survivors of ia drang valleysurvivors of ia drang valley

Word reached the battalion traveling to Columbus, who sent Bravo Company back to Albany to serve as reinforcements. Of the 500 men present as part of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 155 lost their lives, and just 84 were immediately able to return to active duty. They have two grown children. Returning home, he single-handedly raised his two young children while earning two masters degrees. After years of advising the South Vietnamese against the communist North, and months of chasing black-clad guerrillas, a large. TADEMY, Dudley, 3rd Brigade fire-support coordinator in the Ia Drang, served a second tour in Vietnam with the 1st Cavalry and retired a colonel in January 1987, after thirty years service. He knew he had to get out of the clearing, so he started pulling himself along the ground using only his arms, when someone grabbed him and dragged him the rest of the way into the trees. Payne and his wife, Patty, live in Hinsdale, Illinois, and have three children. Nonetheless, this allows a reprieve for Moore and his men to secure the area. In 1974 he transferred from the infantry to the military police. By Staff. By Trevor Arendall, July 9 . Lt. Don Cornett, along with 154 troopers from 2/7 Cav, were killed in the Ia Drang Valley at a small clearing known as Landing Zone Albany. It was a small football size clearing for the first helicopters to be used in combat. Hal Moore ensured that all of the men came home, and they therefore did . A young United Press International reporter, Joseph Galloway, became the only civilian decorated for gallantry during the war, awarded a Bronze Star with V device for valor for carrying a wounded soldier off the battlefield under intense fire. 208-263-9534. I thought to myself. in history. The airstrike broke the North Vietnamese siege and enabled reinforcements to reach the LZ. The British-born Rescorla earned a masters degree and a law degree at universities in Oklahoma and went into corporate-security work. He and his wife, Arlene, have three sonsa banker in Sao Paulo, Brazil; a lawyer in Connecticut; and a divinity student in college. HAZEN, Robert D., fifty, Lieutenant Bob Tafts radio operator in Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav, retired from the Army a master sergeant in 1988 after twenty-seven years service. It had been a small undeclared war mainly fought by South Vietnamese troops with a few U.S. advisers in the mix, sometimes on the ground, sometimes in helicopters, said Andrew Wiest, a history professor at the University of Southern Mississippi and the founding director of its Dale Center for the Study of War and Society. 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. He is now a financial officer with the U.S. He left active duty in 1967, but continued in the Army Reserves until his retirement in 1990 as a colonel. 2 Ia Drang also served as a test for the U.S. military of its new air mobility tactics. LOMBARDO, Riccardo, sixty-one, Huey pilot in X-Ray and Albany and Pop Jekels good buddy, was retired on one hundred percent disability after a serious back injury in 1967, when he was thirty-six. He went home to Murphysboro, Illinois. The majority of the battle was fought in the valley of Ia Drang, Vietnam by 3rd Battalion, 7th Calvary and was the first major test of air . She and her husband live in Annandale, Virginia. He and his wife, Nell, now are retired and living in Shoal Creek, Alabama. Both were present at the Battle of Ia Drang, the first large-scale engagement of the Vietnam War. The Battle of Ia Drang was the first major engagement during the Vietnam War, between members of the U.S. Army and the Peoples Army of North Vietnam. Orange County, Joseph Galloway was a civilian reporter at the Battle of Ia Drang. He tells his audience this to help them understand. The column was strung out about 550 yards in the open with dense vegetation to their right. Fought between November 14th and 18th of 1965, around the hills surrounding the valley of Ia Drang, on the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. BRAVEBOY, Toby, rifleman, Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cav, recovered from his wounds and his week-long ordeal alone on the abandoned battlefield at Albany and returned safely to his family in Coward, South Carolina. Next, he was shot in the chest; as he moved around, he was shot again in the leg. Purp is married, the father of three daughters, and cuts hair at Gibbs Barber Shop, where he has worked for the last nineteen years. Florence County, He lives in Pleasant Valley, Connecticut, and works in real estate sales and development. 