Ia Drang valley tour/Vietnam Central highlands battlefield tours.
This tour covers significant military installations in the II Corps in Central Highlands and famous battle sites of Vietnam War including Ia Drang valley, Dak To, hill 875, Ben Het….This is a must-do tour for Vietnam War history buffs who would not only have chance to leave footsteps on popular battle sites like LZ X-Ray, LZ Albany, Hill 875 but also dig up some hidden former American Special Forces camps like Kham Duc, Ben Het, Pleime….as well as learn more the culture of the montagnards ( hill-tribes) in Central Highlands of Vietnam.
Ia Drang Valley tour/Vietnam Central highlands battlefield tours.
Ia Drang valley tour/ Vietnam Central Highlands battlefield tours Day 1: Da Nang – Kon Tum: 310km ( lunch ) We meet you up from your hotel in Da Nang at 8.00am then head west along the Ho Chi Minh route to Kon Tum. Today we would dig up some significant U.S Army Special Forces
Hill 875 in Dak To
Camps along the way including Kham Duc Speical Forces campwhich was attacked by the North Vietnamese Army ( NVA ) in May 1968 where the U.S sufferred some 200 casualties in a three day battle, Ngock Tavak, a hill outpost, some 7 km southwest of Kham Duc, overrun by the NVA during the battle of Kham Duc, and Dak Pek Special Forces Camp where we hike up one of the surrounding hill outposts for a scenic view of the valley where the camp was. Then, head toDak Saeng Special Foces Camp where the U.S lost three C-7A Caribou aircrafts & two helicopters with 13 crewmen during the battle of Dak Saeng in April 1970. We continue to Ben Het Special Forces Camp, a large CIDG ( Civilian Irregular Defense Group ) camp located at the tri-border area between Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia where the first tank battle of Vietnam War took place in early March 1969. And the last stop of the day is Dak To combat base which was attacked twice, the earlier one was in November 1967 as a diversion in the lead up to the Tet Offensive in early 1968, and the later one was in the East Offensive in April 1972.
We arrive in Kon Tum city in the evevning.
Stay overnight in Kon Tum. Day 2: Kon Tum – Pleiku ( Ia Drang valley ): 200km ( lunch )Ia Drang battle mapWe keep driving south on the Ho Chi Minh route to Ia Drang valley. En route, stop off atJohn Paul Vann's death site. John P. Vann ( depicted in the book A Bright Shining Lie of Neil Sheehan ) was the senior advisor in II Corps during the 1972 East Offensive and he got killed in a helicopter crash just after the East Offensive in early June 1972. Then continue to Ia Drang Valley, we would have a quick visit to Camp Cateckaor Camp Stadium, home of the 3rd Brigade’s Colonel Thomas Brown
LZ X-Ray today
then drive all the way to Ia Drangvalley near the Cambodian border where the first major engagement between the U.S Army 1st Air Cavalry Division and the North Vietnamese Army forces in November 1965. This is the battle that changed the war in Vietnam because both sides tested each other’s combat tactics and capabilities, which help determine the way future Vietnam War battles unfold ( the first large –scale helicopter air assaul and B-52 airstrikes practice to the U.S, and the close-quarters combat tactic test to the North Vietnamese Army ).LZ AlbanyWe are strolling around theLZ X-Ray where 1/7 Cavalry had bloody hand to hand fighting in a fiece three day day battle and sufferred 80 men killed just to hold this small clearing spot. Then, move to LZ Albany, about 4 km away from LZ X-Ray where 155 men from 2/7 Cavalry got killed in a North Vietnamese ambush when they walked from LZ X-Ray to LZ Albany, making it the deadliest single-day battle in the Vietnam War. Then we would leave the Ia Drang Valley for Plei Me Special Forces Camp, which is some 30 km away. Plei Me servered as a forward operating basse camp of the 7th Calvary and it was under the siege of the NVA forces during October 1965.
Stay overnight in Pleiku. Day 3: Pleiku – Quy Nhon: 190km ( lunch ) We start our day with a visit to the site Camp Enary near Pleiku city, the headquarters ofCamp Radcliff airstrip the US. Army 4th Infantry Division. Then head east on colonial route 19 to the coast. En-route, we have a brief stop for photos at LZ Action of the 17th Artillery on Mang Yang Pass, a tanker firebase proving fire support and protecting the U.S supply convoy on route 19. Then, we will take the same route that the French Group Mobile 100 Regiment was ambushed by Viet Minh forces from 19 to 25 of June 1954. The ambush and subsequent destruction of Group Mobile 100 was the last engagement in the French-Indochina War. We will visit the Viet Minh 96th Regiment Victory Monument at Dak Po district where the starting point of the ambush was. The day ends up with a visit to the site of Camp Radcliff or also known as Golf Course, the home to the 1st Air Cavalry Division at An Khe district.
We arrive in Quy Nhon city in the afternoon. End of the trip.
Ia Drang valley tour/ Vietnam Central Highlands battlefield tours Price: Please contact for the quote
Included features:
• Private transfer ( 7 seater SUV cars or 15 seater minivans )
• 3 star hotel accommodation based on twin/double sharing
• English speaking guide.
• Lunches dedicated in the itinerary
• Entrance & permit fees for all sites. Excluded features:
• Dinners
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