Ca Lu Combat Base (Vietnamese: ''Cà Lu'') was an

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. It is estimated to have suffe ...

(ARVN) and

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through ...

base located on Highway or Route 9, near Krông Klang, Đa Krông District, western Quảng Trị Province, South Vietnam. DMZ1

The base was originally established by the ARVN to cover the infiltration route across the

Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone The Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone was a demilitarized zone established as a dividing line between North and South Vietnam from July 1954 to 1976 as a result of the First Indochina War. During the Vietnam War (1955-1975) it became important as ...

(DMZ) through the Cam Lo river valley. The base was taken over by the

3rd Marine Division The 3rd Marine Division is a division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry divisions in the Marine Corps and together wit ...

during

Operation Virginia Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

in April 1966 by the

4th Marine Regiment The 4th Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. Based at Camp Schwab in Okinawa, Japan, it is part of the 3rd Marine Division of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. Mission Close with and destroy the enemy by ...

, with three 105mm howitzers, a command group and a security force were positioned there. By February 1967, six 105mm howitzers operated by the

12th Marine Regiment The 12th Marine Regiment is an artillery regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Smedley Butler, Okinawa, Japan. Nicknamed "Thunder and Steel," the regiment falls under the command of the 3rd Marine Division. Mission Provide ...

were located at Ca Lu, with companies from the

3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, abbreviated as (3/3), is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps, based out of Kaneohe, Hawaii. Known as either "Trinity" or "America's Battalion", the unit falls under the command of the 3rd Marine ...

providing security. From August 1967 the

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

ese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) cut Route 9 between Ca Lu and

Khe Sanh Combat Base Khe Sanh Combat Base (also known as Ta Con) was a United States Marine Corps outpost south of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) used during the Vietnam War. History US Army Special Forces (Detachment A-101, Company C, 5th Special Forces Gr ...

. In late 1967 work began on expanding Ca Lu into a combat operating base and by December 1967 the base was completed. Ca Lu was the westernmost position of the strongpoint obstacle system, a line of sensors and obstacles intended to prevent infiltration across the DMZ. In 1968 Ca Lu fell within the

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

tactical area of operations under the control of the

3rd Marine Regiment The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment is a regiment of the United States Marine Corps that is optimized for littoral maneuver in the Indo-Pacific Theater. Based at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, the regiment falls under the command of the 3rd Marine Divisi ...

. In support of their attack on Khe Sanh, the PAVN isolated the Marine outposts along Route 9, attacking supply and engineering convoys and on 28 February they shot down a

CH-46 The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem-rotor transport helicopter powered by twin turboshaft engines. It was designed by Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol following Vertol's acquisition by Boeing. Development of th ...

helicopter near Ca Lu, killing 22 Marines onboard. By late March Route 9 into Ca Lu had been reopened and Marine and

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

engineers and Navy

Seabee United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...

s started construction of a major base near Ca Lu to include an airfield, ammunition storage facilities, bunkers and helicopter revetments and a supporting road network, named Landing Zone Stud. On 28 March, the 1st Cavalry Division took over operational control of Ca Lu in preparation for the launch of Operation Pegasus, the relief of Khe Sanh. The

1st Battalion, 1st Marines 1st Battalion 1st Marines (1/1st Marines) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Camp Pendleton, California, consisting of anywhere from 800 to 2,000 Marines and Sailors, but the number fluctuates depending on t ...

remained at Ca Lu, providing security for the recently completed LZ Stud. With the closure of Khe Sanh Combat Base in July 1968, Ca Lu and Landing Zone Stud, renamed Vandegrift Combat base were the westernmost Marine bases along the DMZ. In September 1969 as part of the withdrawal of the 3rd Marine Division from South Vietnam, preparations began for the Marines to withdraw from Ca Lu and Vandegrift. In early October the 4th Marine Regiment withdrew from Ca Lu and Vandegrift handing control of the bases to the ARVN 1st Division which dismantled and salvaged material at the bases for the expansion of the combat base at

Camp Carroll Camp Carroll (also known as Artillery Plateau, Firebase Tan Lam and Hill 241) was a United States Marine Corps and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) artillery base during the Vietnam War. It was located 8 km southwest of Cam Lộ, Q ...

References

{{Marine Corps

External links

HQ Company 4th Marine Regiment veterans' Ca Lu website
Military installations of the United States Marine Corps in South Vietnam

Ca Lu Ca Lu Combat Base (Vietnamese: ''Cà Lu'') was an Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and United States Marine Corps base located on Highway or National Road 9 (Vietnam), Route 9, near Krông Klang, Đa Krông District, western Quảng Trị P ...

Buildings and structures in Quảng Trị province