Fire Bases, Fire Support Bases and Patrol Bases were the norm for the soldiers of the 4th Battalion Mechanized 23rd Infantry Regiment. We lived, played, ate, slept and went to work, daily from these bases. The Tay Ninh Province was sitting astride the North Vietnamese Army's main infiltration route from Cambodia, into South Vietnam. Consequently, there were many major operations and battles in the province throughout the entire war.
The Division and Brigade commanders, set up the Fire Support Base/ Patrol Base concept as a means of providing overlapping artillery support for the men in the field as well as utilizing the "Tomahawks" and other mechanized infantry units, to their utmost ability as rapid reactionary forces.
Thousand of such bases existed all across South Vietnam.
The following are names of those most familiar to the "Tomahawks" Area of Operation.
Division / Brigade sized Fire Bases
FB Cu Chi (*XT6515) (2nd/32nd FA, HHQ/2nd Brigade/3rd Brigade 25th Infantry Division)
FB Tay Ninh West (*XT160520) (7th/11th FA-Bat. A, 2nd/77th FA, 2nd/34th Armor) (1st BDE 25th Infantry Division)
FB Dau Tieng (*XT492479)(2nd/22nd INF, 3/4 Cav.)(3rd
BDE 25th Infantry Division until June 69)
Battalion / Company sized Fire Support Bases
FSB Buell II (*XT217535), III (*XT225535) (7th/11th FA, 2nd/34th Armor, 4th/23rd "Tomahawks")
FSB Crook (*XT055595)
FSB Rawlins I, II, III (*XT298485)(7th/11th FA, 4th/23rd "Tomahawks")
FSB St. Barbara /
"French Fort" (*XT272683) (4th/9th "Manchus")
FSB Washington (*XT146568) (7th/11th FA)
Battalion / Company sized Patrol Bases
PB Rock Crusher (*XT270564) (4th/23rd "Tomahawks" HHQ RECON, 2nd/34th Armor)
PB Hunter (*XT369242 )(4th/23rd Tomahawks)
PB Bragg (*XT343580) (4th/23rd Tomahawks)
* Map reference:
Vietnam 1:50,000
Series L7014
Sheets: 6131 I, II; 6132 II; 6229 I; 6230 I, II, III, IV; 6231 I, II, III, IV; 6232 II, III, IV; 6330 I, II, III, IV; 6331 III
The naming of Fire Support bases in Vietnam, was generally left up to the Artillery Commanders. The names chosen for these bases were in some cases creative, many were recognizable names, places, or historical events. In which case, it didn't take much effort to understand who or what they were named after.
However, the Artillery units of the 25th Infantry Division, named many of their bases after heroic but not so famous Military Commanders from the past. Most are names the average person would never recognize.
In an attempt to clarify these, or at least to answer the question "Where in the hell did that name come from?", the following pages give brief, biographies of a few of the men from history, who's names were placed on our War Zone C, real estate