Located in North Central Vietnam, Quang Tri Province is surrounded by Quang Binh Province on the north, Thua Thien-Hue Province on the south, Savannakhet Province of Laos on the west, and the East Sea on the east, with 75km of coastline.
The province was split in 1954 by the 17th Parallel, a temporary line of demarcation between the northern and southern parts of Vietnam, pending national elections scheduled in 1956 as called for by the Geneva Agreements. However, the elections were cancelled by the South. As the U.S. began to pour troops and supplies into the South, Quang Tri Province and the Demilitarized Zone (or DMZ) soon became the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the war.
Quang Tri Province was the site of many of the most devastating battles of the American war, from 1966 to the end of the war in 1975. The province was also subjected to one of the heaviest bombing campaigns in the history of the world. The amount of munitions poured onto the landscape and villages of Quang Tri totaled more than all the ordnance used in Europe during World War II. |
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Some geographic points whose names became famous during the war include the La Vang Church, Quang Tri Citadel, Ai Tu Base and Airfield, Camp Carroll, The Rockpile, Dakrong Bridge, Khe Sanh Marine Combat Base, Lang Vay Special Forces Camp, Con Tien Firebase, McNamara Line, Doc Mieu Base, Ho Chi Minh Trail, the DMZ, Hien Luong Bridge, Ben Hai River, and the Vinh Moc Tunnels.
Currently, the Province People’s Committee has authorized Project RENEW to carry out mine action operations in the three districts of Hai Lang, Trieu Phong, and Cam Lo.
A community-based RE system has been established in partnership with the district Youth Union organisations to raise awareness of the local people about the UXO risk and to encourage them to change their behaviour, to take care to remain safe. After successful implementation in Hai Lang and Trieu Phong, an integrated RE program in support of EOD operations has been expanded into Cam Lo District, where a RENEW mobile EOD quick response team has been operating since June 2008. Other clearance operations are being conducted in Trieu Trach Commune of Trieu Phong District, and at the Vung Ha riverside site in Quang Tri Town. |
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