U.S. Naval Support Base Activity Detachment Sa Dec (1966-1971)

Located on the south bank of the Mekong River in the center of the Republic of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, Sa Dec was the site of a forward combat base during the Vietnam War. A ten boat section of River Division 52 first deployed there during the summer of 1966 as part of the Game Warden operation, which sought to interdict enemy logistic traffic on the larger rivers.

Naval leaders chose Sa Dec as a staging area because the city lay astride the key waterway of the area and was accessible to logistic support vessels steaming upriver from the South China Sea. In addition, a Vietnamese Army compound there contained adequate facilities, including a boat yard and a small marine railway for the intermediate-level repair of river patrol craft.

A detachment of Naval Support Activity, Saigon provided the combat unit with logistic support and oversaw base development, including the installation of a pontoon pier. Fuel storage bladder, and a boat ramp. The naval facility at Sa Dec was turned over to the Vietnamese Navy as part of the Vietnamization program in April 1971.