| Landing Zone Baldy | |
|---|---|
 LZ Baldy, 7 November 1968 | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Marines/Army |
| Location | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 15°45′58″N108°19′26″E / 15.766°N 108.324°E /15.766; 108.324 (Landing Zone Baldy) |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1967 |
| In use | 1967–72 |
| Battles/wars |  Vietnam War |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | 196th Light Infantry Brigade 7th Marine Regiment 5th Marine Regiment |
Airfield information | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Landing Zone Baldy (also known asFSB Baldy orHill 63) was aUnited States Marine Corps,United States Army andArmy of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base located northwest ofChu Lai,Quảng Nam Province in central Vietnam.
The base was located at the intersection ofHighway 1 and Route 535, approximately 28 km northwest of Chu Lai.[1]
Baldy was originally established by the U.S. Army196th Light Infantry Brigade and was then taken over as the headquarters for the7th Marines.[2]
On the morning of 3 January 1968, thePeople's Army of Vietnam (PAVN)2nd Division mortared Baldy as part of a series of attacks on four Marines bases.[3]
In August 1969, a logistics support unit of Force Logistic Support Group Bravo was established at Baldy.[2]: 260 In late 1969, the3rd Battalion 11th Marines moved to Baldy.[2]: 244
In September 1970, the 7th Marines began to withdraw from theQuế Sơn Valley and the Baldy tactical area of operations as part ofOperation Keystone Robin Alpha handing over control to the5th Marine Regiment.[4]
From 2–15 October 1970, the U.S. Army'sTask Force Saint comprising the2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry,1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry and a battery from the3rd Battalion, 82nd Artillery was based at Baldy forOperation Tulare Falls I and returned again asTask Force Burnett from 27 to 31 October.[4]: 118
From 14 October 1970, the1st Marine Aircraft Wing deployed a force of sixCH-46Ds, 4AH-1Gs and oneUH-1E command ship to Baldy on a daily basis fromMarble Mountain Air Facility to support 5th Marinequick reaction force (QRF) operations.[4]: 106 In late November, theKorean 2nd Marine Brigade also stationed a QRF platoon at Baldy.[4]: 113
Baldy was a base for Marine combined action and pacification programmes throughout 1969–70.[4]: 155
In January 1971, as part of the general drawdown of U.S. forces the23rd Infantry Division took over the Marines' tactical area of responsibility, but made it clear they would not take over the Marine bases at Baldy,Firebase Ross orFirebase Ryder.[4]: 212 On 4 March 1971, Logistics Support Unit 3 at Baldy ceased operations.[4]: 319 On 20 March 1971, the Marines turned over Baldy to the ARVN.[4]: 222
The base appears to remain in use by the PAVN.[citation needed]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States Marine Corps.