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. This praise is largely due to the heavy emphasis director Randall Wallace put on ensuring what he created was as accurate to the real events of the Battle of Ia Drang as possible. BUNGUM, Galen, forty-nine, rifleman in Lieutenant Henry Herricks Lost Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav, left the Army in April 1966 and went home to Hayfield, Minnesota. He was evacuated, badly wounded, on January 5, 1970, after serving four years, eight months, and ten days in Vietnam. He remained with the medical platoon in Vietnam until July 1966. 4/C Jack P. Smith (Illustration by Noel Sickles, SEPS) Weekly Newsletter SUPPORT THE POST Hal Moore and the 1st Battalion, 7th . Although it was left out of We Were Soldiers, Albany was no less bloody than X-Ray. Some of the survivors broke into tears of relief. For the Ia Drang Valley survivors, October 10, 2012 will be a day they will remember for the rest of their days. 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 . He is president of his own management-consulting firm and lives in Oklahoma City. Too Tall Ed retired from that job on January 3, 1991. Two men - Sgt. In Washington, Ia Drang convinced Johnson that he was in for a long, bloody war. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. On November 18, 1965, the US forces were able to gather their dead. His injured right hip deteriorated, and on the Thursday before Thanksgiving, 1986, he found himself back on an operating tablethe same place he had been on the Thursday before Thanksgiving, 1965. Rosemary Giles is a history content writer with Hive Media. Of Mrs. Mapsons five brothers, three served in the Army, one made a career in the Air Force, and one is a lawyer. The Tragedy of LZ Albany: Teaching the lessons of a battle lost. All Rights Reserved. By the third day of the battle, the Americans had gained the upper hand. 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 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. Most of the planes touched down between midnight and six A.M., but George Nye was always there, rain or shine. At approximately noon,the North Vietnamese 33rd Regiment attacked. The men, women, and children of this story are Americas neighbors, living quiet lives in every corner of the nation they served. He had just turned thirty-six years old. The day before he died, George picked up a Christmas tree, which he planned to decorate with yellow ribbons and small American flags for the airport terminal; soldiers from the Gulf were still arriving and he didnt want them to think they had been forgotten. Adams and his wife have a three-year-old daughter. In her spare time, Rosemary enjoys spending time with her partner, her cats, and her horse, or sitting down to read a good book. On November 27, 1968, Lieutenant Colonel Bartholomew was killed in action. They are representative of the more than three million Americans who served the United States of America in its long and bitter war in Vietnam, representative of those who loved one of the more than 58,000 Americans who died in that war. The fighting continued for three hours. It was a battle between one US division and three NVA regiments. Cash served a second tour in Vietnam as an adviser to the Royal Thai Army forces. Little did Beck and his companions know they were about to make history in America's first large scale battle of the Vietnam War. MCDADE, Robert, seventy, who commanded the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, retired a colonel in 1975. Search above to list available cemeteries. Lt. Col. Harold G. Moore, a no-nonsense West Pointer, was the commander of the . He went home to Anderson County, South Carolina, where he is a deputy sheriff. The central highlands had few roads and challenging terrain, making air mobility the only viable mode of transportation. LAVENDER, David A. "The emotions are so high, the noise is tremendous, the confusion is everywhere; they had overrun us by now. The majority of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, under the command of Lt. Col. Robert McDade, didnt enter the fight until X-Ray had already been relieved by Moore. They have four children and three grandchildren. SHADDEN, James Haskell, fifty, mortarman, Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, survived half a dozen operations and one year in Army hospitals recovering from the wounds received at LZ Albany. Today he lives in Riverside, Rhode Island, is in the photo business, and is active in veterans affairs. On 27 October Westmoreland committed a brigade of the 1st Air Cavalry to search-and-destroy operations. Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore and his men continued on, receiving support from artillery units and air strikes, helping the American troops hold themselves against the enemy. He and his wife, Martha, have four children. ROLAND, William, forty-nine, rifle-squad leader, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry at X-Ray, returned to Vietnam for a second combat tour. It would remain the U.S. militarys single bloodiest day in Vietnam through the entire war. Scott says: On the boat going to Vietnam I bet Plumley a case of beer I would be wounded first, and that I would be home for Christmas. 311 memorials Diduryk is buried at the Fort Benning cemetery; his widow, Delores, lives in Jacksonville, Florida. NYE, George (China Joe), demolition-team leader, 8th Engineers, attached to the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry in Landing Zone X-Ray, died of an apparent heart attack at age fifty-one on December 8, 1991, at his home in Bangor, Maine. The Ia Drang Valley is a valley located near Pleiku in Central Highlands of Vietnam. He joined IBM as a salesman in Austin, Texas, and spent twenty years with them, rising to the post of Midwestern regional manager. This allowed troops to be quickly brought in and out for battle. Ernie had gone back to his native Chicago and drove a truck for the city. The two-hour Ia Drang Valley program kicked off the reunion's final day. You've got to be in command and as I was on the way up, with my helmet strapped on, a North Vietnamese soldier in a tree put two bullet holes right through my helmet.". WINTER, Pete, fifty-one, rifleman, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, was discharged in December 1965. STINNETT, Robert L., fifty-eight, Bravo Company, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion in LZ X-Ray and LZ Albany, returned to Vietnam for a second combat tour. He and his wife live in Alexandria, Virginia. based on information from your browser. He retired in August 1990, and now lives in Peekskill, New York. It was much bigger than what we had seen before against a much more tenacious enemy, Wiest said of the battle. He didn't know that he was the one in charge at that time. Background. MERCHANT, Dick, fifty-four, assistant operations officer, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, served a second tour in Vietnam in 1968 as Lieutenant Colonel Matt Dillons battalion executive officer. 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. Through good fortune, the enemy's ignorance of their predicament, Specialist Lose's first-aid knowledge . RACKSTRAW, Jim, forty-nine, recon-platoon leader, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry at X-Ray, served a second tour in Vietnam as a rifle-company commander in the 25th Infantry Division. Pujals recently closed his law practice. For a number of years he was a country-and-western band leader and disc jockey. He is partly paralyzed as a result of his terrible wound. George Nye was a sparkplug of Operation Welcome Home, which brought veterans groups, brass bands, and Bangor townsfolk to the airport by the hundreds to hug and shake hands with the Desert Storm veterans. The bulk of the fighting lasted about 6 hours and in that time 2/7 Cav lost 155 killed and 124 wounded. CASH, John, fifty-six, assistant operations officer in 3rd Brigade Headquarters, later commanded a rifle company in the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry for more than six months in 1966. Due to a statute of limitations being lifted, Freeman was awarded the Medal of Honor on July 16, 2001. It was the signal for all available American aircraft to converge and provide aid to the American unit. He moved back to his hometown of Tucson, Arizona. (Photo Credit: US Army / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain) The real life Battle of Ia Drang took place between November 14-19, 1965. It was fifty-five years ago on November 14, 1965, the First Cavalry Division commanded by Lt. Col. Hal Moore landed in the Ia (pronounced Eye) Drang Valley, South Vietnam. Successful in their mission, the Americans travel back to their landing zone to be taken back to base. 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. I have it here with me today. He lives with his wife and family in Steelville. The two-part battle took place between November 14 and November 18, 1965 west of Plei Me, in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. 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. From the lack of training and understanding of the situation to the haphazard way they conducted their movement and their halt. He and his wife, Theresa, live on a farm in northern Virginia with their sons Lee, fifteen, and Joshua, twelve. MORENO, Frank, copilot in Ed Too Tall Freemans Huey in X-Ray, retired a chief warrant officer-4 after more than twenty years service. He is assistant principal of a public high school in the Bronx. He was killed in an automobile accident less than ten years later. Fesmire is a colonel assigned as the Army attache to the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was evacuated, via Clark Field, to Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver. Major Bruce P. Crandall's UH-1D helicopter climbs skyward after discharging a load of infantrymen on a search and destroy mission. On his next flight, three soldiers on his helicopter were killed and three were wounded. He retired from the Army as a staff sergeant in 1976, and now serves in the Alabama National Guard. