FSB Silver
| Occupancy | Element | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 1970 – 28 Jan 1971 YT 829 043 |
D Co, 2/8 Cav (Range Platoon)confirmed | Jim Garvin photo deck (v04_silver) Garvin's Range Platoon rotated between the field and FSB Silver from mid-November 1970. The base mounted 105mm howitzers and mortars; hooches were 6-ft culvert half-sections under two layers of sandbags. Resupply and troop movement ran through FB Mace and the Gia Ray airstrip (C-7 Caribou). The base was dismantled and relocated to FSB Fontaine, 26-28 Jan 1971. |
Overview
FSB Silver was a 1st Cavalry Division fire support base on the Long Khanh / Binh Tuy provincial border (Military Region 3, III Corps), held by D Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry through the winter of 1970-71. It is documented in depth by Jim Garvin's photo deck -- Garvin served in Range Platoon ("Range 1," later Range 3), and his Silver chapter runs from his arrival on the firebase on 12 November 1970 to the base's teardown at the end of January 1971.
The base was the predecessor to FSB Fontaine: on 26-28 January 1971 the battalion dismantled Silver and moved it to Fontaine, the men working through the night and rousted at 04:00 on the 28th to tear down the fighting positions by aerial flare. (FSB Fontaine's own gazetteer occupancy begins 28 January 1971 -- the two dovetail exactly.) Garvin's note that "FSB Fontaine, which came after Silver" is corroborated here from the Silver side.
What the deck shows
- The firebase itself -- aerial views captioned "2nd & the 8th Cav. Fire Support Base Silver," the interior with US and RVN flags on the radio antenna mast and a mortar aiming stake, grunt "hooches" (6-ft culvert half-sections under two sandbag layers), a Christmas tree (December 1970), a backhoe slung out by Chinook, and the nightly "18:00 Fire in the Hole" perimeter-clearing demolitions.
- Logistics chain -- movement through FB Mace and the Gia Ray airstrip by C-7 Caribou; Gia Ray village; FB Bolden on Highway 36.
- People -- the battalion commander (nicknamed "Chuck Chuck"), company commander Captain Bedsole, platoon sergeant SSG Stanley Dillon (E6), medic "Doc" Crawshaw, point man Gary Collins ("Indian"), and many Range Platoon troopers (see the deck's per-slide captions).
- The teardown and move to Fontaine (26-28 Jan 1971) and a firefight on 2 February 1971 just after, in which Garvin's M-60 jammed and Sgt Joe Smith had a thumb shot off.
Built from Jim Garvin's FSB Silver deck (v04_silver), following the FSB Fontaine pattern. Photos, accounts, and new soldier profiles from this deck are being added; this overview will expand as they land.
Today: Rolling lowland brush near the Long Khanh / Binh Tuy border; site was visible from the Relay Mountain (Gia Ray) summit on a clear day.
D Co, 2/8 Cav (Range Platoon) occupied FSB Silver through the winter of 1970-71. Jim Garvin's deck dates his Silver chapter 4 Nov 1970 - 6 Feb 1971; he arrived on the firebase 12 Nov 1970. The battalion tore the base down and moved it to FSB Fontaine on 26-28 January 1971 (Garvin worked the teardown by flarelight, 04:00 on 28 Jan). Coordinate YT 829 043 is Gemini-sourced and NOT yet verified against a primary source.
