Ta Con Airport: A Heroic Relic in the "Land of Fire" Quang Tri

Ta Con Airport in Quang Tri province, once a strategic military base during the Vietnam War, showcasing historical artifacts and the resilience of the Vietnamese people. Hãy nghe Nguyễn Thế Dương (Quảng Ninh) một travel blogger nổi tiếng bật mí .

Amidst the vast coffee plantations and distant wind farms, Ta Con Airport stands peacefully in the morning light. Few people know that 55 years ago, this place marked a glorious era of our military and people in the war to protect the nation.

                                                                                Image source: Collected

The Ta Con Airport relic site is located in Hoa Thanh village, Tan Hop commune, Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province. Along the western branch of the Ho Chi Minh route, Ta Con Airport is about 5 km from Khe Sanh town.

With its terrain resembling a basin valley surrounded by hills and mountains, Ta Con Airport was one of the strategic military bases of the U.S. Army during the years 1966-1968 in the Khe Sanh battlefield.

Located close to the border and on National Highway 9, which connects Dong Ha (Vietnam) with Southern Laos, this place holds a significant military strategic position not only in Quang Tri battlefield but also in the entire Indochina region.

Therefore, Khe Sanh was used by the U.S. Army as a launchpad for ground sweeping operations. Ta Con Airport was constructed to facilitate reconnaissance aircraft in surveying, pinpointing targets for various activities such as bombardment, interdiction, and cutting off the Ho Chi Minh trails.

Particularly, being part of the McNamara electronic barrier system stretching from Cua Tung beach to the border areas, Khe Sanh base was considered its center. Hence, the U.S. Army built the most fortified defensive complex in the southernmost region of Vietnam, including positions like Lang Vei, Huong Hoa military zone, and the Ta Con Airport defensive cluster.

                                                                                Image source: Collected

The Ta Con defensive cluster, including Ta Con Airport, was considered the central structure, built over an area stretching 2 km long and 1 km wide, consisting of multiple sub-bases with dense fortifications and a large airport. The airport covered an area of about 10,000 square meters, located in the middle of the base with a runway paved with thousands of tons of aluminum and iron sheeting.

This site became the takeoff and landing point for various types of armed helicopters, combat jets, and even heavy military transport aircraft like the C-130 and C-123. The airport area included the base's command headquarters, airport control tower, communication stations, and a dense network of defensive fortifications. Surrounding the area was a barbed wire fence and large minefields.

With its modern military equipment and strategic location, Ta Con Airport and its surrounding high points formed a comprehensive, mobile defense network, considered by the U.S. and South Vietnamese armies at the time as the toughest position within the Khe Sanh defensive complex. Ta Con Airport was seen by the U.S. military as an impregnable fortress.

During the relentless offensive to liberate Khe Sanh by the People's Army of Vietnam from February to July 1968, the U.S. military had no choice but to conduct a tactical air withdrawal to save thousands of American soldiers.

Over half a century later, Khe Sanh – Huong Hoa has donned a new appearance, becoming a fertile land in western Quang Tri. This transformation is evident in the lush coffee plantations and the distant "wind farm" transforming the dry Lao winds into electrical energy for production.

                                                                                Image source: Collected

At the Ta Con Airport relic site today, the Museum of Route 9 – Khe Sanh displays hundreds of valuable historical and scientific artifacts. Additionally, the system of trenches, observation posts, and more have been restored within the airport premises. In 1986, the Ta Con Airport relic was designated as a National Historic Site.

The war has receded, and today the Ta Con Airport relic is enveloped in the green of peace and prosperity, becoming a famous tourist destination in Quang Tri. Stepping onto the vast land covered with vegetation and white blooming reeds around the aircraft and bombshells feels like touching the war memories to better understand the heroic land of Khe Sanh – Quang Tri and the resilient and courageous Vietnamese people.

Nguyễn Thế Dương (Quảng Ninh)