Landing Zone Mack (also known as Hill 484) was a U.S. Marine Corps base located northwest of

Cam Lộ Cam Lộ is a township () and capital of Cam Lộ District, Quảng Trị Province, 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 ...

, Quảng Trị Province in central Vietnam.

History

The base was located on Mutter's Ridge north of The Rockpile, approximately 16 km northwest of Cam Lo. Hill 484 was the scene of heavy fighting between the

3rd Battalion, 4th Marines 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines (3/4) or (V34) is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Nicknamed "Thundering Third" and "Darkside," it is based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, and consist ...

and

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) forces during

Operation Prairie Operation Prairie was a U.S. military operation in Quảng Trị Province, South Vietnam that sought to eliminate People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Over the course of late 1965 and early 1966 the Viet ...

in early October 1966. It was captured by the Marines but then abandoned after the battle. The base was established by the 3rd Marines during Operation Lancaster II when it was dropped here on 13 August 1968 to head off the PAVN 64th Regiment which was believed to be moving into the area. The Marines were unable to locate the PAVN and Mack was abandoned on 15 August. On 21 November elements of

3rd Battalion 12th Marines 3rd Battalion, 12th Marines (3/12) is an artillery battalion comprising four firing batteries and a Headquarters Battery. The firing batteries are not permanently assigned to the battalion- they are all on 6-month rotations in Okinawa from the ...

were deployed to Mack and in early December 3/12 Marines conducted sweeps north of Mack. On 2 March 1969 the

1st Battalion 4th Marines 12th Littoral Combat Team (12LCT) is a littoral combat team based at Camp Hansen, in Okinawa, Japan. Previously designated 1st Battalion, 4th Marines - an infantry Battalion#United States Armed Forces, battalion - of the United States Marine Co ...

began Operation Purple Martin north of the Rockpile to reopen Mack and engage the PAVN 246th Regiment which was believed to be located in the area. Despite early morning PAVN mortar fire 1/4 Marines seized the summit of Mack by mid-morning, however the Marines were then hit by mortar fire causing numerous casualties and forcing them from the summit. With bad weather limiting air support the Marines dug in and were subjected to small arms and mortar fire. On the afternoon of 5 March following an artillery barrage the Marines assaulted the summit of Mack clearing numerous PAVN bunkers. The actions at Mack in 1969 correspond to those at the fictional Firebase Matterhorn in Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War where the author

Karl Marlantes Karl Arthur Marlantes (born December 24, 1944) is an American author and Vietnam War veteran. He has written four books: '' Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War'' (2010), ''What It Is Like to Go to War'' (2011), ''Deep River'' (20 ...

fought.

References

Buildings and structures in Quảng Trị province Military installations of the United States Marine Corps in South Vietnam {{Vietnam-war-stub