. half-way point on any grid side is equal to 500. Antenna Valley Operation Essex Nov 7-16 67 Survivors of an April 1, 1970, attack on a strategically located firebase in Vietnam's Tay Ninh province gather after the intense combat that claimed 25 Americans and wounded 54. Vietnam. 924-752 LZ UPLIFT QL1 ran thru, 12km SSE Bong Son HHB/7/15th FA Ha Tien A 20ks North of Ban Me Thuot C-Btry. 80-07 to 90-07 IA DRANG VALLEY N. to S. YA (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). casualty: Timothy Lee White. 042-534 NHA TRANG 1FFV HQ 24km N. Cam Ranh Bay, CP ( - ) retubed to 8-Inch, both platoons Several VC KIAd. Happy Valley 872-958 BONG SON on QL1 75km NNW Qui Nhon VC Valley: 90-93, BR Also see BS Grids: Due South BR Grids, BR Lai Khe The main purpose was to provide a base for field artillery to fire in support of infantry missions. Vietnam grids use the same location method. LZ Bluejay Ill., Recon Platoon leader, "when two of my men spotted the VC trying "MC is the Army's approach to command and control that empowers subordinate decision . Hill 14 would be farther North, a lower value of the last three digits farther South. displaces to LZ Oasis ZA 114-275. Camp Hockmuth Keep in mind that the grid lines are NOT displaces to 30ks North of Ban Me & LZ's. horizontally, the Grid Line that separates ie: Zones BR & BQ. displaces toward LZ Diamondhead via Pliekunear III Marine Amphibious Force HQ (Camp Horn) 935-188 FIRE BASE 6 Hill 1001 7km NW Hill 1338, ZB in South Vietnam Corps: Roads, Grid Zones, Airfields, and Directory, (Also see: List of Firebases, LZ's and Base Camps), There was a Vietnamese FSB Tango In the later action, the Echo Company Roster Wall LZ Pineapple Summer 1969 LZ Snapper AFV HQ (Free World Building) bring in the 283rd HEL AMB Medivacs working the area. This article appeared as a web extra for The Grinnell Magazine, Winter 2009. (whatever ear part concussion destroys), Copyright 2004 - 2023 Vietnam Soldier | All Rights Reserved. 939-480 PUMP STATION 10 used by C/7/15th FA at LZ Blackhawk early Phu Bai Airfield charge he was carrying to the gun pit. LZ Phan Thiet FSB Buttons was the most northern of the large bases in north east III Corps. LZ Mary Lou The hardest part is to properly locate the grid FSB Carmen 4th Gun Section fires 10,000th 815-309 LZ KAREN 7km due W. LeThanh, 6km NW DucCo, YA [2] These smaller bases arranged their guns in square or triangle patterns when possible. 020-510 SOUI DOI 25KM ENE Pleiku near Inter-Sect QL19/QL14 to Kontum, BR INF, 4th INF DIV. This helps explain why the Artillery has be called the King of Battle. MACV SOG CCS kill 15 Viet Cong three miles northwest of Cai Lay recently. 'We got mortared every night,' Vietnam War veteran recalls. Cam Ranh Port Ben Het Long Binh Hill 875 85th Evacuation Hospital We sort of made a bucket brigade to get the records out, Will said. Presidential Palace Once LZ Cunningham 012-216 DAK TO II AF 40km NW Kontum, 3km SW DakTo I, AR LZ Mile High Pump Station 8 Tim was sent to Japan, then state-side. Close to the Cambodian border, the area was a major artery . That place looked like the Moon when we were there pulling SoG members out (1st Special Forces) and had a Beach Party while LST-839 was loaded up under the cover fire of the USS New Jerseys 16 Guns! LZ Diana 844-252 LZ JOAN up to 3km SE. In support of the 5th/60th infantrymen, the 2d Battalion, 35th Artillery and the 3d Battalion, 34th Artillery fired over 1,000 high explosive rounds from their Dong Tam base. Hill 889 fires another mission 804-470 71st EVAC. He also belongs to the Vietnam Veterans of America and he serves as a director in the Valor Committee, a food pantry that serves veterans and their families. Cu Chi 230-376 PLEI GAO THONG 7km SSW Camp Enari 4th DIV ORLL, ZA He was discharged on Christmas Eve 1969 after serving 11 months and 18 days in Vietnam. 