Katum Camp (also known as Katum Special Forces Camp or Firebase Katum) is a former U.S. Army and

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; ) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. Its predecessor was the ground forc ...

(ARVN) base northeast of

Tây Ninh Tây Ninh () is a provincial city in Southeastern Vietnam. It is the capital of Tây Ninh Province, which encompasses the town and much of the surrounding farmland. Tây Ninh is one of nine provinces and cities in the ''Southern Key Economic R ...

in southern

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 ...

History

The base was originally established to support Operation Junction City in February 1967 and the first US combat parachute jump of the war took place west of the camp. By 3 March 1967 the 1st Engineer Battalion had completed an airfield at Kà Tum. The base was located 40 km northeast of Tây Ninh, 43 km west of An Lộc and 8 km south of the Cambodian border. The camp was used by the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division during Operation Yellowstone which ran from December 1967 until February 1968. In November 1967 the

5th Special Forces Group The 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (5th SFG (A), 5th Group) is one of the most decorated active duty United States Army Special Forces groups. The 5th SFG (A) saw extensive action in the Vietnam War and played a pivotal role in the early mo ...

Detachment A-322 moved to Kà Tum from Camp Suối Đá to monitor infiltration activity from Cambodia. The base received frequent artillery and mortar fire from the

Vietcong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the Communism, communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vi ...

and

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 ...

leading to it being nicknamed Kaboom. On 1 February 1968 Bell UH-1C Iroquois #66-00686 collided with UH-1H #66-16061 while landing at night at Kà Tum resulting in 2 U.S. killed. On 25 June 1968 a Lockheed C-130E Hercules serial #62-1861, of the

50th Troop Carrier Squadron 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

, took 0.51 calibre AAA fire on takeoff from Kà Tum which set the port outer engine on fire which spread along port wing, the aircraft crash-landed at Tây Ninh. On 18 August 1968 the Vietcong 5th Sapper Battalion attacked the base but was beaten back. On the morning of 25 September following a mortar and rocket barrage the Vietcong attacked the base again, but were again defeated at a cost of 14 CIDG and 61 Vietcong killed and 10 Vietcong captured. On 27 May 1969 C-130A #56-0472 of the 21st Tactical Airlift Squadron was hit by ground fire while landing at Kà Tum and the starboard wing burned off in post-landing fire. On 23 June 1969 C-130B #61-0965 of the 772d Tactical Airlift Squadron, carrying artillery ammunition, was hit by ground fire on approach to Kà Tum and crashed killing all six crewmembers. The 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division operated from Kà Tum in April–May 1970. On 24 May 1970 a US medevac helicopter was shot down on approach to Kà Tum, passenger Sergeant first class Louis R. Rocco evacuated the wounded crew, actions for which he was later awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

. The 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division returned to Kà Tum in June 1970 to support the Cambodian Incursion. From 28 September to 2 October 1971 the U.S. Army's

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division ("Third Grey Wolf Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division") is a combined arms armored brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division based in Fort Cavazos, TX. Major equipment includes the M1A2SEP Tanks, M2A3 & ...

and 2nd Squadron,

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. The regiment has served in the Philippine–American War, the Pancho Villa Expedi ...

mounted Operation Kà Tum, a security operation to cover the withdrawal of US personnel from the base.

Current use

The base has been turned over to farmland and housing.

References

{{reflist

External links

Photos taken at Katum in 1967/8
Installations of the United States Army in South Vietnam Installations of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Military installations closed in the 1970s Buildings and structures in Tây Ninh province