Dak Pek Camp  | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kon Tum,Central Highlands in Vietnam | |||||||
 AC-7A Caribou over Dak Pek Camp, 18 May 1970 | |||||||
| Site information | |||||||
| Operator | Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) United States Army (US Army) | ||||||
| Condition | Abandoned | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
  Dak Pek Camp Shown within Vietnam | |||||||
| Coordinates | 15°04′30″N107°44′20″E / 15.07500°N 107.73889°E /15.07500; 107.73889 | ||||||
| Site history | |||||||
| Built | 1962 (1962) | ||||||
| In use | 1962-1973 (1973) | ||||||
| Battles/wars |  Vietnam War Battle of Dak To | ||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||
| Garrison | 5th Special Forces Group | ||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||
| Elevation | 2,297 feet (700 m)AMSL | ||||||
| |||||||
Dak Pek Camp (also known asDak Pek Special Forces Camp) is a former U.S. Army andArmy of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base northwest ofKon Tum in theCentral Highlands ofVietnam.
The5th Special Forces Group[1] first established a base at here in December 1962 to monitor communist infiltration along theHo Chi Minh Trail. The base was located 14 km from the Laos border, 40 km south ofKhâm Đức and approximately 85 km northwest of Kon Tum.[2]
5th Special Forces Detachment A-749 was based here in October 1963,[1]: 239 Detachment A-5 was based here in December 1964,[1]: 245 Detachment A-211 was based here in 1965 and Detachment A-242 from October 1966. The base was also used as a launch site forMACV-SOG operations into Laos.
On 29 May 1968 ade Havilland Canada C-7B Caribou #62-4189 was hit by mortar fire as it landed at Dak Pek causing the right wing to separate, there were no casualties.[3][4]
On 12 April 1970 aPeople's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) force estimated at two battalions attacked the camp. Sappers attacked many of the bunkers and the defenders were forced back to a small fighting position before air support forced the PAVN back. The siege of Dak Pek last until early May when the PAVN withdrew. Total losses were 34 CIDG and 420 PAVN killed. The PAVN simultaneously attacked the nearbyDak Seang Camp.[5]
Other units based at Dak Pek included:[2]
The base was transferred to88th Border Rangers on 30 November 1970.[2] In April 1972Fairchild AC-119 AC-119K Stinger gunships killed 98 PAVN around Dak Pek.[6]
In fighting near the camp on 27 April 1974, a document was captured indicating that an attack to capture Dak Pek was imminent. In early May, Ranger patrols detected the presence of a PAVN regiment near the camp and discovered a cache of 60 105mm artillery rounds. Unknown to the Rangers, the PAVN 29th Regiment,324B Division had been trucked 75 miles (121 km) south from theA Sầu Valley. The Rangers had a series of encounters with PAVN patrols beginning on 10 May. Two days later, following artillery, rocket, and mortar bombardments, the PAVN attacked the outpost and subsector headquarters. The defenders were able to hold the PAVN infantry at bay until the morning of the 16th, when, following an intense concentration of fire support, the 29th Regiment, supported by tanks, closed in on the camp and subsector. RVNAF aircraft flew over 70 bombing and strafing sorties during the morning and destroyed at least one tank, despite PAVN 37mm antiaircraft fire. At midday on 16 May the PAVN captured the camp.[7]
The base has been turned over to forestry and housing and sits adjacent to theHo Chi Minh Highway.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.