FIRE SUPPORT PATROL BASE TAN TRU (CAMP SCOTT)
2/60 Infantry Battalion Headquarters
Ap Tan Thanh (Tan Tru) - Long An Province - III CTZ

3RD BRIGADE GUIDON

HOLD CURSOR ON THUMBNAIL FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
9TH INFANTRY DIVISION RECRUITMENT SIGN AT TAN TRU   TAN TRU MAP CIRCA 1970

 

  
In one of those not so uncommon anomalies associated with the Vietnam War, the 2/60 Infantry Battalion headquarters base at Tan Tru was actually located over a mile southwest in the village of Ap Tan Thanh. Named Camp Scott, it was in the northwest quadrant of an intersection formed by a sharp bend in Communal Route 225 at its junction with two side roads. The base derived its locale name by virtue of its having been in an area the Vietnamese called Tan Tru.
 
The RE-UP sign at Camp Scott was worth a chuckle from this AUS (Army of the United States - designation for draftee). It was a highly visible advertisement attached to the side of a building. I can't recall a similar sign being as well done, obvious, or permanent.
 CAMP SCOTT POW FACILITY IN BACKGROUND    BATTALION "RE-UP" SIGN ON DISTANT BUILDING    9th ID BAND BASS DRUM   VILLAGE OF AP TAN THANH    CIVILIAN LABORERS AT WORK ON CAMP SCOTT'S PERIMETER   9th ID BAND WAITING FOR HELIOPTER PICKUP AT BATTALION HQ  CIVILIAN LABORERS RESTING BY CHAPLIN'S OFFICE A LOCAL BUSINESSMAN WORKS AT CAMP SCOTT

On June 24, 1969, the 9th Infantry Division Band played a concert for the 2/60 Infantry in a small courtyard at their battalion HQ area, which had been located in a pre-existing building off of the courtyard. The courtyard appeared to have been the center of military social life at the camp and included a movie screen, bleachers, and a basketball court. The band had been at Tan Tru a month earlier on May 22, 1969, to perform at a change of battalion command ceremony when LTC Fred K. Mahaffey took command from LTC James J. Lindsay.

  
Camp Scott received its name in honor of 2/60 Infantry Lieutenant James Howard Scott who had been KIA on February 5, 1967. The base was situated a short distance from the north bank of Vam Co Tay (river). Strung barbed wire and a row of sand filled, 55-gallon, steel drums were all that separated the village of Ap Tan Thanh from Camp Scott along its east perimeter. There was no earthen berm.
  

The base occupied a fairly inaccessible, low-lying, and remote area approximately seven miles southeast of 3rd Brigade HQ at Tan An. All of the roads that led into the Tan Tru area were hard pack secondary roads subject to weather conditions, booby traps, and ambushes. The 2/60 Infantry Battalion spent 1,388 days (22 DEC 66 - 12 OCT 70) in Vietnam and suffered the Division's greatest number of fatalities (310 KIA).
  REPAIRING MORTAR DAMAGE AT OFFICER'S CLUB    INSIDE CAMP SCOTT   INSIDE CAMP SCOTT FROM BATTALION HQ AREA   TRUCK DRIVER'S HOOTCH ALONGSIDE TOWER    SELF-PROPELLED M-109 FROM BATTERY A, 1/84 ARTILLERY, AT CAMP SCOTT 22 MAY 69  

Judging by the quantity of battle damage to unfortified structures at Camp Scott, the 2/60 Infantry had its share of excitement. Just about all of the buildings had roof patches or tarps slung across mortar penetration holes. Many of the wooden buildings were elevated on sand-filled, 55-gallon, steel drums to keep them high and dry during monsoon season. C Battery of the 2/4 Artillery was emplaced along the west perimeter.

   
         
 

INDICATED MONTHS OF COMMAND ARE APPROXIMATE

  
  2/60 INFANTRY BATTALION COMMANDERS  
  DEC 1966 - APR 1967   LTC Angus M. Munday  
  APR 1968 - NOV 1967   LTC Richard Zastrow  
  NOV 1967 - DEC 1967   LTC William S. Hinton WIA*  
 

DEC 1967 - MAY 1968

   LTC John B. Keeley  
 

MAY 1968 - DEC 1968

   LTC James J. Lindsay  
  DEC 1968 - MAY 1969   LTC Fred K. Mahaffey  
  MAY 1969 - unknown   LTC Gregory T. Dillon  
 

unknown

        unknown  
 

unknown

        unknown  
      *December 24, 1967 (information provided by COL  John B. Keeley)  

Background Sound: "In the Midnight Hour" - Wilson Pickett 1965                              RETURN TO VIETNAM TOUR 365