MARM, Walter J. Major Bruce Crandall made over 20 flights into intense enemy fire during a battle in the Ia Drang Valley, South Vietnam, in November 1965, evacuating 70 wounded and delivering ammunition. He won a National Magazine Award for his October 29, 1990, cover article on the Ia Drang battles. The former arrives in Vietnam in November 1965, and, soon after, is tasked with leading his 400 men in an effort to take out the enemy troops who attacked one of the bases in the Ia Drang Valley. Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Harold Moore led the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, against numerically superior elements of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) led by General Chu Huy Man (Builder et al., 1999). After years of advising the South Vietnamese against the communist North, and months of chasing black-clad guerrillas, a large formation of American troops faced well-trained, well-equipped regulars of the Peoples Army of Vietnam. Finally, after 10 months, had some makeshift buildings. He told me his wife's name was [Sylvia]. He was presented with the Medal of Honor on December 19, 1966, and three years later volunteered for a second tour of duty in Vietnam. (Joe), fifty, platoon leader, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry and the only man to receive the Medal of Honor, Americas highest decoration for valor, in the Ia Drang campaign, is a colonel and still on active duty after twenty-eight years. 5 cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Successful in their mission, the Americans travel back to their landing zone to be taken back to base. SETELIN, John, forty-eight, squad leader, Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, left Vietnam with three Purple Hearts and left the Army a sergeant. based on information from your browser. Mindful of the effects of propaganda, each side declared victory. Ernie had gone back to his native Chicago and drove a truck for the city. USA, Fort Benning, He teaches physical and earth sciences at Venice High School, Los Angeles, California. The real life Battle of Ia Drang took place between November 14-19, 1965. Theres a lot of pain but at least I lived. Jeanette says: When I was in the hospital in 1966, I was down in the doldrums, feeling sorry, and they tried to nudge me out of that. OUELLETTE, Robert, fifty, battalion commanders radio operator in LZ X-Ray, left the Army in August 1966. For the next four years he was executive vice president of the company that developed the Crested Butte, Colorado, ski area. A total of 305 soldiers died. For the next ten years he was a football coach at Morgan State University in Baltimore, his alma mater. In his spare time Wal-lenius draws, paints, and does etchings and prints, sometimes of Vietnam War scenes. 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. For the last twenty-one years he has been in the tire business. After three days of fighting, 240 Americans had been killed and another 300 wounded (more troops were brought in in support). 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. Temperatures reached 100 degrees, and by the afternoon there was a firestorm battle for survival. The fighting continued for three hours. She is an active member of Sons and Daughters in Touch, an organization sponsored by the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. He retired a major in 1980, after twenty years service. Another 71 Americans had been killed in earlier, smaller skirmishes that led up to the Ia Drang battles. On the second day, North Vietnamese forces launched a heavy attack including hand-to-hand combat. He earned his masters degree in public administration in 1976 and retired in 1977 as a lieutenant colonel. Pujals recently closed his law practice. Moore lectures at military academies and at several colleges and universities. God rest you, George. Moore and his 450-man 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, flew into Landing Zone X-Ray at the base of the Chu Pong Mountain west of Plei Me and miles from the Cambodian border. They realized, Yeah, its going to be bloody, but we can fight these guys, Willbanks said. This browser does not support getting your location. "To do it you've got to get up. Lacking confidence in the South Vietnamese, Gen. William C. Westmoreland ordered the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, which had been in country about a month, to pursue the enemy, using newly minted airmobile tactics. He owns a property-management firm in Tampa, Florida. He spent that night among the dead and wounded. By whatever measure, the chaotic, bloody Battle of the Ia Drang Valley set the tone for the rest of war. The Tragedy of LZ Albany: Teaching the lessons of a battle lost. He now manages the quartermaster laundry at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and lives in Clarksville, Tennessee. He and his wife, Billie, have a son in college and a daughter still at home. He retired a colonel in December 1981, after twenty-four years service. He retired in August 1990, and now lives in Peekskill, New York. It is laced with hard facts, observations, anger, sadness and even some humor. EDWARDS, Robert, fifty-four, commander of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav, served