The Battle of Firebase Pauley was a battle of the Vietnam War that was fought between the US Army and the Viet Cong on 5 July 1967 at Firebase Pauley in the Mekong Delta.
Elements of the American 9th Infantry Division were deployed to My Tho support the ARVN 7th Division in holding the Mekong Delta region, which was menaced by five Viet Cong main-force battalions. One detachment of US Army troops established a firebase at a strategic point along the Mekong River, naming it for PFC Alister Pauley, who had been killed in action on 12 January 1967.
On 5 July 1967, a full-strength Viet Cong battalion launched a surprise attack on Firebase Pauley, which was manned by 400 9th Infantry Division soldiers. The Viet Cong charged across the river to assault the American trenches, initially reaching the American front line before the Americans forced them back. The Americans made use of their machine-gun positions to repel the VC attackers, although Viet Cong snipers and RPG-wielding soldiers picked off American machine-gunners to allow for successive waves of Viet Cong guerrillas to reach the American first line. The Americans took heavy losses, but they were eventually able to stabilize their line with help from napalm strikes and aerial bombardment. Over 400 Viet Cong guerrillas were killed during the fighting, and American patrols were promptly dispatched to clear the area of VC holdouts. A final napalm strike killed the last of the Viet Cong stragglers, ending the Viet Cong attack on the base.
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