Dĩ An Base Camp (also known as Dĩ An Army Airfield or Song Than Base Camp) is a former U.S. Army and

Republic of Vietnam Marine Division The Republic of Vietnam Marine Division (RVNMD, vi, Sư Đoàn Thủy Quân Lục Chiến QLC was part of the armed forces of South Vietnam. It was established by Ngo Dinh Diem in 1954 when he was Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam, which be ...

base in

Dĩ An Dĩ An is a city of Bình Dương Province in the Southeast region of Vietnam, about 20 km north of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). It is 1,706 km by rail from Hanoi. At the 2009 census the city had a population of 73,859. The tow ...

northeast of

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

in southern

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

. It remains in use by the People's Army of Vietnam.

History

1966–72

Dĩ An Base Camp was established at Dĩ An, 13 km northeast of

Tan Son Nhut Air Base Tan Son Nhut Air Base ( vi, Căn cứ không quân Tân Sơn Nhứt) (1955–1975) was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility. It was located near the city of Saigon in southern Vietnam. The United States used it as a major base duri ...

and 12 km southwest of

Biên Hòa Biên Hòa (Northern accent: , Southern accent: ) is the capital city of Đồng Nai Province, Vietnam and part of the Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area and located about east of Ho Chi Minh City, to which Biên Hòa is linked by Vietnam Hig ...

. The

1st Infantry Division 1st Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) *1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) *1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoured Division (Australi ...

had its headquarters at Dĩ An from February 1966 until September 1967 and from November 1969 until April 1970. Other units stationed at Dĩ An included: * 1st Battalion, 7th Artillery (1967-April 1970) *

12th Aviation Group 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

comprising: ** 7th Squadron, 1st Cavalry (February–June 1968) ** 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry (October 1967-April 1972) *

11th Armored Cavalry Regiment The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment ("Blackhorse Regiment") is a unit of the United States Army garrisoned at the Fort Irwin National Training Center in California. Although termed an armored cavalry regiment, it is being re-organized as a mul ...

(July 1970-March 1971) * 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry ** Headquarters Troop ** Alpha Troop ** Charlie Troop The airfield was capable of accommodating

C-7 Caribou The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou (designated by the United States military as the CV-2 and later C-7 Caribou) is a Canadian specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability. The Caribou was first flown in 1958 a ...

and

C-123 The Fairchild C-123 Provider is an American military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and then built by Fairchild Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. In addition to its USAF service, which included later service with the Air Force R ...

aircraft. The

Mobile Advisory Teams The Mobile Advisory Teams (MATs) were small units of United States Army military advisors that operated during the Vietnam War. The teams provided training to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) territorial units: the Regional and Popular ...

advisor school operated at the base from 1969 until September 1971. On 30 July 1969, US President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

visited the base on his only Presidential visit to South Vietnam, meeting US military personnel. On 13 October 1971

Vietcong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

sappers destroyed two U.S. helicopters at the camp. On 8 September 1972 the

established a training center, ranges, hospital, recruit depot and

LVT LVT may refer to: * Land value tax, a levy on the value of land * Landing Vehicle Tracked, an amphibious military vehicle * Leasehold valuation tribunal A leasehold valuation tribunal (LVT) was a statutory tribunal in England which determined var ...

base on part of the former camp and named it Song Than Camp.

Current use

The base remains in use by the People's Army of Vietnam.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Di An Base Camp Military installations of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Installations of the United States Army in South Vietnam Buildings and structures in Bình Dương province