Firebase Pace
| Firebase Pace | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 11°39′11″N 105°58′41″E / 11.653°N 105.978°E |
| Type | Army |
| Site information | |
| Condition | abandoned |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1971 |
| In use | 1971 |
| Battles/wars |  Vietnam War |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment |
Firebase Pace is a former U.S. Army firebase near the Vietnam-Cambodia border north-northwest of Tây Ninh, Vietnam.
History
[edit]Pace was located approximately 1km from the Cambodian border and 4km northwest of Thien Ngon.[1]
On 26 September People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces conducted rocket and sapper attacks against ten Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) bases and Pace all near the Cambodian border. 230 PAVN and 27 ARVN were killed in the attacks.[2]
On 9 October five U.S. soldiers at the base refused to undertake a patrol outside the perimeter of the firebase. The combat refusal was widely reported by the media as was a letter signed by 65 American soldiers at Pace to Senator Edward Kennedy protesting that they were being ordered to participate in offensive combat operations despite U.S. policy to the contrary.[3]
On 13 October a U.S. AH-1 Cobra gunship was shot down near Pace.[4] By 18 October the PAVN bombardment of Pace had continued for its 23rd consecutive day.[5] On 22 October U.S. forces withdrew from Pace, leaving the base and its four guns to an ARVN Airborne battalion which took over the base. In four separate actions around Pace the ARVN reported killing 47 PAVN.[6] On 23 October ARVN troops found the bodies of 53 PAVN killed by airstrikes 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Pace.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Kelley, Michael (2002). Where we were in Vietnam. Hellgate Press. p. 382. ISBN 978-1-55571-625-7.
- ^ "Foe hits 11 Allied bases along Cambodian border". The New York Times. 27 September 1971. p. 1.
- ^ Craig Whitney (12 October 1971). "Army says some G.I.s balked briefly at patrol". The New York Times. p. 3.
- ^ "Enemy demolition squad destroys two U.S. copters". The New York Times. 14 October 1971. p. 4.
- ^ "Shelling reported near Cambodia line". The New York Times. 18 October 1971. p. 5.
- ^ Fox Butterfield (23 October 1971). "U.S. troops leave Cambodian border". The New York Times. p. 2.
- ^ "Typhoon limits Vietnam action". The New York Times. 24 October 1971. p. 9.