The 430 troops of the 1st Battalion, 1stCavalry Division loaded into helicopters and were dropped into the Ia Drang valley. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. Then he somehow managed to crawl away, saying that he was going to organize the troops. 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. The central highlands had few roads and challenging terrain, making air mobility the only viable mode of transportation. Gwin left the Army at the end of his ROTC commitment and went home to his native Boston, where he teaches and writes. The losses at Ia Drang prompted the North Vietnamese to rethink their plan to confront U.S. forces with large, conventional formations, reverting to hit-and-run attacks where U.S. air and artillery power was less effective. 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. The XO was going fast. JEKEL, Alex (Pop), seventy, Huey pilot in X-Ray and Albany, retired in the late 1960s as a chief warrant officer-4. ROLAND, William, forty-nine, rifle-squad leader, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry at X-Ray, returned to Vietnam for a second combat tour. 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. He works for a consulting firm in McLean, Virginia. He is a master gunsmith and runs his own business repairing and selling weapons. 5 cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. He retired from the Army as a staff sergeant in 1976, and now serves in the Alabama National Guard. They have five grown children: sons Steve, Dave, and Greg; and daughters Cecile and Julie. 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. All Rights Reserved. Rescorla kept the battered French Army bugle he captured on the field at Albany; in 1991 he turned it over to the Ia Drang Alumni for use in memorial ceremonies. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. In Vietnam, it never got any worse than it did in the Ia Drang, a distant valley in the Central Highlands, tangled in elephant grass and simmering in heat. Terms of Use | Unlike Viet Cong guerrillas, the northerners were prepared to stand and fight. TIFFT, Richard P., Pathfinder team leader in LZ X-Ray, later served as commander of the Golden Knights, the Armys parachute team. Her mother, who never remarried, died in 1986. The instructor of that class, Colonel John F. Jeszensky (ret. Merchant retired a lieutenant colonel in 1982. In the spring of 1992, Frank Henry was posthumously inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame. 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. They are all Don Cornett to him, his best friend. KELLING, George, fifty-four, who ran Charlie Med, the rear-area casualty receiving station during LZ X-Ray and LZ Albany, retired a lieutenant colonel in 1978. 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. Moore and his battalion were evacuated the next day, Nov. 17. Moore continues to fight, returning home to Julia after a year. Shadden lives on a seven-acre farm outside Tellico Plains, Tennessee, and works part-time at odd jobs. In August 1977, at the age of forty-four, Colonel Frank Henry died when an aneurysm ruptured. He spent more than 14 hours in the air andcompleted a total of 22 flights, most under intense enemy fire. 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 allowed troops to be quickly brought in and out for battle. The battle was later dramatized in the film We Were Soldiers. Search above to list available cemeteries. At the end of a year only fifteen of the original contingent were still there, Gwin included. copyright 2023 4/C Jack P. Smith (Illustration by Noel Sickles, SEPS) Weekly Newsletter SUPPORT THE POST 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. The film follows the experiences of both Moore, portrayed by Mel Gibson, and his wife, Julia, played by Madeleine Stowe. 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. 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. After they were airlifted out of the combat zone, McDades men were joined by the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment. With only 700 effective soldiers left of the original 2,200, the 33d Regiment needed help. It wasnt until Albany was back in American hands that the engagement officially drew to a close. Sandpoint, ID 83864 I still have my leg, and I can walk on it. BARTHOLOMEW, Roger J. There were no further attacks overnight. He works at Fort Benning, Georgia, evaluating Army Reserve training. JEMISON, Robert, Jr., sixty-one, platoon sergeant, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, retired as a sergeant first class in 1976, after twenty-four years service. He is a captain and the commander of Engine Company Number One. Today he is a city bus driver in Houston, Texas. (U.S. Army). But I remember thinking that I'm just a lieutenant. LOSE, Charles R., the medic of the Lost Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, has dropped out of sight. Fifty years ago today, one of the Vietnam war's most ferocious battles broke out in the Ia Drang Valley. ), provided the authors with a copy of Diduryks journal and maps for this book. 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 told Moore to execute an airmobile assault into the Ia Drang valley north of the Chu Pong peak early the next morning and to conduct search and destroy operations through 15 November. Although the fighting had ended, the Battle of Ia Drang didnt officially conclude until the next day, as it took two days to collect the bodies. As the fighting around Landing Zone X-Ray subsided, McDades 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, was ordered to move cross-country to Landing Zone Albany, where it was to be picked up by helicopter and moved to a new location. He is a consultant to industries seeking defense business. 