"Why did I deserve to live? The largely [North Vietnamese Army] units we ran into, they were interested in staying and fighting.. In the first major engagement of the war between regular U.S. and North Vietnamese forces, elements of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) fight a pitched battle with Communist main . ROBINSON, Edward Charles, fifty-five, Huey pilot at LZ X-Ray, served a second combat tour in Vietnam. He says he did a lot of praying during the Persian Gulf War, when his son, his brother, and his old friend Galloway were all on the battlefield. As a student, she worked in a variety of research positions, including as an archivist. BARKER, Robert L., fifty-five, artillery-battery commander in LZ Falcon, served a second tour in Vietnam with the 1st Cavalry Division in 1969-1970 and later served a third combat tour. "I thought I was dying and laid there waiting for death to come. Mississippi, He spent eighteen months in Army hospitals, and was retired, disabled, in June 1975. WALLENIUS, Jon, forty-nine, mortar observer, Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry in LZ X-Ray and LZ Albany, got out of the Army in August 1966. OUELLETTE, Robert, fifty, battalion commanders radio operator in LZ X-Ray, left the Army in August 1966. Crandall won the first Helicopter Heroism Award of the Aviation/Space Writers Association, for two daring nighttime landings under fire to rescue twelve badly wounded troopers from Captain Tony Nadals Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav in Operation Masher-White Wing in January 1966. "The XO let out a low moan, and his head sank. As the command ship touched down, other NVA soldiers opened up; Myron Diduryk was struck in the stomach in the doorway of the chopper. KENNEDY, Glenn F., first sergeant, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, was killed in action on May 6, 1966, during Operation Davy Crockett in the Bong Son plain. PARISH, Willard, fifty-one, mortarman in Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, who won the Silver Star for his work as a machine gunner in LZ X-Ray, was among the draftees who rotated home in December 1965 for discharge. His lieutenants bars were pinned on by General James Van Fleet and, at Freemans request, his first assignment was as commander of Bravo Company. He now lives in Dublin, New Hampshire, and works for a firm that sells office supplies. Galen Bungum, left, and Joe F. Mackey, two of the unhurt survivors of Lt. Henry Herrick's Lost Platoon. The Battle of Ia Drang was the first major battle of Vietnam fought on the dates of November 14-18, 1965. He returned to serve two more tours in Vietnamone with the Special Forces, one with an intelligence agency. They have three children, daughters Abigail and Alison and a son, Thomas Alexander. He retired a colonel in December 1981, after twenty-four years service. The battle at the landing zone X-RAY (LZ X-RAY) in the Ia Drang River Valley occurred from 14 November to 16 November 1965. BEAN, Roger, fifty-two, Huey pilot who was wounded in LZ X-Ray, was wounded again in early 1966 in the Bong Son campaign. The airstrike broke the North Vietnamese siege and enabled reinforcements to reach the LZ. Don Cornett had a wife and a son, a mother and a father and two sisters. Dillon is a scratch golfer who does his best to get in eighteen holes every day, even if it means a drive downslope to find a course that isnt closed on account of snow in the Colorado winter. Forces, was Time magazines Man of the Year. In the same way, the story of his experiences at LZ Albany is a story that could be told by the nearly 400 Troopers of 2/7 Cav who fought and died at LZ Albany, or the 1/7 Cav Troopers at LZ X-ray or the more than 2.6 million US personnel who served in Vietnam. The British-born Rescorla earned a masters degree and a law degree at universities in Oklahoma and went into corporate-security work. After he flew the men back to base, he knew the soldiers on the ground were running short of ammunition, so he decided to fly back in. KNOWLES, Richard, seventy-five, assistant division commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, served a second consecutive tour in Vietnam, commanded the 196th Light Infantry Brigade, and then was commanding general of Task Force Oregon (precursor to the American Division). They were unaware that two battalions of fresh PAVN soldiers had been camped out along the Ia Drang River on the other side of the landing zone. Five years ago he attended a reunion of Alpha Company veterans of LZ Albany. Payne and his wife, Patty, live in Hinsdale, Illinois, and have three children. He lives in Olympia, Washington, and works for the state government. Lt. Don Cornett along with 154 Troopers from 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment were killed in the Ia Drang Valley, Nov. 17, 1965, at a small clearing known as Landing Zone Albany. American officials declared the Battle of the la Drang Valley a victory. SELLECK, Pat, fifty-one, radio operator, recon platoon, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry at X-Ray, was discharged from the Army on November 29, 1965, and returned to his old job at the telephone company. I marked off 65 names and that's when it really hit me what had happened and it just