Red Beach Base Area (also known as Camp JK Books, Camp Haskins, Camp Viking, Paddock Compound or Red Beach Camp) is a complex of former U.S. Marines, Navy and Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) logistics and support bases northwest of Danang.
| Red Beach Base Area | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 16°05′46″N 108°08′35″E / 16.096°N 108.143°E |
| Type | Marines/Navy/Army |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1965 |
| In use | 1965-present |
| Battles/wars |  Vietnam War |
Red Beach Airfield | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 3 ft / 1 m | ||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
History
editThe base was located along Highway 1, 8 km northwest of Danang at Red Beach, the site of the landing of the 9th Marine Regiment, the first US combat troops deployed to South Vietnam on 8 March 1965.[1]
The area comprised a number of separate adjacent bases as follows:
- Camp JK Books, Headquarters of Force Logistics Command, U.S. Marine Corps, responsible to III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF).[1]
- Camp Haskins, split into Camp Haskins North used as a base for the 31st Naval Construction Regiment[2] and Camp Haskins South which was used as the Headquarters, III MAF after their move from Camp Horn in March 1970[1]: 215 [3]
- Camp Viking, base for the 58th Transport Battalion from February 1968 to April 1972 and the 39th Engineer Battalion[1]: 537
- Paddock Compound, base for the 18th Engineer Brigade[1]
The base area was handed over to the ARVN in March 1972. Camp Viking was used by the ARVN 102nd Artillery Battalion.[1]: 537
Current use
editThe area has largely been turned over to housing although part of it remains in use by the People's Army of Vietnam.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Kelley, Michael (2002). Where we were in Vietnam. Hellgate Press. p. 439. ISBN 978-1555716257.
- ^ "Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 58" (PDF). U.S. Navy. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- ^ Cosmas, Graham. U.S. Marines In Vietnam: Vietnamization And Redeployment, 1970-1971 (PDF). USMC Military History Division. pp. 18–20.