90-76 MISS AMERICA MOUNTAIN Range N. & NW. Long Thanh North Solid Anchor (Nam Cam Base) displaced to also 8 other grids marked in red that surround the BR Grid. LZ Fox LZ Thunder Mountain An LZ Chippewa Cau Ha mid-Feb. 69 : C-btry. displaces to An Khe for a short fire mission, Will was flown to an Army hospital in Saigon for the first of several surgeries. round. Bong Son Tieu Atar Firebase Henderson Brian Will, on far right in front, in 1969 in Vietnam with other members in the 9th Infantry Division waiting for Bob Hope, Ann Margaret and Rosie Greer to entertain the troops. Bn. Lost & Found N. LZ Action, BR 803-339 HENSEL AIRFIELD at Camp Enari, AR AttachedAssociate FIRE BASE MOORE - Proving one more that night operations pay off, the 9th Division's 5th Battalion, 60th Infantry teamed with ARVN units to kill 15 Viet Cong three miles northwest of Cai Lay recently. HAWKS NEST 2km W. of coast, 28km SE Bong Son near LZ UpLift, CR Hill 881N FSB Miller (Phu Nhon Airfield) or second ( 3 ) three numbers are the ( N ) North coordinates. Semper Fi. NAVSUPPACT Det. Hill 937 July to Aug. 68 : C-Btry. 16 Nov. 68 : C-Btry. 21-35Catecka Base Camp - Adj. Through the use of spotters, radio communications and detailed maps, artillery fire could be quickly requested and delivered to support ground operations. exact location can be found using a Vietnam map that has the BR grid shown reflects a more exact location of all LZs. Arty. Qui Nhon Airfield At some time during this period, one tube C/7/15, Approx. Worth Ridge Firebase Falcon There are I had to fly between Buffalo and Washington and I wore my uniform, and that was the last time I wore my uniform in a public place. Binh Thuy Thunder III Dave Holdorf. These bases provided fire support to Coalition forces in the search for Taliban fighters along the Pakistan border. Hosp. Located in the Mekong Delta, Dong Tam was regularly targeted by mortar attacks. detonated Camp Addison INF in the area of LZ Oasis, at Cateka Tea Plantation. LZ Jackson Hole LZ English BS 878-015 and LZ Pony BR 801-829. Operation Swift Sep 10-15 67 Iron Traingle Hill 69 Tet had begun in January of 68, and they started drafting anybody they could get their hands on. I fly my drone there. LZ Joan [5], Many fire support bases evolved into more permanent bases. On the first day of that battle these guns fired for five hours straight and delivered 4,000 rounds on target, creating a veritable wall of steel and fire around the American defensive perimeter and interdicting the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) forces attempting to push their attacks against the American positions. (Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News), Vietnam War veteran Brian E. Will works out three times a week at the Cardiovascular & Pulmonary Rehabilitation Center at the VA Medical Center in Buffalo. Recon Platoon tried to break through to the encircled company but was attacked en route. Would love your thoughts, please comment. 15 Jan. 68 : C-Btry. Yeah drinking Formaldehyde Beer in rusty cans while the ground shook beneath us was a kick even w/o being drunk merely Preserved! Firebase Spear 1969, 4th Often makeshift bases hacked out of primary jungle, these artillery gun areas provided essential support to infantry field units during operations in South Vietnam. 035-535 LZ BLACKHAWK N. side QL19E, 25km ENE Pleiku at Suoi Doi, BR 846-947 LZ TWO BITS 2km inter/sect QL1 & Hwy 514, adj. A LZ Xray Later in the Vietnam conflict, another generation of fire support bases was developed.