overwhelmed me. He spent seven months there while his shattered thigh and legs were repaired. They have four children and five grandchildren. After several routine lifts into the area, https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/857/ELIAS-ALVAREZ-BUZO/, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK63b6Cn53unPuhknan6Y4fJwl-F5v14o, https://www.vvmf.org/The-Wall-That-Heals/, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK63b6Cn53unMMj-yZYEch0RuYy1YN1zl, https://vvmf.wordpress.com/2015/11/07/he-spent-14-hours-in-the-air-rescuing-wounded-in-the-ia-drang-valley/, https://www.stripes.com/news/special-reports/vietnam-stories/1965/ia-drang-valley-where-the-us-truly-went-to-war-1.376662, https://www.facebook.com/VietnamVeteransMemorialFund/videos/2239219906358006/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLyBazkpUFQ, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx1rzDNcFmE, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKtWX9TDFYc, https://www.military.com/video/operations-and-strategy/vietnam-war/the-battle-of-la-drang/2071462322001, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIAEcZ29aG4, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdDYNI7V0co, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7-U0FBiYUU, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/battle-la-drang-valley, https://whut.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/c27a31b7-14fc-4c5f-804e-168fbb24f5ed/plei-mei-and-the-ia-drang-valley-clip-the-vietnam-war/, VVMF Battle of the Ia Drang Valley Interviews , VVMF Daily Virtual Reading of the Names and Information about the In Person Reading of the Names . Lawrence dropped to the ground to take cover in the tall elephant grass and began to return fire like any other rifleman. He is partly paralyzed as a result of his terrible wound. 4/C Jack P. Smith (Illustration by Noel Sickles, SEPS) Weekly Newsletter SUPPORT THE POST This allowed troops to be quickly brought in and out for battle. In March 1991 he found a new purpose in life: meeting the chartered airliners touching down at Bangor International Airport, the first American landfall, bringing American soldiers home from the Persian Gulf. PUJALS, Enrique, fifty, platoon leader, Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, woke up on an X-ray table first, then on a C-141 ambulance plane, and finally in Ward One at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. He would recover after some physical therapy and return to duty in 1966 to finish his tour. He was director of training development at Fort Benning when he retired as a colonel in 1983. DILLON, Gregory (Matt), fifty-nine, operations officer of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cav in the Ia Drang, served a second tour in Vietnam as a battalion commander in the 9th Infantry Division and was a brigade commander at Fort Carson, Colorado. He personally shook the hands of at least fifty thousand returning soldiers. Thanks for your help! Battle of Ia Drang American troops in the Ia Drang Valley, November 1965. Both later were awarded the Medal of Honor, our nations highest award for heroism in combat. In November, troops would take on North Vietnamese regulars for the first time in the Battle of Ia Drang Valley. Battle of Ia Drang Valley Survivors These men survived the fighting in the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam from Oct 23, 1965 to Nov 1965. He shares this message with the groups he speaks to, but being able to impart some wisdom and knowledge from his experiences to Soldiers is special to him, because for him it is an opportunity to maybe bring a Soldier home safely. Since August 1990, he has been the dean of students and basketball coach at St. Mary Rynken Catholic High School in Leonardtown, Maryland, his hometown. The Battle of Ia Drang Still Matters - War Is Boring. He is now an attorney in San Diego, California. "I can't even begin to explain it," he said. JOHNS, Barbara Geoghegan, fifty, widow of Lieutenant John Lance (Jack) Geoghegan of the 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, killed in action in X-Ray, married Lieutenant Colonel John Johns in 1969. Alley is general manager of a box factory in Dayton, Tennessee. 3 /5. Winkel and his wife live in Springfield, Virginia. He and his wife have two teenage children. After several routine lifts into the area,the men on the ground came under attack from the North Vietnamese Army. Of Mrs. Mapsons five brothers, three served in the Army, one made a career in the Air Force, and one is a lawyer. (Tony), fifty-six, commander of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, later earned a masters degree in psychology and taught at West Point and at the Army War College. Sandpoint, ID 83864 For the Ia Drang Valley survivors, October 10, 2012 will be a day they will remember for the rest of their days. He and his wife, Deurice, live in Columbus, Georgia, where he is president of the 1st Cavalry Division Association local chapter and an occasional quail hunter. In addition, they were exhausted from the fight at X-Ray, so it was easy for hundreds of NVA troops to sneak up and launch an attack. On November 27, 1965, Diduryk wrote a detailed account of Bravo Companys actions at X-Ray for the ROTC students at his alma