Landing Zone Sierra was a U.S. Marine Corps base located northwest of

Cam Lộ Cam Lộ is a township () and capital of Cam Lộ District, Quảng Trị 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 ...

, Quảng Trị Province in central Vietnam.

History

The base was located on Mutter's Ridge north of The Rockpile, approximately 16 km northwest of Cam Lo. On 15 November 1968, a 1st Battalion 3rd Marines patrol near Sierra was ambushed by a

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) force resulting in 7 Marines killed. On 2 March 1969 the

1st Battalion 4th Marines 12th Littoral Combat Team (12LCT) is a littoral combat team based at Camp Hansen, in Okinawa, Japan. Previously designated 1st Battalion, 4th Marines - an infantry Battalion#United States Armed Forces, battalion - of the United States Marine Co ...

began Operation Purple Martin north of the Rockpile to engage the PAVN 246th Regiment which was believed to be located in the area. After retaking Landing Zone Mack, on 13 March the Marines moved along the ridgeline to retake Landing Zone Sierra which had been abandoned two months earlier and was now used by the PAVN to mortar Marines positions. Company I led the attack on Sierra and found that the PAVN were dug in, in well-prepared bunkers, the LZ was secured by the afternoon for the loss of 10 Marines and 23 PAVN killed. On 14 March the PAVN shot down a CH-46D BuNo 154841 of

HMM-161 Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 161 (VMM-161) is a United States Marine Corps tiltrotor squadron that operates the MV-22 Osprey. The squadron, known as the "Greyhawks", is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California and falls under th ...

with a B-40 rocket as it conducted a resupply and medevac mission, killing 12 Marines and one Navy corpsman and the PAVN then launched a counterattack on the LZ which was beaten back. On 10 August 1969 the PAVN 9th Regiment attacked a

2nd Battalion 3rd Marines 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines (2/3) was an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii consisting of approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors. The battalion fell under the command of the 3rd Marine Regi ...

night defensive position near LZ Sierra resulting in 13 Marines and an estimated 17 PAVN killed.

Current use

The base has reverted to jungle.

References

Buildings and structures in Quảng Trị province Military installations of the United States Marine Corps in South Vietnam {{Vietnam-war-stub