Landing Zone Hereford

Landing Zone Hereford was a U.S. Army base located northeast of Vĩnh Thạnh District, Bình Định in central Vietnam.

Landing Zone Hereford
American soldiers fan out from Landing Zone Hereford
Coordinates14.1297°N 108.831°E / 14.1297; 108.831 (Landing Zone Hereford)
Site history
Built1966
In use1966
Battles/wars
Vietnam War
Garrison information
Occupants1st Cavalry Division

History

Hereford was established by the 1st Cavalry Division on 21 May 1966 during Operation Crazy Horse and was located approximately 6m northeast of Vĩnh Thạnh and 26 km northeast of An Khê[1]

On 22 May the under-strength mortar platoon of Company C 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry was left on Hereford while the Company's rifle platoons searched the valley below. The mortar platoon was hit by People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) mortars and then overrun by PAVN who killed 15 out of 21 men in the platoon within 35 minutes, withdrawing as the rifle platoons rushed back to Hereford.[2] Also killed at Hereford was Look Magazine correspondent Sam Castan while leading 3 members of the mortar team to safety, an act of courage for which he was awarded an Army Commendation Medal posthumously by the commander of U.S. forces, General William Westmoreland.[3][4]

Current use

The base is abandoned and has returned to jungle.

References
  1. Kelley, Michael (2002). Where we were in Vietnam. Hellgate Press. pp. 5–219. ISBN 978-1555716257.
  2. Carland, John (2000). Combat Operations: Stemming the Tide, May 1965 to October 1966. Government Printing Office. p. 226. ISBN 9780160501975.
  3. Christie, Michael (17 September 2012). "Last stand at LZ Hereford". Vietnam Magazine. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  4. Laurence, John (2008). The Cat from Hue. Public Affairs. ISBN 9780786724680.
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