FSB Judy
| Occupancy | Element | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Jun 1971 – 4 Jun 1971 YT 662 042 |
D Co, 2/8 Cavhigh | Jim Garvin photo deck (v06_fanning) + McGrew field calendar ("CA to FB Julie", 4 Jun 71) Range Platoon at Judy: Garvin's platoon logged (resupplied) here on 4 June 1971 (two frames -- a 155mm howitzer and its ammo storage); McGrew's calendar records the same as "CA to FB Julie" on 4 Jun. Platoon-level dating; the battalion-level gazetteer window is the row below. |
| 30 Jun 1971 – 1 Aug 1971 YT 662 042 |
D Co, 2/8 Cavconfirmed | Firebase gazetteer (refs 377, 394) Documented 2/8 Cav occupancy of FB Judy (YT662042) per the firebase gazetteer. |
Overview
FSB Judy was a fire support base in the Long Khanh / Binh Tuy area (Military Region 3, III Corps), "down the road from Fanning" in Jim Garvin's words. D Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry logged at Judy on 4 June 1971 -- the date on Garvin's two photographs of the base. Unlike Fanning and King, which carried 105mm howitzers, Judy mounted 155mm howitzers, a heavier piece.
What the deck shows
- A 155mm howitzer at Judy.
- The 155mm ammunition storage on the base.
Dates & naming
The firebase gazetteer fixes FB Judy at YT662042 and logs 2/8 Cav there 30 June – 1 August 1971 — a battalion-level window. Garvin's deck and McGrew's field calendar both put Range Platoon at the base on 4 June 1971 (Garvin's platoon logged there; McGrew recorded "CA to FB Julie"). Platoon and battalion dates are expected to diverge — individual platoons moved on their own schedules — so the 4 Jun platoon date and the 30 Jun – 1 Aug battalion window are not in conflict. On the name: because the gazetteer carries no "Julie" entry and names this position Judy, Judy is taken as the accurate name and "Julie" as a calendar mis-transcription.
Operation Overlord staging (June 1971)
The 4 June 1971 occupation falls one day before Operation Overlord's D-Day (5 June 1971, the date Howard McGrew's calendar records as "build FSB Hall"). That timing, together with Judy's 155mm howitzers — heavier than the 105mm pieces at Fanning and King — strongly suggests Judy was a staging and artillery pre-positioning step for Operation Overlord, not a routine platoon resupply: D Company combat-assaulted to Judy on the eve of the operation, and its heavy guns could range the AO Gold blocking area alongside the newly built FSB Hall. This reframes the 4 June platoon date as deliberate pre-operation staging — distinct from, and helping explain the gap to, the 30 June – 1 August battalion window. Treated here as a strong inference from the converging dates (McGrew calendar + the 1 ATF Overlord account), not yet a documented operational fact.
Col Peter Scott's Overlord order of battle (Call to Remembrance, 2021) names a single US 155mm battery in support — Battery C, 5th Battalion, 42nd Artillery — which would tie Judy's heavy guns and the newly built FSB Hall to the same US artillery unit backing the operation. (See the Operation Overlord event page and the FSB Hall research note.)
Sources
| Claim | Source | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Coordinate YT662042 (10.8868, 107.4313) | Firebase gazetteer, refs 377/394 | confirmed |
| 2/8 Cav at Judy 30 Jun – 1 Aug 71 | Firebase gazetteer, refs 377/394 | confirmed |
| Log/visit 4 Jun 71; 155mm howitzers | Garvin deck (v06_fanning) + McGrew calendar | high |
| Name "Judy" (not McGrew's "Julie") | Firebase gazetteer (no "Julie" entry) | confirmed |
| 4 Jun 71 occupation = eve of Op Overlord D-Day (5 Jun); likely artillery staging | McGrew calendar + 1 ATF Overlord account | inference |
Open Questions
- [ ] Pin Range Platoon's own window at Judy. The 4 Jun platoon date now reads as Operation Overlord staging (eve of the 5 Jun D-Day), which largely explains the gap to the 30 Jun – 1 Aug battalion window; a 2/8 daily journal would still confirm whether Judy was occupied continuously through June or only for the operation's opening.
- [ ] Establish who or what the base was named for.
Today: West of FSB Fanning, "down the road" in Garvin's words.
The firebase gazetteer (refs 377/394) lists FB Judy at YT662042, occupied by 2/8 Cav 30 Jun - 1 Aug 1971 -- a battalion-level window. Garvin's two Judy photos are dated 4 June 1971 and McGrew's field calendar records a "CA to FB Julie" on 4 Jun; both record Range Platoon's own movements. Because individual platoons occupied and left bases on their own schedules, the platoon-level dates (Garvin/McGrew, 4 Jun) and the battalion-level gazetteer window (30 Jun - 1 Aug) are expected to differ rather than conflict. Notably, the 4 Jun occupation falls one day before Operation Overlord's D-Day (5 Jun 1971, "build FSB Hall" on McGrew's calendar), which strongly suggests Judy -- a 155mm heavy-artillery base -- was a staging / fire-support pre-positioning step for that operation rather than a routine resupply. NAMING: McGrew transcribed the base as "Julie," but the gazetteer carries no "Julie" entry and lists this position as "Judy" -- so Judy is taken as the accurate name and "Julie" as a calendar mis-transcription. The base mounted 155mm howitzers, heavier than the 105mm pieces at Fanning and King.
