Firebase Tomahawk

Firebase Tomahawk (also known as Tomahawk Hill or Hill 132) was a U.S. Army firebase located in the Phú Lộc District southeast of Huế in central Vietnam.

Firebase Tomahawk
Firebase Tomahawk handover, 15 November 1971
Coordinates16.275°N 107.912°E / 16.275; 107.912 (Firebase Tomahawk)
TypeArmy
Site information
Conditionabandoned
Site history
Built1969
In use1969
Battles/wars
Vietnam War
Garrison information
Occupants101st Airborne Division

History

Tomahawk was constructed in 1969 by the units of the 101st Airborne Division near Phú Lộc approximately 40 km southeast of Huế beside Highway 1 north of the strategic Hải Vân Pass.[1]

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 (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 Guardsmen from the 138th Artillery) and 23 PAVN killed.[2] This resulted in the deadliest battle for the United States Army National Guard in the Vietnam War.[3]

Other units based at Tomahawk included:

On 15 November 1971 at a ceremony attended by Major General Thomas M. Tarpley, 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
  1. Kelley, Michael (2002). Where we were in Vietnam. Hellgate Press. p. 516. ISBN 978-1555716257.
  2. "National Guard History eMuseum The Vietnam War (1968-9)". Commonwealth of Kentucky. Archived from the original on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  3. "Firebase Tomahawk: The National Guard's Deadliest Day in Vietnam", VFW Magazine, June/July 2008, page 40.
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