Chu Lai was a United States Marine Corps military base from 1965 to 1970, and a United States Army military base from 1970 to 1971 during the Vietnam War. Roughly southeast of Đà Nẵng, the base had an airfield to supplement the major base at Đà Nẵng. It was not named for any local geographic feature, but rather was named by then Major General Victor Krulak using the Mandarin Chinese characters for his own name. Lieutenant General Victor H. "Brute" Krulak, then the commanding general of Fleet Marine Force, Pacific.