Ben Het SF Camp
The Ben Het SF camp was located about 15km west of Dak To airfield. 11km further west is the Cambodian border.
For a large topo map showing these SF camp locations, Click Here.
Or, use the map found on the Airfield Landmarks page.
Norm Spalding has many photos of Ben Het in his collection of photos. He also describes the battle here on his page for "The 2nd Indochina War".
Here are other photos I found on the internet. I've tried to note the source when able.
For much more information, do a web search on "Ben Het". You'll find other photos and interesting stories.
For a large topo map showing these SF camp locations, Click Here.
Or, use the map found on the Airfield Landmarks page.
Norm Spalding has many photos of Ben Het in his collection of photos. He also describes the battle here on his page for "The 2nd Indochina War".
Here are other photos I found on the internet. I've tried to note the source when able.
For much more information, do a web search on "Ben Het". You'll find other photos and interesting stories.
Here is a description of Ben Het, found on a Google map that is listed on the Links page.
Map Information:
Vietnam WAR - FOR THE ONE'S WHO FOUGHT IT
SPECIAL THANKS TO BILL KINDRED AND Sgt Snuffy Smith for their help advice and guidance
LET'S PUT YOUR STAR and your story and your words on this STORY MAP
THIS IS FOR YOU WHO SERVED Vietnam War 1958 to 1975 and it is growing every day (I have just been given 266 pages of research and bases events and major battle locations)
I DID the first 600 or so ....the rest is sourced to Bill Kindred and Don SNUFFY Smith
THIS IS A PROJECT OF LOVE and HEALING
IT IS A WORK IN PROGRESS
given in gratitude ......for you all and what you have given us
I would be honored to add your story or info and STAR
~ daniel betts 2017
PLEASE EMAIL ME bettsgeospatial@gmail.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
name: LZ BLACKHAWK AT Ben Het
description:
1966-71
The 5th Special Forces Group Detachment A-244 first established a base at Ben Het in the early 1960s to monitor communist infiltration along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The base was located approximately 13 km from the Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia tri-border area, 15 km northwest of Đắk Tô and 53 km northwest of Kon Tum.
One of two PT-76s from the PAVN 202nd Armored Regiment, destroyed by US M48 Pattons, from the 1/69th Armored battalion, during the battle of Ben Het, March 3, 1969, Vietnam
On 3 March 1969, Ben Het was attacked by the PAVN 66th Regiment, supported by armored vehicles of the 4th Battalion, 202nd Armored Regiment. One of the attacking PT-76s detonated a land mine, which alerted the camp and lit up the other PT-76s attacking the base. Flares were sent up, exposing adversary tanks, but sighting in on muzzle flashes, one PT-76 scored a direct hit on the turret of an M-48 of the 1st Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, killing two crewmen and wounding two more. Another M-48, using the same technique, destroyed a PT-76 with their second shot. At daybreak, the battlefield revealed the wreckage of two PT-76s and one BTR-50 armored personnel carrier.
The PAVN 28th and 66th Regiments continued to besiege the base from May to June 1969.
On 24 May 1969 the PAVN ambushed the 212th Company of the 1st Mobile Strike Force Battalion near Ben Het. Warrant Officer Class Two Keith Payne of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions that day.
Other units stationed at Ben Het included:
6th Battalion, 14th Artillery
1972-3
Following the departure of the U.S. forces, the base was used by the ARVN 85th Border Rangers.