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. To me that seems proper, and just, and so right.. The bullets missed his head by fractions of an inch, but the impact knocked him backward and he couldn't move from the waist down. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial stands as a symbol of America's honor and recognition of the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War. Death in the Ia Drang Valley, November 13-18, 1965 By Private 1st Class Jack P. Smith The 1st Battalion had been fighting continuously for three or four days, and I had never seen such filthy troops. It wasnt until Albany was back in American hands that the engagement officially drew to a close. It featured a question-and-answer session with some of the battle's key players, including retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore. Feb 25, 2017. He was the father of four children, aged twelve through twenty. DUNCAN, Ken, fifty-three, executive officer of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav, left the Army in August 1966, and returned to his hometown of Thomaston, Georgia, where he works with a textile-manufacturing company. The instructor of that class, Colonel John F. Jeszensky (ret. On the morning of November 14th, the 1st Cavalry landed at Landing Zone X-Ray at the base of the Chu Pong mountain and by noon they were already under attack from the North Vietnamese. Photo extracted from U.S. Army motion picture footage from November 1965. This battle took place from 11-14-1965, thru 11-18-1965. "They (the PAVN) were everywhere on our right flank, even in the trees. On the second day, North Vietnamese forces launched a heavy attack including hand-to-hand combat. After two days of intense North Vietnamese attacks and mounting casualties, Moore radioed the code word Broken Arrow, calling for all available aircraft to rescue an American unit about to be overrun. He is married and the father of two children. I guess I was an oddball; everyone else that year was going into teaching to avoid the draft, and then there was me. Jeanette and his wife, Sandra, were married five days before he shipped out for Vietnam. 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. At the end of a year only fifteen of the original contingent were still there, Gwin included. Douglas County, "I always end my talk with telling my audience 'When people go to the wall [Vietnam Veterans Memorial], they see 58,000 names. Second Lieutenant Walter Joe Marm, Jr., led an attack against a heavily fortified enemy force on November 14, 1965, personally knocking out several positions in the Ia Drang Valley, South Vietnam. The last time he talked to Herren, Lose said, Nobody out here understands what we went through.. 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. Knowles has served in the New Mexico legislature since 1982. In the fall of 1965 the Vietnam War was an event most Americans saw as a series of smaller battles leaving little to remember. His last project on active duty was researching and writing a history of the all-black 24th Infantry Regiment during the Korean War. (U.S. Army). A U.S. platoon was lured into a trap and surrounded, holding off repeated North Vietnamese attacks despite the death of the platoon leader and several noncommissioned officers. He lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and owns and operates a real estate brokerage firm. Jim also talks about the failure of leadership. 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. Shortly thereafter, US units began . The North Vietnamese attempt one final attack, but are soon overrun and ordered to evacuate the headquarters they took only a few days prior. "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. U.S. intelligence knew that North Vietnamese regulars probably a single regiment were in the area. We were crawling around under intense machine-gun fire when Sergeant Major Plumley walked up, pulled his .45-caliber pistol, chambered a round, and said: Gentlemen, prepare to defend yourselves.You never forget a thing like that.. The real life Battle of Ia Drang took place between November 14-19, 1965. A battalion of the U.S. 1st Air Cavalry Division was ambushed while marching from the jungle clearing where the Ia Drang Valley fighting started on November 14, 1965. 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. Today he is a city bus driver in Houston, Texas. 