Relieving forces were not from 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division. The relieving force sent to help the Mai Loc overrun was Troops A, B, and C of the 3/5 Cav Squadron stationed at Dong Ha. Mai Loc Camp (also known as Firebase Mai Loc and Firebase Victory) was a 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 located west of Quảng Trị in central Vietnam.

History

Mai Loc was located approximately 8 km southwest of

Ca Lu Combat Base Ca Lu Combat Base (Vietnamese: ''Cà Lu'') was an Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and United States Marine Corps base located on Highway or Route 9, near Krông Klang, Đa Krông District, western Quảng Trị Province, South Vietnam. ...

and 25 km west of Quảng Trị. The 5th Special Forces Group first established the base here in early 1968. The 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division comprising: * 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry * 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry * 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry supported by 2nd Battalion, 319th Artillery was based here in October–November 1969. On 9 April 1970 at 23:00 a Tripflare was activated on the perimeter of the camp alerting the defenders. At 02:35 on 10 April the camp was hit by 75-100 82mm mortar and

Rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), also known colloquially as a rocket launcher, is a Shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that launches rockets equipped with a Shaped charge, shaped-charge explosive warhead. Most RPGs can ...

rounds followed by a sapper attack. The Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) forces, their Special Forces advisers and artillerymen with

M42 Duster The M42 40 mm self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, or "Duster," is an American armored light air-defense gun built for the United States Army from 1952 until December 1960, in service until 1988. Production of this vehicle was performed by the tank d ...

s defended the camp. The sappers penetrated the perimeter but were unable to reach the inner perimeter and tactical operations center. At 03:40 a unit from the 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) reinforced the camp and helicopter gunships and a Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) AC-47 ''Spooky'' gunship provided fire support. 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) forces withdrew by 04:55 leaving 19 dead; U.S. losses were six killed (including four members of the 14th Engineer Battalion) and 14 CIDG killed. U.S. Special Forces left Mai Loc in late August 1970. Other units based at Mai Loc included: * 8th Battalion, 4th Artillery On 2 April 1972 the 147th Marine Brigade abandoned Mai Loc in the face of the PAVN assault on Quảng Trị.

Current use

The base has been turned over to farmland.

References

{{Reflist Buildings and structures in Quảng Trị province Installations of the United States Army in South Vietnam Installations of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Military installations closed in the 1970s