Firebase Fuller (also known as Dong Ha Mountain or Hill 549) is a former U.S. Marine Corps, Army and

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)

firebase Firebase is a set of hosting services for any type of application (Android, iOS, Javascript, Node.js, Java, Unity, PHP, C++ ...). It offers NoSQL and real-time hosting of databases, content, social authentication (Google, Facebook, Twitter an ...

in central

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 ...

History

The base was established on Dong Ha Mountain northeast of

The Rockpile The Rockpile (also known as Elliot Combat Base) and known in Vietnamese as Thon Khe Tri, is a solitary karst rock outcropping north of Route 9 and south of the former Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Its relatively inaccessible location, re ...

north of

Highway 9 Route 9, or Highway 9, may refer to: International * European route E09 * European route E009 Albania * SH-9 Road in Albania. Argentina * National Route 9 Australia New South Wales * A9 (Sydney) South Australia * ** Port River Expr ...

during Operation Lancaster II. The

3rd Battalion 9th Marines The 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines (3/9) is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Formed during World War I it served until the early 1990s when it was redesignated as 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines (3/4) during a realignment and renu ...

secured Fuller as part of

Operation Virginia Ridge Operation Virginia Ridge was a US Marine Corps operation that took place in northwest Quảng Trị Province, South Vietnam, from 2 May to 16 July 1969. Background In early May 1969, U.S. reconnaissance detected that two People's Army of Vietna ...

on 2 May 1969. By July the

1st Battalion 9th Marines The 1st Battalion 9th Marines (1/9) was an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Formed during World War I, it served until the mid-2000s when it was deactivated to make room for one of three light armor reconnaissance battalions ...

had assumed responsibility of the area around Fuller. Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion 12th Marines provided artillery support at Fuller from May 1969 until September 1969 when the battery was withdrawn to Okinawa. In late September 1969 as part of

Operation Keystone Cardinal Operation Keystone Cardinal was the withdrawal of the 3rd Marine Division from South Vietnam, taking place from 30 September to 27 November 1969. Background Following the withdrawal of the 9th Marine Regiment from South Vietnam in Operation Keys ...

the 3rd Marine Regiment began its withdrawal from South Vietnam handing over control of Fuller to the

2nd Battalion, 4th Marines 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines (2/4th Marines) is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. The battalion, nicknamed the ''Magnificent Bastards'' from the Vietnam War, is based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and ...

. The 4th Marines in turn handed over Fuller to elements of the 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) on 5 November 1969. On 30 April 1970 at 00:55 a unit of the 1st Brigade at Fuller received mortar fire followed by an attack by People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) sappers. The defenders returned fire supported by artillery and helicopter gunships and the PAVN withdrew leaving 16 dead. On 16 August 1970 a unit of the ARVN 2nd Battalion, 2nd Regiment at Fuller was hit by 70 120mm mortar rounds killing 14 ARVN and destroying 20 bunkers.

1971

On 3 June PAVN mortars hit South Vietnamese Marines at the base killing six while the Marines claimed nine PAVN killed. On 24 June the PAVN overran the base and were then subjected to an intense aerial bombardment before three ARVN battalions were flown in by helicopters of the U.S. 101st Airborne to recapture the area around the base. On 28 June ARVN troops reoccupied the base, but it was soon abandoned due to the damage sustained in the fighting. The South Vietnamese claimed that 496 PAVN had been killed at Fuller for the loss of 29 Marines/ARVN. The ARVN with U.S. assistance then rebuilt the base with concrete bunkers by mid-July and it easily withstood a new PAVN mortar attack on 19 July.

1972

By January 1972 the ARVN 3rd Division had assumed responsibility for the area north of Highway 9. Fuller was occupied by the 1st Battalion, 2nd ARVN Regiment. From January the ARVN on Fuller together with the Vietnamese Marines on

Firebase Sarge Firebase Sarge (also known as Firebase Dong Toan or Hill 552) is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) firebase in Quang Tri Province, central Vietnam. History The base was established on Dong Toan Mountain east of High ...

reported a buildup on PAVN forces in the surrounding area. The PAVN launched their

Easter Offensive The Easter Offensive, also known as the 1972 spring–summer offensive ('' vi, Chiến dịch Xuân–Hè 1972'') by North Vietnam, or the red fiery summer (') as romanticized in South Vietnamese literature, was a military campaign conducted b ...

on 30 March 1972 and PAVN artillery fire hit Fuller along with all other ARVN and Marine positions along the DMZ. Units of the PAVN 308th Division assaulted Fuller and by midday on 31 March the PAVN had overrun Fuller.

Current use

The base has reverted to jungle. Image:Dong Ha Mountain.jpg, Dong Ha Mountain Image:Firebase Fuller 2008.jpg, Firebase Fuller in 2008 Image:Firebase Fuller 2008 B.jpg, Firebase Fuller 2008

References

{{Marine Corps Installations of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Military installations of the United States Marine Corps in South Vietnam