Plei Djereng Camp

Plei Djereng Camp
Plei Djereng Camp, 5 February 1967
Coordinates13°58′12″N 107°38′31″E / 13.97°N 107.642°E / 13.97; 107.642 (Plei Djereng Camp)
TypeArmy Base
Site history
Built1964
In use1964-73
Battles/wars
Vietnam War
Garrison information
Occupants5th Special Forces Group
1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division
80th Border Rangers
Plei Djereng New Airfield
Summary
Elevation AMSL955 ft / 291 m
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
3,150 960 PSP

Plei Djereng Camp (also known as Plei Djereng Special Forces Camp or Le Minh Camp) is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base northwest of Pleiku in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

History

Front gate of the camp, 6 April 1970

A base was first established in December 1964 by the 5th Special Forces Group Detachment A-214[1] to monitor communist infiltration along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The camp was located 41 km northwest of Pleiku and near to the Cambodian border.[2]

Special Forces Detachment A-214 (later redesignated A-251) took over the camp in August 1965.

On 14 October 1966 the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) attacked reconnaissance patrols out of Plei Djereng.[3] On 21 October U.S. forces launched Operation Paul Revere IV deploying the 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division north of the camp and the 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division south of the camp.[3]: 69  In the first 12 days of the operation losses were 22 U.S. and 138 PAVN killed.[3]: 70 

In late October 1966 the camp was moved 8 km south and the 20th Engineer Battalion built a new airfield here.[4]

The 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division comprising:

was based at Plei Djereng in May 1970 to support the Cambodian Campaign.

Other units based at Plei Djereng included:

The camp was transferred to the ARVN 80th Border Rangers in October 1970.

On 2 September 1972 a PAVN force attacked the camp but were repulsed for the loss of approximately 100 killed.[5] On the morning of 4 September in the face of heavy shelling and ground attacks the Rangers abandoned the camp.[6]

On 21 September 1973 the camp came under PAVN artillery fire and on the 22nd it was overrun by the 26th Regiment, 320th Division supported by artillery and tanks. 200 of the 293 Rangers at the camp were killed or captured during the battle. PAVN casualties are not known but the Republic of Vietnam Air Force claim to have destroyed three T-54 tanks during the battle.[7][8]

Current use

The base is abandoned and turned over to farmland.

References

  1. ^ a b c Stanton, Shelby (2003). Vietnam Order of Battle. Stackpole Books. p. 245. ISBN 9780811700719.
  2. ^ Kelley, Michael (2002). Where we were in Vietnam. Hellgate Press. p. 411. ISBN 978-1555716257.
  3. ^ a b c MacGarrigle, George. Combat Operations: Taking the Offensive, October 1966 to October 1967. Government Printing Office. p. 68. ISBN 9780160495403.
  4. ^ Traas, Adrian (2011). Engineers at War. Government Printing Office. p. 211.
  5. ^ "Heavy toll reported in battle north of Saigon". The New York Times. 3 September 1972. p. 3.
  6. ^ "Saigon reports base camp loss in Highland area". The New York Times. 5 September 1972. p. 1.
  7. ^ Le Gro, William (2013). Vietnam Combat Operations 1972 - 1975. Lion Publications. pp. 99–100. ISBN 9781939335302.
  8. ^ Le Gro, William (1985). Vietnam from ceasefire to capitulation (PDF). US Army Center of Military History. pp. 54–5. ISBN 9781410225429.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.