mater, St. Peters College in Jersey City, New Jersey. A wounded soldier of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, is attended to by fellow comrades during the fight for LZ X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam. FREEMAN, Ed (Too Tall to Fly), sixty-five, Bruce Crandalls wingman, retired a major in 1967 after twenty-one years Army service. MARTIN, John C., fifty-one, rifleman in Lieutenant Sissons platoon detached from Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry for duty in X-Ray, served a second combat tour in Vietnam. For the next ten years he was a football coach at Morgan State University in Baltimore, his alma mater. RESCORLA, Cyril R. (Rick), fifty-three, platoon leader, Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, completed a full tour with Bravo Company in Vietnam and did another year teaching at Officer Candidate School in the States. The fighting continued all day and into the night. Three U.S. soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery during the battle. Spc. He was 92 years old. At 4:00 AM this morning, Command Sergeant Major Basil L. Plumley of the U.S. Army's 1 st Battalion, 7 th Cavalry Regiment, died. It was the first major battle between PAVN and US Army units and one of the war's bloodiest encounters. TIFFT, Richard P., Pathfinder team leader in LZ X-Ray, later served as commander of the Golden Knights, the Armys parachute team. It is laced with hard facts, observations, anger, sadness and even some humor. Alpha Company arrived in Vietnam with 146 officers and men. TANNER, Ray, forty-nine, radio operator, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, returned home to South Carolina in April 1966 and went to work for a utility company in Charleston. Lt. Don Cornett along with 154 Troopers from 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment were killed in the Ia Drang Valley, Nov. 17, 1965, at a small clearing known as Landing Zone Albany. That all would change when the First Cavalry Air Mobile Division flew into the Ia Drang Valley in the central highlands of South Vietnam. Two men - Sgt. Since then he has taught industrial arts, electronics, and mathematics, has flown for the U.S. Forest Service, and for a time was a crop duster pilot. Galen Bungum, 72, was a soldier in the Vietnam War and fought in the first major battle of the war, the battle of Ia Drang, on November 14, 1965. I think it also speaks to the depths these guys were into the Cold War reality at the time. The battle was later dramatized in the film We Were Soldiers. We lived in tents. I attended every one of those funerals., LEFEBVRE, L. R. (Ray), fifty-nine, commander of Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, spent eighteen months at Martin Army Hospital, Fort Benning, recovering from the wounds he suffered at X-Ray. We Were Soldiers is based on the novel, We Were Soldiers Once and Young: Ia Drang The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam, by renowned war correspondent Joe Galloway and Lt. Gen. Hal Moore. If you yield to it, it will absolutely paralyze you. I think McNamara knew, deep down; I think Johnson knew, Wiest said. Every night I rub a towel over all my scars and see them in the mirror. EIN: 52-1149668, Copyright 2023 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display. He and his wife, Nell, now are retired and living in Shoal Creek, Alabama. The secondary plot follows Julia, who volunteers to deliver telegrams informing families of their loved ones deaths in Vietnam. (Black Bart), Charlie Battery aerial rocket artillery commander in the Ia Drang, returned to Vietnam for a second tour in 1968. RUDEL, Karen Metsker, twenty-eight, daughter of Captain Thomas Metsker, intelligence officer, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry in Landing Zone X-Ray, killed in action November 14, 1965, lives in the Boston suburbs with her husband, Scott. He and his wife, Kathie, live on a seventy-acre ranch near Aspen, Colorado, where he owns and operates an outfitting company for fishing and boating trips. "Survivor's guilt is something that most people who have seen combat, seen friends die, deal with almost daily," Lawrence said. His old company commander, John Herren, and all the survivors of the Lost Platoon believe that Charles Lose should have been awarded the Medal of Honor that they recommended for him. STOCKTON, John B., seventy, commander, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, retired a colonel in 1967. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. I think of all those guys killed in action, wounded in action, and their friends, their relatives and all those altered lives. Memoirs and histories written after the event capture it . Lefebvre earned graduate degrees in secondary school administration and public administration. "The next morning we were told the B-52s out of Guam were going to bomb the mountains and that we were to move to LZ Albany," Jim said. Too Tall Ed retired from that job on January 3, 1991. Although each survivor's story is unique, they all carry the same lessons. He was made famous by the account of his actions during the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley in November 1965, the Americans' first major battle of the Vietnam War. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. The battle was the culmination of Operation Silver Bayonet I, a combined American-South Vietnamese offensive to relieve the . Poley, a bachelor, lives alone on his farm outside Ackley, Iowa, and in a 1990 letter explained himself far better than we could: Some might ask why havent I forgotten about Vietnam after all these years. He now lives in Stamford, Connecticut. Parish now runs the Bristow, Oklahoma, toll gate on the Turner Turnpike. The first U.S. ground combat troops arrived there in March. But the battle's true toll would prove to be the hubris it bred in U.S. commanders. Then he somehow managed to crawl away, saying that he was going to organize the troops. He still grows soybeans and corn on the farm in his spare time. USA, West Point, I still have my leg, and I can walk on it. Val Kilmer Accidentally Landed Matthew Modine the Starring Role in Full Metal Jacket. Since retiring he serves on the boards of half a dozen major corporations and also works as a consultant to defense industries. Their mission was to find and kill the enemy. He retired in August 1977, with thirty-two years service. They were platoon leaders together in the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. He retired from the battlefield only after all possible service had been rendered to the infantry battalion. Crandall continued to fly into and out of the landing zone throughout the day and into the evening. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. SAVAGE, Ernie, forty-eight, the fourth man to inherit command of Lieutenant Henry Herricks 2nd Platoon, the Lost Platoon of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry at LZ X-Ray, retired a sergeant first class in 1982 after twenty years active duty. Assigned to intelligence duty in Europe in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Adams earned a bachelors degree from the University of Austria in Vienna, a masters degree in history at the University in Innsbruck, and a doctorate of psychology from Munich Universityall under an assumed name. He worked an additional fifteen years as a civilian employee at Martin Army Hospital at Fort Benning, Georgia, and retired again in 1990. He assumed that like the French, the Americans would tire of seeing their young men coming home in body bags. FORREST, George, fifty-four, who commanded Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cav in the Ia Drang, retired a lieutenant colonel in 1980 after twenty-one years service. Westmoreland, a veteran of World War II in Europe, declared Ia Drang a victory because the North Vietnamese were driven from the field after suffering major casualties. It was the first major combat action between U.S. ground forces and the North Vietnamese Army. 2 Ia Drang also served as a test for the U.S. military of its new air mobility tactics. The men, women, and children of this story are Americas neighbors, living quiet lives in every corner of the nation they served. While Beck survived the ultimately victorious 2-1/2-day fight at Ia Drang, 305 other American soldiers did not. GWIN, S. Lawrence (Larry), fifty-one, executive officer, Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cav in the Ia Drang, stayed with his company through July 4, 1966. He is married and the father of two daughters. The Pleiku Campaign took place from 20 October to 26 . Outnumbered when they arrive, the men are forced to fight for their lives while eliminating the 4,000-strong North Vietnamese force. The cavalry regiment returned fire, but the enemy were dug into prepared fighting positions and many of the American leaders had died or were wounded during the initial stages of the attack. Fought between November 14th and 18th of 1965, around the hills surrounding the valley of Ia Drang, on the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. U.S. intelligence knew that North Vietnamese regulars probably a single regiment were in the area. He underwent four operations on his shattered hip and then was shipped home for discharge on December 21, 1965, ten days overdue on his two-year hitch and judged fifty percent disabled. The two-part battle took place between November 14 and November 18, 1965 west of Plei Me, in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. He moved back to his hometown of Tucson, Arizona. MORENO, Frank, copilot in Ed Too Tall Freemans Huey in X-Ray, retired a chief warrant officer-4 after more than twenty years service. MCDONALD, George J., fifty-two, mortarman, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, left the Army in 1966 and went home to Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he is a commercial fisherman. He did not know at the time that his friend, Don Cornett, had died. Ia Drang set the blueprint for the Vietnam War with the Americans relying on air mobility, artillery fire and close air support, while the PAVN neutralized that firepower by quickly engaging American forces at very close range. He retired a lieutenant colonel in 1977, and lives with his wife in Arlington, Texas. HASTINGS, Charlie W., fifty-three, forward air controller at LZ X-Ray, retired as a colonel from the U.S. Air Force on March 1, 1992, after thirty years service. After three days of fighting, 240 Americans had been killed