Since January 1972 it had become clear that the North Vietnamese were building up for offensive operations in the tri-border region. ARVN forces had been deployed forward toward the border in order to slow the PAVN advance and allow the application of airpower to deplete North Vietnamese manpower and logistics. To counter the possible threat from the west, two regiments of the 22nd Division were deployed to Tân Cảnh and Đắk Tô and the 1st Squadron, 19th Armored Cavalry Regiment equipped with M41 tanks was deployed to Ben Het. On 24 April, the 2nd PAVN Division, elements of the 203rd Tank Regiment, and several independent regiments of the B-3 Front attacked Tân Cảnh and Đắk Tô, rapidly overrunning both bases with their T-54 tanks. On 9 May 1972, elements of the PAVN 203rd Armored Regiment assaulted Ben Het. ARVN Rangers destroyed the first three PT-76 tanks with BGM-71 TOW missiles, thereby breaking up the attack. The Rangers spent the rest of the day stabilizing the perimeter, ultimately destroying 11 tanks and killing over 100 PAVN
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are more photos of Ben Het: Click Here
Map Information:
Vietnam WAR - FOR THE ONE'S WHO FOUGHT IT
SPECIAL THANKS TO BILL KINDRED AND Sgt Snuffy Smith for their help advice and guidance
LET'S PUT YOUR STAR and your story and your words on this STORY MAP
THIS IS FOR YOU WHO SERVED Vietnam War 1958 to 1975 and it is growing every day (I have just been given 266 pages of research and bases events and major battle locations)
I DID the first 600 or so ....the rest is sourced to Bill Kindred and Don SNUFFY Smith
THIS IS A PROJECT OF LOVE and HEALING
IT IS A WORK IN PROGRESS
given in gratitude ......for you all and what you have given us
I would be honored to add your story or info and STAR
~ daniel betts 2017
PLEASE EMAIL ME bettsgeospatial@gmail.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
name: LZ BLACKHAWK AT Ben Het
description:
1966-71
The 5th Special Forces Group Detachment A-244 first established a base at Ben Het in the early 1960s to monitor communist infiltration along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The base was located approximately 13 km from the Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia tri-border area, 15 km northwest of Đắk Tô and 53 km northwest of Kon Tum.
One of two PT-76s from the PAVN 202nd Armored Regiment, destroyed by US M48 Pattons, from the 1/69th Armored battalion, during the battle of Ben Het, March 3, 1969, Vietnam
On 3 March 1969, Ben Het was attacked by the PAVN 66th Regiment, supported by armored vehicles of the 4th Battalion, 202nd Armored Regiment. One of the attacking PT-76s detonated a land mine, which alerted the camp and lit up the other PT-76s attacking the base. Flares were sent up, exposing adversary tanks, but sighting in on muzzle flashes, one PT-76 scored a direct hit on the turret of an M-48 of the 1st Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, killing two crewmen and wounding two more. Another M-48, using the same technique, destroyed a PT-76 with their second shot. At daybreak, the battlefield revealed the wreckage of two PT-76s and one BTR-50 armored personnel carrier.
The PAVN 28th and 66th Regiments continued to besiege the base from May to June 1969.
On 24 May 1969 the PAVN ambushed the 212th Company of the 1st Mobile Strike Force Battalion near Ben Het. Warrant Officer Class Two Keith Payne of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions that day.
Other units stationed at Ben Het included:
6th Battalion, 14th Artillery
1972-3
Following the departure of the U.S. forces, the base was used by the ARVN 85th Border Rangers.
Since January 1972 it had become clear that the North Vietnamese were building up for offensive operations in the tri-border region. ARVN forces had been deployed forward toward the border in order to slow the PAVN advance and allow the application of airpower to deplete North Vietnamese manpower and logistics. To counter the possible threat from the west, two regiments of the 22nd Division were deployed to Tân Cảnh and Đắk Tô and the 1st Squadron, 19th Armored Cavalry Regiment equipped with M41 tanks was deployed to Ben Het. On 24 April, the 2nd PAVN Division, elements of the 203rd Tank Regiment, and several independent regiments of the B-3 Front attacked Tân Cảnh and Đắk Tô, rapidly overrunning both bases with their T-54 tanks. On 9 May 1972, elements of the PAVN 203rd Armored Regiment assaulted Ben Het. ARVN Rangers destroyed the first three PT-76 tanks with BGM-71 TOW missiles, thereby breaking up the attack. The Rangers spent the rest of the day stabilizing the perimeter, ultimately destroying 11 tanks and killing over 100 PAVN
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are more photos of Ben Het: Click Here
Here is a description of the Battle of Ben Het, in May, 1972, by Mark Truhan Click Here