LZ Betty
LZ Betty
LZ Betty was a 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry position in Quang Tri Province, I Corps — described only as being "to the west of Quang Tri." No grid coordinate has been found in any source reviewed so far.
Research stub. Two independent references place the battalion here, five months apart. Neither gives a grid. The name itself is disputed for the earlier of the two.
What is known
On the night of March 15, 1968, LZ Betty was the site of the mortar and rocket attack that killed LTC Howard Petty, commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry — see that event for the full account. A separate Wall of Faces source names the position LZ Sharon instead; the most likely explanation, per the event page, is that the Sharon reference describes a subordinate company's own position rather than the battalion command post.
Three months later, the D/2-8 Cav company daily journal (the "Skipper Journal," a veteran transcription covering 3 June-3 July 1968) independently uses the name LZ Betty with no ambiguity, recording the company on base defense there during an untranscribed gap from June 10 to June 18, 1968, before moving on to LZ Pedro. This second, unambiguous use of the name is a small point in favor of "Betty" being correct rather than "Sharon" — but it does not resolve the dispute, and no grid is given either time.
Next source needed
The 2/8 Cav daily staff journal (NARA RG 472, March and June 1968) is the outstanding primary source — it should settle both the name dispute and the position's actual grid coordinates.
Today: Described only as "to the west of Quang Tri" (Eager Arms Bravo Company history). No grid coordinate has been found in any source reviewed so far.
Two independent D/2-8 Cav references place the battalion here five months apart: the Eager Arms Bravo Company history for the March 15, 1968 mortar attack that killed LTC Howard Petty, and the D/2-8 company daily journal (Skipper Journal), which records the company on base defense at LZ Betty during an untranscribed 10-18 June 1968 gap, then moving on to LZ Pedro. The journal gives no grid for LZ Betty itself. No source yet establishes when the position was opened or closed.