Military Vehicles Magazine • OCTOBER 2019 65
THE A SHAU VALLEY
Located in western Thua Thien province, the narrow 25-mile
long A Shau Valley was one a major strategic focal points dur-
ing the Vietnam War. The valley was an arm of the Ho Chi Minh
Trail the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) used to funnel troops
and supplies toward Hué and Danang.
A major NVA staging area known as Base Area 611 was
located at the the north end of the valley. Because of its strategic
value in the North Vietnamese plan for victory, the A Shau
became a major battle ground from the earliest days of the
American involvement in South Vietnam.
Laos and the old capital city of Hue has been described as a com-
plex of smaller valleys. For many years, it remained largely un-
contested. North Vietnam Army (NVA) regulars and Viet Cong
(VC) used it as a safe area for training and as a resupply route.
In 1968, US forces undertook large scale operations to dis-
lodge the NVA and VC from the Valley. As a component of
those operations, Highway Route 547 was constructed and im-
proved into the Valley, In addition, a series of fi rebases were
established.
Elements of the 591st Engineer Company (Light Equipment)
of the 27th Engineer Battalion (Combat) were assigned to the
mission to construct Firebase Blaze. My brother, Sp4 David
Flinn, was a D7 dozer operator and welder for the 591st during
this operation. The photos and descriptions included herein all
came from Dave.
DAVE’S RECOLLECTIONS OF FIREBASE BLAZE
Early on, the mountains in the vicinity of what was to become
FSB Blaze received heavy applications of defoliant (“agent or-
ange”). The location of FSB Blaze was on a mountain top for
extended visibility and clearance for the artillery. It reached be-