page_title: Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Navy Base
section_title: Operation Ivory Coast
hierarchical_section_title: Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Navy Base / The USAF at Nakhon Phanom / Major operations involving NKP / Operation Ivory Coast
caption_attribution_description: Son Tay Raid - n 1970 U.S. forces attempted to rescue POWs from captivity in North Vietnam. American officials decided a daring operation in the heart of North Vietnam was worth the risk, and President Richard Nixon asked the Pentagon to explore "some unconventional rescue ideas."
context_page_description: The Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Navy Base, formerly Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, is a Royal Thai Navy facility used for riverine patrols along the Mekong River. It is approximately 587 km northeast of Bangkok, 14.5 km west of Nakhon Phanom city in Nakhon Phanom Province in the northeastern region of Thailand, and 411 km from Hanoi in Vietnam. The Mekong River is NKP's border with Laos. The airfield at NKP is jointly used as a civilian airport.
context_section_description: NKP was one of the staging bases for the failed Sơn Tây prison camp POW rescue mission in November 1970. Its objective was the rescue of approximately 90 American Prisoners of War from the camp. The attempted rescue itself was a failure as the prisoners had been moved some months before.
caption: Son Tay Raiders - 1970
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