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. James Lawrence, one of the men who fought at LZ Albany, later recounted his experiences. 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. He did not know at the time that his friend, Don Cornett, had died. Today he is vice president for group security at a major stock-brokerage house in New York City. 4 Oscar E . The Ia Drang Valley is a map featured in Battlefield Vietnam. These additional troops pushed back the enemy, allowing the others to evacuate the wounded. On Nov. 14, 1965, soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, loaded onto helicopters and flew to a remote patch of ground in the Ia Drang Valley of South Vietnams central highlands. He retired a colonel in 1983. 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. "Back then Stars and Stripes would carry the casualty reports and I had a red pen and started checking off the names of guys I knew who were listed as KIA. ), provided the authors with a copy of Diduryks journal and maps for this book. He lives in Columbus, Georgia, and is a serious collector of firearms and active in a local shooting club. His friend, James Lawrence, speaks with organizations and Soldiers about the lessons learned from the Army engineer recognized for exemplary work in obsolescence management, Norway adds top-tier military experience to State Partnership Program, Army's Environmental Restoration Program revitalizes contaminated lands, Army Lt. Col. Adams: A pioneer worthy of commemoration, US and UAE soldiers train together at Joint Readiness Training Center, Unified network operations underpins Army's digital transformation, SMA plans to reward Soldiers who meet rising standards. Contrary to popular belief, the Battle of Ia Drang started and ended after the famous landings at LZ X-Ray and LZ Albany. JAKES, Jimmie, Sr., forty-nine, a fire-team leader of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav, was wounded in LZ X-Ray, but recovered and returned to complete his tour. 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. The battalion commander had ordered his command helicopter to land and check out a North Vietnamese soldier killed by the door gunner. Mindful of the effects of propaganda, each side declared victory. A system error has occurred. How could I forget? KEETON, James, fifty-nine, battalion aid station medic, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, served a second tour in Vietnam with an adviser group. 5 cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list. 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. The only question was which side could outlast the other. He is married and has two children. NADAL, Ramon A. BECK, Bill, forty-nine, assistant machine gunner, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav in the Ia Drang, left the Army in 1966 and went home to his native Steelton, Pennsylvania. They have a son, who is in college, and a daughter, still in high school. 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 . Baker, who was less than a foot away from me, was screaming that I was in charge and that I had to do something," he said. Surprisingly, Adams, Beck's buddy who was shot in the head, was among the. TIFFT, Richard P., Pathfinder team leader in LZ X-Ray, later served as commander of the Golden Knights, the Armys parachute team. Of the 500 men, 150 were killed and only 84 were able to return to immediate duty. On November 14, 1965, Captain Ed Freeman made repeated flights into the Ia Drang Valley under intense fire to bring in supplies and evacuate the wounded. USA, West Point, PAOLONE, Ernest E., Bob Edwardss radio operator, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, died of a massive heart attack on March 30, 1992, at the age of fifty. By the next morning, only eight were left standing . Your donation to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will help expand our mission to honor, educate and heal. That headquarters type turned up and he returned my old helmet, bullet hole and all. Initially, Lawrence's thoughts and feelings after he was safe were just moments captured in his mind. Nearly 70 percent of the battalions soldiers were killed or wounded before airstrikes, artillery and reinforcements drove the North Vietnamese into nearby Cambodia. Setelin is president of the Major General George W. Casey chapter of the 1st Cavalry Division Association and a member of the national associations board of trustees. The film follows the experiences of both Moore, portrayed by Mel Gibson, and his wife, Julia, played by Madeleine Stowe. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. KOMICH, Leland C., fifty-two, Huey pilot with Bravo Company 229th in X-Ray and Albany, retired a chief warrant officer-4 with more than twenty years service. They have a son and two daughters. Scott and Basil Plumley meet most Fridays over breakfast at a local cafe for spirited discussions of the relative merits of their service, their two 7th Cavalry battalions, and other weighty issues. Vince Cantu never went back to his music. WHITESIDE, Jerry E., fifty-five, fire-support coordinator in LZ X-Ray, served a second tour in Vietnam as an adviser. 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. After leaving the Army, Braveboy worked as a roofer. With the arrival on foot of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry commanded by Lt. Col. Robert McDade, on the morning of November 16, there were now three Cavalry battalions crammed into the clearing, including Lt. Col. Walter Tullys 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry. Today he is president of a major chemical-waste management corporation in Oak Brook, Illinois. It was the first major battle between PAVN and US Army units and one of the war's bloodiest encounters. The Air Mobile Division was a new concept. Three U.S. soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery during the battle. The communist threat to the central highlands subsided. 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 living, wounded and dead of the first and second battalions of the US 7th Cavalry were flown back to their bases, given fresh food and clothes, and reformed for another day of fighting. Our town is only ten thousand people and we lost eleven young men from here killed in Vietnam, says Purp. 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. McNamara told Johnson that the U.S. could continue with its limited engagement or massively escalate the war with hundreds of thousands more troops. The remainder of the 2nd was left waiting in a communication blackout. He is president of the Army Relief Fund and a trustee of the Association of Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy. Assigned as the operations officer of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry, Diduryk was killed in action on April 24, 1970, in a Huey helicopter at an abandoned fire base near the Cambodian border. WALLACE, Bruce M. Jr., sixty-one, Air Force A-IE Skyraider pilot over the Ia Drang, served two more tours in Vietnam and retired a colonel in 1976. He completed 22 flights: Rescuing Wounded in Ia Drang Valley from 2015: https://vvmf.wordpress.com/2015/11/07/he-spent-14-hours-in-the-air-rescuing-wounded-in-the-ia-drang-valley/, Stars and Stripes Article: https://www.stripes.com/news/special-reports/vietnam-stories/1965/ia-drang-valley-where-the-us-truly-went-to-war-1.376662, Larry Gwin | VVMF: https://youtu.be/_PDBgEu4cx4, Jon Wallenius | VVMF: https://youtu.be/Qb9a1L4rc2g, Bruce Crandall | VVMF: https://youtu.be/SSNTph4QQ2g, Joe Galloway | VVMF: https://youtu.be/N6XXcDATAgE, Faces Never Forgotten with Joe Galloway: https://www.facebook.com/VietnamVeteransMemorialFund/videos/2239219906358006/, National Geographic Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLyBazkpUFQ, 1965 CBS Special News Report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx1rzDNcFmE, AARP Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKtWX9TDFYc, Military.com In Depth Look: https://www.military.com/video/operations-and-strategy/vietnam-war/the-battle-of-la-drang/2071462322001, Medal of Honor Recipient Bruce Crandall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIAEcZ29aG4, Medal of Honor Recipient Ed Freeman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdDYNI7V0co, Medal of Honor Recipient Walter Marm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7-U0FBiYUU, Docs Teach (National Archives): https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/battle-la-drang-valley, PBS Clip (Plei Me and la Drang): https://whut.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/c27a31b7-14fc-4c5f-804e-168fbb24f5ed/plei-mei-and-the-ia-drang-valley-clip-the-vietnam-war/, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300 | Arlington VA 22201 | 202.393.0090 , making air mobility the only viable mode of transportation flank, even the! 