Chu Lai is a seaport, urban and industrial area in
Núi Thành District,
Quảng Nam 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 and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
. The city is served by
Chu Lai International Airport. It is also the site of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone (Vietnamese: ''Khu Kinh Tế Mở Chu Lai'').
History
Vietnam War
Chu Lai was a
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...
from 1965 to 1970, and a United States Army military base from 1970 to 1971 during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. Roughly southeast of
Đà Nẵng
Da Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons (, ) is the list of cities in Vietnam, fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the Western Pacific Ocean of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River (Vietnam), Hàn R ...
, the base had an airfield to supplement the major base at Đà Nẵng. It was not named for any local geographic feature, but rather was named by then Major General Victor Krulak using the Mandarin Chinese characters for his own name.
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...
Victor H. "Brute" Krulak, then the commanding general of
Fleet Marine Force, Pacific.
was the first major airfield used by the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
during the Vietnam War. Shortly after conventional ground forces began arriving in country in 1965, it became necessary to open a second airfield because of the heavy traffic into and out of Đà Nẵng.
On 6 May 1965 units from the ARVN
2nd Division and
3rd Battalion, 9th Marines secured the Chu Lai area. On 7 May, the
3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (3rd
MEB), composed of the
4th Marine Regiment,
3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, elements of
Marine Aircraft Group 12 (MAG-12) and
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 10 landed at Chu Lai to establish a jet-capable airfield and base area.
[
Chu Lai Air Base became operational on 1 June 1965 and remained in use by Marine aviation units until September 1970.
The Seabees of MCB-10 built the helicopter pad, and the Marines also established a combat base and helicopter facility on the Kỳ Hà peninsula north of the air base.][ The Marine base was handed over to the U.S. Army's Task Force Oregon in April 1967][
]
Auto factory
Since 2001,Kia Motors
Kia Corporation (, formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry (京城精密工業) and Kia Motors Corporation) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, ...
has manufactured automobiles at its Chu Lai Plant as part of a joint ventured with Truong Hai Automobile Co.
References
External links
Chu Lai map
Battle of Chu Lai reference
{{Coord, 15.412275, N, 108.704478, E, display=title
Populated places in Quảng Nam province