Gia Ray
Overview
Gia Ray was the village and fixed-wing airstrip just outside FB Mace, at the eastern foot of Núi Chứa Chan (Relay Mountain) in Long Khánh Province. It was not a firebase but the local air gateway to the Mace area: when D Company, 2/8 Cav had to move in or out in numbers, the men were trucked between Mace and the Gia Ray strip and flown by C-7 Caribou. Jim Garvin called Gia Ray "a typical rural village" and "the road [I] would travel many times."
Location
Gia Ray sits at the foot of Núi Chứa Chan, near present-day Gia Ray town in the Xuân Lộc district area, just outside the former FSB Mace. The archive carries no verified MGRS for the strip itself; the coordinate here is approximate and unverified, anchored to the modern town beside the mountain.
What the deck shows
- 14 December 1970 — a Caribou at the Gia Ray strip during the company's arrival lift (it took several planes to relocate the company), and Gia Ray village from the road.
- 17 March 1971 — D Company being divided and loaded aboard Caribous as each plane came in, for the lift to Vung Tau; and a Cessna O-1 Bird Dog (L-19) liaison/observation aircraft parked on the strip the same day.
Related locations
Gia Ray is inseparable from FSB Mace, the anchor base it served, and sits below Relay Mountain (Núi Chứa Chan), the signal installation on the summit above.
Sources
| Claim | Source | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Gia Ray was the village + airstrip outside Mace, used for C-7 Caribou lifts | Garvin decks (v04_silver, v11_mace) | high |
| 17 Mar 1971 Caribou lift to Vung Tau for stand-down; O-1 Bird Dog on the strip | Garvin deck (v11_mace), slides 9–10 | confirmed |
| Coordinates | Approximate, anchored to modern Gia Ray town | unverified |
Built from Jim Garvin's v11_mace and v04_silver decks. Village and airstrip are kept together under one slug; the mountain of the same name is the separate relay-mountain record.
Open Questions
- [ ] Pin a verified coordinate for the Gia Ray airstrip against operational maps (Texas Tech Vietnam Archive or NARA).
Today: Present-day Gia Ray town (Xuân Lộc district area), at the eastern foot of Núi Chứa Chan, just outside the former FSB Mace.
Gia Ray was not a firebase but the village and fixed-wing airstrip immediately outside FB Mace, at the foot of Núi Chứa Chan (Relay Mountain). Garvin's photos document it on 14 December 1970 (the company's arrival lift, v04_silver) and on 17 March 1971, when D Company was trucked from Mace to the strip and flown by C-7 Caribou to Vung Tau for a stand-down (v11_mace).
