TAY NINH - Black Bats - BLACK VIRGIN MOUNTAIN RECON VIETNAM WAR PATCH - 219

Description

UP FOR AUCTION AN ORIGINAL MADE IN COUNTRY VIETNAM WAR PATCH. REFER TO PHOTOS. VERY LITE AGE WEAR -EXCELLENT PATCH. APPROX 3 X 2 1/2 INCHES. FULLY EMBROIDERED - CHEESECLOTH BACKING. 100% ORIGINAL. FOUND AT A SALE OF A MILITARY COLLECTOR. I SHIP USPS 1ST CLASS MAIL. MORE INFO BELOW. THANKS
Patch - Tay Ninh Province, Provincial Recon Unit - Excellent Piece - Operated from Tay Ninh Combat Base, Nui Ba Den through to Cambodian Border - Airborne Special Forces
US Special Forces Trained and commanded. Info on Tay Ninh, Nui Ba Den (Black Virgin Mountain) below.
Nui Ba Den – Black Virgin Mountain and Tay Ninh Combat Base
Black Virgin Mountain (Vietnamese: Núi Bà Đen, Khmer: Phnom Chol Baden) is a mountain in the Tây Ninh Province of Vietnam.
To the Vietnamese the mountain is the center of a myth about Bà Đen, a local deity of Khmer origin.
During the Vietnam War the area around the mountain was very active as the Ho Chi Minh Trail ended a few kilometers west across the Cambodian border.
The Mekong Delta is generally a flat region with the exception of the Black Virgin Mountain. The mountain commands everything in its sight and was therefore a strategic location for both sides during the war.
In May 1964 the mountain top was assaulted by the Special Forces 3rd MIKE Force and the peak was held by American forces as a radio relay station. Due to it’s height Nui Ba Den was able to provide signals to almost all units in South Vietnam and Cambodia and into Laos and North Vietnam.
Supplied by helicopter for much of the war the Americans controlled the top and the Vietcong controlled the bottom and surrounding foothills.
The base was occupied by over 140 Americans when on the night of 13th May 1968 the base was attacked and overrun by the Vietcong. By the morning of the 14
th
of May the Vietcong had been driven off by gunship and artillery fire.
The results of the attack were 24 U.S. killed, 2 U.S. MIA and 25 Vietcong killed.
In January 1969 the mountain was extensively searched by US Special Forces and Ranger Units.
In the tunnels that honeycombed the mountain they found arms caches, and engaged Vietcong units stationed on the mountain. Throughout the war the Vietcong returned to the mountain and its cave bases.
Colonel Donald Cook was the first Marine captured in the Vietnam war. For a time he was held near Black Virgin mountain.
In late 1973 the mountain was closed as an American base and handed over to the South Vietnam Army.
During the closing days of the war when the mountain was abandoned by Army of the Republic of Vietnam troops, the local population left the region afraid of the approaching communist soldiers.
TAY NINH Combat Base
Tây Ninh Combat Base was established approximately 5 km west of the city of Tây Ninh and 12 km from the Vietnam-Cambodia border.
Tây Ninh served as the base for the 196th Light Infantry Brigade from April 1966 until August 1967.
Other US Military units stationed at Tây Ninh included:
o
7th Battalion, 9th Artillery (August 1969 – April 1970)
o
2nd Battalion, 32nd Artillery (April 1967 – October 1969)
o
3rd Battalion, 82nd Artillery (August 1966 – February 1969)
o
1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (March–May 1968, July 1968 – April 1970) comprising:
o
1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment
o
4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment
o
2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment
22nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (April 1968, July 1968 – April 1970) comprising:
o
4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment
o
2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment
o
1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment
o
3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (August 1967 – February 1968, February–April 1970) comprising:
o
1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment
o
2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment
o
3rd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment
o
1st Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment
o
2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment
o
1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry (November 1968 – May 1970) comprising:
o
1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry
o
2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry
o
2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry
o
1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry
o
2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry
o
1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry
o
2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry
o
187th Assault Helicopter Company
o
229th Aviation Battalion
o
588th Engineer Battalion (April 1967 – May 1970)
o
45th Surgical Hospital (October 1966 – October 1970)
The US Air Force 619th Tactical Control Squadron Detachment 7 provided air traffic control from August 1965 until May 1968.
On 21
st
of June 1969 after two days of shelling, the PAVN attacked the base and Tây Ninh City but were repulsed, suffering 194 dead for the loss of 10 Americans.
In April 1970 the base was used as a staging area for U.S. units participating in the Cambodian Campaign for attacks west into the Parrot's Beak and north into the Fish Hook.