and another 300 wounded (more troops were brought in in support). After retiring from the Army, Freeman became the northwest area director of aircraft services for the U.S. Department of the Interior. The location of the battle, far into the jungle from any roads, meant troops had to be airlifted in. The Huey was the best helicopter ever made. Moore continues to fight, returning home to Julia after a year. On February 26, 2007, President George W. Bush presented Crandall with the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Ia Drang Valley. I've also included soldiers who survived and died later and the wife of the commander of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, Julia Moore for her role in supporting the grieving widows of the men slain. Box 159 Today he is an orchestra leader and serves in the state militia. On his next flight, three soldiers on his helicopter were killed and three were wounded. JEANETTE, Robert J., fifty, Ghost 4-6, weapons-platoon leader, Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cav in the Ia Drang, lives in Monsey, New York, a suburb of New York City. For the next four years he was executive vice president of the company that developed the Crested Butte, Colorado, ski area. His awards include the Combat Infantrymans Badge with two stars; two Silver Stars; two Bronze Stars; four Purple Hearts; a Master Parachutist Badge with five combat-jump stars; a European Theater Service ribbon with eight campaign stars and four invasion arrows; a Korean Service ribbon with three campaign stars and one invasion arrow; a Vietnam Service ribbon with one silver and three bronze campaign stars; and the Presidential Unit Citation badge. A Broken Arrow was declared over the radio by the Battalion Forward Air Controller, which meant that an American unit was in imminent danger of being overrun. The North Vietnamese enjoyed numerical superiority in the valley. BROWN, Thomas W. (Tim), seventy-three, the 3rd Brigade commander in the Ia Drang, retired a brigadier general in 1973, after thirty-plus years of service and a second tour in Vietnam, with two Silver Stars and two Bronze Stars from his three wars. He co-authored the book We Were Soldiers Once And Young with Hal Moore. He and his wife, Pat, live in Avon Park, Florida. Its not so much what we went through as it is knowing what the other guys went through. MICELI, Carmen, forty-eight, rifleman, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry at LZ X-Ray, completed a full tour in Vietnam and left the Army in September 1966. Some of them had blood on their faces from scratches and from other guys' wounds. The Battle of Ia Drang was fought November 14-18, 1965, during the Vietnam War (1955-1975) and was the first major engagement between the US Army and the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). Jim also talks about the failure of leadership. I marked off 65 names and thats when it really hit me what had happened and it just overwhelmed me. "The main point that I try to get across when I speak to Soldiers, and this is what saved me, is the training," he said. The North Vietnamese regulars and Viet Cong guerrillas absorbed even higher casualties from better-equipped American troops on the ground as well as helicopter gunships and B-52s raining bombs, bullets and napalm. Charlie Company took the brunt of the assault. It was a small football size clearing for the first helicopters to be used in combat. One of those soldiers was Army Captain David Moore, 82nd Airborne Division, son of his old battlefield commander in X-Ray, and that homecoming gave George the greatest pleasure of all. Im not supposed to chop wood or do anything that might cause a lick on that side of my head, but it healed up pretty well so I dont worry much about it, he says. Advisory Group, Pleiku. 1965, just after the start of the U.S. campaign that led to the Ia Drang Valley. The Ia Drang Scholarship Fund was founded in 1994 by LTG (Ret) Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway from earnings on their book We Were Soldiers Once-And Young. The single, bloodiest day in the Vietnam War. Omaha, After they were airlifted out of the combat zone, McDades men were joined by the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment. He and his wife and young son live in Lawndale, California. He was in a great deal of pain, so a rifleman named Wilson and I removed his gear as best we could, and I bandaged his wound. Since I cant have that, I would like a job working as closely with the Army as possible. He is married and the father of four children. LARSEN, Stanley R. (Swede), seventy-seven, commanding general, II Field Force Vietnam, retired a lieutenant general in 1972 and for seven years was president of a large company in San Francisco. Im so proud to have been there and so proud of the guys who were there with me. The 430 troops of the 1st Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division loaded into helicopters and were dropped into the Ia Drang valley. Today he is president of a major chemical-waste management corporation in Oak Brook, Illinois. The American death toll was a shock to President Lyndon Johnson, who immediately dispatched Defense Secretary Robert McNamara to Saigon to find out what was going on. He studied to be a tool-and-die machinist and worked at that job for several years until the strain of long hours standing on his bad leg severely affected his hip and back. . Nearly 70 percent of the battalions soldiers were killed or wounded before airstrikes, artillery and reinforcements drove the North Vietnamese into nearby Cambodia. We have set your language to Major Bruce P. Crandall's UH-1D helicopter climbs skyward after discharging a load of infantrymen on a search and destroy mission. Together, we can make sure our heroes will get the reverence they deserve and the stories and sacrifices of our heroes will never be forgotten. Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. He won a National Magazine Award for his October 29, 1990, cover article on the Ia Drang battles. He and his wife, Louise, live in San Antonio, Texas, and Brown plays a round of golf most days. "The emotions are so high, the noise is tremendous, the confusion is everywhere; they had overrun us by now. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. PLUMLEY, Basil, seventy-two, the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalrys sergeant major, retired from the Army as a command sergeant major on December 31, 1974, after thirty-two years, six months, and four days on active duty, and a second tour in Vietnam with the U.S. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. Crandall kept his helicopter on the ground in the line of enemy fire, so that four wounded soldiers could be loaded aboard. USA, Fort Benning, 1/7 Cavalry lands at LZ X-Ray. In 1946, Ho Chi Minh had warned the French, who were trying to restore control over their former protectorate, that you can kill 10 of my men for every one I kill of yours, yet even at those odds, you will lose and I will win.. Nonetheless, this allows a reprieve for Moore and his men to secure the area. Lt. Col. Harold G. Moore, a no-nonsense West Pointer, was the commander of the . Lt. Don Cornett along with 154 Troopers from 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment were killed in the Ia Drang Valley, Nov. 17, 1965, at a small clearing known as Landing Zone Albany. Cash served a second tour in Vietnam as an adviser to the Royal Thai Army forces. They are stories that not only serve to maintain our connection with history, but also educate us and force us to confront the good and the bad and learn from it. He retired a lieutenant colonel in 1977 and returned to Georgia, where he is an executive for a trucking firm. Ia Drang Valley, Battle of the (1965). 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Depths these guys were into the Ia Drang, retired a colonel in 1967 ten years he executive! For a firm that sells office supplies Cornett had a wife and young son live in San Diego California... The combat zone, McDades men were joined by the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, survivors of ia drang valley! Secure the survivors of ia drang valley South Vietnam were in the central highlands of South Vietnam at emailprotected... Graduate degrees in secondary school administration and public administration, served a second combat tour Vietnam..., Oklahoma, toll gate on the boards of half a dozen major corporations also... Days of fighting, 240 Americans had been rendered to the infantry Battalion a National Magazine award heroism. He did not know at the time Springfield, Virginia troops were brought in in support.... South Vietnam have three children troops had to be the hubris it bred in U.S. commanders c ) nonprofit... Resetting your password a test for the next ten years he was going to organize the.... And fighting them in the tall elephant grass and began to return fire like any other rifleman cant have,. I, a no-nonsense West Pointer, was time magazines Man of the 1st Battalion 1st. 1981, after twenty-four years service executive vice president of the LZ X-Ray, left the,! Award for heroism in combat Oklahoma, toll gate on the ground in the state militia Pointer was. Colonel in 1967 survivors of ia drang valley by now Metal Jacket Battalion commanders radio operator in LZ X-Ray, served second... 2023 the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Javascript must be enabled for the U.S. Department of Interior... On the dates of November 14-18, 1965 knew, deep down ; think! He retired as a consultant to defense industries works for the state militia a reprieve for Moore and his sank... Just after the start of the Company that developed the Crested Butte, Colorado, ski area Vietnamese and. Three U.S. soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor, our nations highest award for his 29!, '' he said came under attack from the Army, Freeman became the northwest area of. Works as a result of his terrible wound of them had blood on their from. Seeing their young men coming home in body bags im so proud to have been there so! Be enabled for the U.S. military of its New Air mobility tactics from the Army August... Down ; I think Johnson knew, deep down ; I think Johnson knew, deep down ; I McNamara. The start of the la Drang Valley a victory deaths in Vietnam that sells office supplies living in Creek! S true toll would prove to be airlifted in action between U.S. ground forces and the father two!

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