a second tour in Vietnam as an adviser. The Ia Drang Valley is where the U.S. truly went to war. Clinton Poley was an assistant machine gunner, who said they landed in grass that was 5 feet high and didnt know where the other troops were. Ia Drang Valley, Battle of the (1965). The problem was it had to be applied by a country that was much more willing for it to be applied for the long haul. BY DAVID A. MAURER. Alpha Company arrived in Vietnam with 146 officers and men. Being the firstbig units there, we had to make our own camp, no showers for months, World War II C rations to eat, no toilets, just a hole dug in the ground, etc. U.S. intelligence knew that North Vietnamese regulars probably a single regiment were in the area. "My gut told me, this is wrong, this isn't right, something's wrong here. In a 1967 article for the Saturday Evening Post, former ABC reporter Jack Smith, who was a private first class in Charlie Company during the battle, wrote about Cornett's last moments. "It looked as if our best bet was to make for the copse of trees in the clearing, so I pointed my men in that direction and said, 'we need to get over there.'". After LZ Albany, Thorpe requested a transfer from his company command to the division public-information office and finished his tour as an escort officer for visiting press and VIPs. Among the many survivors of the ambush was 1st Lt. Rick Rescorla, a platoon chief who died Sept. 11, 2001, rescuing individuals from the World Commerce Heart's south tower till it crashed round him. In 1982, he joined U.S. News & World Report magazine. 5 cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Where the difference between We Were Soldiers and reality lies is that the battle didnt end with Moore and his men evacuating, nor was there a final heroic charge. The bulk of the fighting lasted about 6 hours and in that time 2/7 Cav lost 155 killed and 124 wounded. I pulled the muscles in that leg so badly yanking it free that I couldnt walk for three months, he said. Towles received a masters degree in history from Kent State in 1989, and is currently working on his doctorate. On February 26, 2007, President George W. Bush presented Crandall with the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Ia Drang Valley. 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 has written a book about his experiences and has spoken more than 20 times to veterans organizations, junior high and high school students, and civic groups. They have two sons, one an oil-industry consultant, the other an Air Force sergeant who served in the Persian Gulf War. Her research focused on military, environmental, and Canadian history with a specific focus on the Second World War. The battle of LZ Albany began after the battle of LZ X-ray made famous in the Mel Gibson movie "We Were Soldiers." from around the world. We saved so many more people because of that helicopter.. The column was strung out about 550 yards in the open with dense vegetation to their right. Each side realized it was fighting a war of attrition. He retired from the battlefield only after all possible service had been rendered to the infantry battalion. He spent more than 14 hours in the air andcompleted a total of 22 flights, most under intense enemy fire. No one wanted to look weak in the face of communist aggression.. A Chicago native, Doc Carrara returned home, changed his specialty to pathology. 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. The Battle of the la Drang Valley would come to be remembered as one of the most iconic battles of the Vietnam War, and later would set the scene for the film We Were Soldiers based on the novel We Were Soldiers OnceAnd Young. Major Bruce P. Crandall's UH-1D helicopter climbs skyward after discharging a load of infantrymen on a search and destroy mission. WINKEL, Paul Patton, Jr., sixty, Orange 1 flight leader, Bravo Company, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion in the Ia Drang, served a second combat tour in Vietnam. Theres certainly politics involved in it, but I do think these guys, as mythological as it turned out to be, were true Cold War believers. He was discharged a sergeant, completed his college education, and is now an on-air national news correspondent for ABC Televisions Weekend News. They died hot, hungry and exhausted. By the third day of the battle, the Americans had gained the upper hand. I couldnt grasp it., More from us: Val Kilmer Accidentally Landed Matthew Modine the Starring Role in Full Metal Jacket. 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. This allowed troops to be quickly brought in and out for battle. Privacy Policy 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. MORENO, Frank, copilot in Ed Too Tall Freemans Huey in X-Ray, retired a chief warrant officer-4 after more than twenty years service. Moore commanded the 7th Infantry Division in Korea, was commanding general at Fort Ord, California, and then was the Armys deputy Chief of Staff for personnel. In August 1977, at the age of forty-four, Colonel Frank Henry died when an aneurysm ruptured. "Why did I deserve to live? Winkel and his wife live in Springfield, Virginia. It was the signal for all available American aircraft to converge and provide aid to the American unit. He single-handedly raised five young children and earned a doctorate, retiring a lieutenant colonel after twenty years service. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. Some of the men who hadn't slept for close to 48 hours closed their eyes, others smoked or ate. The Battle that changed the war in vietnam Overview A Vietnamese military maxim states: He who controls the Central Highlands controls South Vietnam. The two-hour Ia Drang Valley program kicked off the reunion's final day. He lives in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Tully retired a colonel in 1976. Val Kilmer Accidentally Landed Matthew Modine the Starring Role in Full Metal Jacket. MCDADE, Robert, seventy, who commanded the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, retired a colonel in 1975. He lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and owns and operates a real estate brokerage firm. On 27 October Westmoreland committed a brigade of the 1st Air Cavalry to search-and-destroy operations. The battalion commander had ordered his command helicopter to land and check out a North Vietnamese soldier killed by the door gunner. In his spare time he camps, climbs, skis, and fishes for trout in the Rockies. Her mother, who never remarried, died in 1986. Survivors described savage, close-range combat, sometimes hand-to-hand, over several hours. James Lawrence, a 77 year-old Vietnam veteran from Alabama, tells people about his best friend and the battle he died in whenever he gets the chance. A high school dropout, he went back to college, earned a B.A., and was working on an M.A. In 2016, he joined a panel of Ia Drang survivors at the Maneuver Center of Excellence, Fort Benning, Ga., to share their experiences with both young and seasoned officers and noncommissioned officers. He retired a lieutenant colonel in 1980 with twenty years service, and is now a plastics-plant manager. Lt. Col. Hal Moore, commander of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, on the radio during the fight for LZ X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam. He was killed in an automobile accident less than ten years later. 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 . The Battle of Ia Drang Valley was a series of engagements between the U.S 1st Cavalry Division and the B-3 front, North Vietnamese Army. He had just turned thirty-six years old. Nonetheless, this allows a reprieve for Moore and his men to secure the area. Her daughter, Camille, was soon joined by a brother, Robert, and a sister, Barbara. CARRARA, Robert J., fifty-four, battalion surgeon of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cav in LZ X-Ray, served eleven months in Vietnam and was discharged in July 1966. GEOGHEGAN, Camille, twenty-seven, daughter of Lieutenant John Lance (Jack) Geoghegan, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav, killed in action November 15, 1965, is a human resources specialist at a company in McLean, Virginia. This account has been disabled. They successfully hit many of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops, while also shooting some of the Americans with friendly fire. USA, Mendenhall, VIERA, Arthur, Jr., forty-eight, an M-79 grenadier with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, survived the terrible wounds he suffered in X-Ray. Shucart says, It was interesting; they just figured I was another grunt and I didnt tell them different. I thought to myself. Sources 1st Cavalry Division Association: 1st Cavalry Division Medal of Honor Recipients. Moore is the last to leave, refusing to do so until every man living and dead has left. Initially, Lawrence's thoughts and feelings after he was safe were just moments captured in his mind. 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. Very difficult. It was much bigger than what we had seen before against a much more tenacious enemy, Wiest said of the battle. The idea was that whole battalions could be dropped and complete their mission on the ground, calling in artillery barrages, helicopter support, and bombing sorties (including . He is a civilian specialist on NATO affairs for the Defense Department; he and his wife, Sally, live in Bethesda, Maryland. AINSWORTH, Hank, fifty-four, who flew the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cav command helicopter in the Ia Drang, retired a chief warrant officer 4 on May 30, 1977, after twenty-two years service. He is senior Army adviser to the 79th Army Reserve Command in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. James Lawrence, one of the men who fought at LZ Albany, later recounted his experiences. After leaving the Army, Braveboy worked as a roofer. He returned to active duty in July 1966, and served a second tour in Vietnam as an adviser in Long Binh district. The North Vietnamese Army starts with the most flags but to combat this the 7th Cavalry Regiment has superior airpower meaning that the USA can quickly insert and extract players into and out of flags. Other donors to the fund are readers of the book from across America, Veterans, and supporters of the fund. The Ia Drang Valley is where the U.S. truly went to war. 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