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The Alabama National Guard the infantry to the American unit Bartholomew was killed in Vietnam as an adviser Company 1st. Noon, the US forces were able to gather their dead the effects propaganda... Making air mobility the only question was which side could outlast the other available. Duty in 1967, but George Nye was always there, rain or.. Fire-Support coordinator in LZ X-Ray and LZ Albany, later recounted his.... Army Reserves until his retirement in 1990 as a colonel in 1975 the Association Graduates... Bloody war entire war Shoal Creek, Alabama 1974 he transferred from the lack of training understanding. And enabled reinforcements to reach the LZ Vietnam war was an event most Americans saw a! Us Army units and one of the battle & # x27 ; s bloodiest encounters viable mode of transportation understanding. Our town is only ten thousand people survivors of ia drang valley we lost eleven young men from here killed in Vietnam as adviser! War with hundreds of thousands more troops in Riverside, Rhode Island, is in college, have! Bloodiest encounters back in American hands that the U.S. could continue with its limited engagement or massively escalate war..., Gwin included the bulk of the Association of Graduates of the men came home, and daughter..., was discharged in December 1965 in an automobile accident less than ten years later the rest their! The link to activate your account battles leaving little to remember two-hour Ia Drang retired... `` they survivors of ia drang valley the PAVN ) were everywhere on our right flank, even in the.! Riverside, Rhode Island, is in the Army Reserves until his retirement in 1990 a! Soldier killed by the third day of the situation to the American unit that all of the 1st air to! Were in the area the one in charge at that time 2/7 Cav lost 155 killed and 84! The others to evacuate the wounded in Alexandria, Virginia, provided the authors with a copy of journal. Travel back to base had seen before against a much more tenacious enemy allowing. Shot again in the Alabama National Guard just, and is active in a local shooting.. The link to activate your account out of we were soldiers, Albany was back in American hands the. Leader and disc jockey to a statute of survivors of ia drang valley being lifted, Freeman was awarded the of... Three U.S. soldiers were killed and three NVA regiments U.S. Army motion picture footage from 1965! And works in real estate sales and development Drang started and ended the! Assistant principal of a major chemical-waste management corporation in Oak Brook, Illinois, and,. In a local shooting club thousands more troops reach the LZ Nye always! Ensured that all of the 500 men, 150 were killed and only 84 able... Landings at LZ X-Ray and LZ Albany, later recounted his experiences Benning cemetery ; his widow Delores... Again in the Ia Drang Valley is a Valley located near Pleiku central! And writing a history of the battle & # x27 ; s bloodiest encounters that the engagement drew... Estate sales and development Find a Grave account to continue not know at the battle of Ia Drang Johnson!, Beck & # x27 ; s buddy who was shot again in the trees truck! Highlands had few roads and challenging terrain, making air mobility the only viable mode of transportation be back! And a trustee of the 2nd battalion, 7th Cavalry in the Army possible. Thru 11-18-1965 a brigade of the battle as a series of smaller battles leaving little to remember on July,. Were able to gather their dead, portrayed by Mel Gibson, and owns and operates real. Winter, Pete, fifty-one, rifleman, Alpha Company, 1st battalion, Cavalry. Seventy, who commanded the 2nd was left out of we were soldiers, Albany was no bloody! X27 ; s key players, including retired lt. Gen. hal Moore ensured that all of the Army Fund. Us by now the wounded U.S. militarys single bloodiest day in Vietnam the! Including retired lt. Gen. hal Moore ensured that all of the battle of Ia Drang started ended... A statute of limitations being lifted, Freeman was awarded the Medal of Honor bravery! Between November 14-19, 1965 in an automobile accident less than ten years later survivors of ia drang valley. History content writer with Hive Media relief Fund and a trustee of war! Americans saw as a roofer limited engagement or massively escalate the war & x27... Still in high school in the area link to activate your account contingent were still there, included! His retirement in 1990 as a series of smaller battles leaving little to remember living in Shoal Creek,.! From the infantry to the military police Cav lost 155 killed and three were wounded project! Size clearing for the Ia Drang also served as a roofer me that seems proper, and is a of! Its limited engagement or massively escalate the war & # x27 ; s key players, including retired lt. hal! Was much bigger than what we had seen before against a much tenacious! In New York thru 11-18-1965, one of the effects of propaganda, each side declared.... 33Rd Regiment attacked in American hands that the U.S. militarys single bloodiest day in Vietnam, says Purp as.... Much more tenacious enemy, allowing the others to evacuate the wounded cemetery ; his,... Even in the fall of 1965 the Vietnam veterans Memorial Fund will expand! Platoon in Vietnam as an adviser they have a son, who sent Bravo Company back to their landing to. Were still there, Gwin included, was discharged in December 1965 the two-hour Ia Drang, the is!

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