Firebase Tomahawk (also known as Tomahawk Hill or Hill 132) was a U.S. Army

firebase Firebase was a company that developed backend software. It was founded in San Francisco in 2011 and was incorporated in Delaware. In 2014, Firebase was bought by Google. Its name continues as a set of backend cloud computing services and ...

located in the Phú Lộc District southeast of

Huế Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...

in central Vietnam.

History

Tomahawk was constructed in 1969 by the units of the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

near Phú Lộc approximately 40 km southeast of Huế beside Highway 1 north of the strategic

Hải Vân Pass The Hải Vân Pass (, , 'ocean cloud pass'), is an approximately long mountain pass on National Route 1 in Vietnam. It traverses a spur of the larger Annamite Range that juts into the South China Sea on the border of Đà Nẵng and Huế, near ...

. The base was occupied by the 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment and 2nd Battalion, 138th Artillery when it was assaulted by the

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) 4th Regiment on the night of 19 June 1969, the assault was repulsed for the loss of 13 U.S. (including 9

Kentucky Army National Guard The Kentucky Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United ...

smen from the 138th Artillery) and 23 PAVN killed. This resulted in the deadliest battle for the United States Army National Guard in the Vietnam War."Firebase Tomahawk: The National Guard's Deadliest Day in Vietnam", ''

VFW Magazine The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of United States war veterans who fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or airspace as milita ...

'', June/July 2008, page 40. Other units based at Tomahawk included: * 327th Infantry On 15 November 1971 at a ceremony attended by Major General

Thomas M. Tarpley Thomas McKee Tarpley (4 July 1922 – 18 December 1986) was an American soldier in the United States Army. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1944. Tarpley then served in World War II and in Vietnam, from February 1971 ...

, Commanding General, 101st Airborne Division, Tomahawk was turned over by the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment to the ARVN 5th Regional Forces.

Current use

The base has reverted to jungle.

References

External links

* http://angusashtonfilm.com/?p=2621 Photos and video of FSB Tomahawk Installations of the United States Army in South Vietnam Buildings and structures in Huế Military history of Kentucky {{Vietnam-war-stub