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. UH-1 aircraft of the 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion carry wounded 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry soldiers away during the fight for LZ X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam. Sources 1st Cavalry Division Association: 1st Cavalry Division Medal of Honor Recipients. Westmorelands biggest problem with the strategy was that he thought it would work in two or three years when it would have taken 10 or 12.. Our town is only ten thousand people and we lost eleven young men from here killed in Vietnam, says Purp. In January 1968, over the Bong Son plain, Crandalls Huey was blown out of the sky by an air strike while flying a nap-of-the-earth search for a downed helicopter. MAPSON, Betty Jivens, forty-two, daughter of Sergeant Jerry Jivens, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, killed in action at X-Ray on November 15, 1965, is married, the mother of two, and works as a secretary at the Medical Center Hospital in Columbus, Georgia. For him, war is something that will always be a necessity as long as there is evil in the world, but it is something that is not to be glorified or desired. The machine gunner was mowing them down. He returned to active duty in July 1966, and served a second tour in Vietnam as an adviser in Long Binh district. . Bob Edwards saying that these were the stripes Paolone earned at LZ X-Ray but never got. MARUHNICH, John, sixty-two, mortar sergeant, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry in LZ X-Ray, retired a sergeant first class in 1974 with twenty-four years service. He and his wife, Theresa, live on a farm in northern Virginia with their sons Lee, fifteen, and Joshua, twelve. 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. He and his wife and their four Saint Bernard dogs live in Colorado Springs, Colorado. That all would change when the First Cavalry Air Mobile Division flew into the Ia Drang Valley in the central highlands of South Vietnam. 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 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. "I can't even begin to explain it," he said. 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. Vince Cantu never went back to his music. 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. Enlisted men may scoff at officers back in the billets but when the fighting begins, the men automatically become dependent upon them. Successful in their mission, the Americans travel back to their landing zone to be taken back to base. The Huey was the best helicopter ever made. He was director of training development at Fort Benning when he retired as a colonel in 1983. Lt. Col. Hal Moores 1stBattalion, 7thCalvary wasordered to take on an air assaultin the Ia Drang Valley. 1st Lt. Donald Cornett at his base camp in Vietnam, shortly before the battle of Landing Zone Albany where he was killed in action, Nov. 17, 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. Hal Moore and the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment fought at the former for three days, beginning on November 14. Forces, was Time magazines Man of the Year. The Ia Drang Valley is a map featured in Battlefield Vietnam. Crandall continued to fly into and out of the landing zone throughout the day and into the evening. Mississippi, 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. 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. TULLY, Robert (Bob), sixty-eight, commander, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, served a second tour in Vietnam in 1968 as a brigade commander in the Americal Division. Lt. Col. Harold G. Moore, a no-nonsense West Pointer, was the commander of the . Carrara says, I dont dwell on Vietnam, but now and then I hear something or smell something and flash back to those days. 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. It was the first major combat action between U.S. ground forces and the North Vietnamese Army. 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. The "Lost Platoon," led by Lt. Henry T. Herrick, became separated from the rest of Lt. Col. Harold G. "Hal" Moore's battalion at the start of the battle of Ia Drang on Nov. 14, 1965. He is now an attorney in San Diego, California. It would remain the U.S. militarys single bloodiest day in Vietnam through the entire war. I didn't do as I should have.". The battlefield area covered 1,500 square miles of what appeared to be flat rolling terrain dominated by the Chu Pong . 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. But the battle's true toll would prove to be the hubris it bred in U.S. commanders. He and his wife live in Phoenix, Arizona. His friends completed the tree for him and dedicated it to Sergeant China Joe Nye. The Pleiku Campaign took place from 20 October to 26 . Crandall kept his helicopter on the ground in the line of enemy fire, so that four wounded soldiers could be loaded aboard. The service members killed in the Battle of la Drang are remembered on Panel 3E of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He lives on a farm near Rainier, Washington, and has been writing down his memories of Vietnam duty for his children and grandchildren. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. He and his wife have two college-age children. Together, they flew in supplies, water, and ammunition needed for the troops. Major Bruce Crandalls UH-1D helicopter climbs skyward after discharging a load of infantrymen on a search and destroy mission in Ia Drang. P.O. They saved some 70 soldiers. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. 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. 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.. Fesmire is a colonel assigned as the Army attache to the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. "They (the PAVN) were everywhere on our right flank, even in the trees. He lives in Washington, D.C. SPIRES, James W., operations officer, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, retired a lieutenant colonel in 1976 and owns and operates his own industrial representational firm. Shocked and wounded U.S. troops gather at a jungle clearing of South Vietnam's Ia Drang Valley in mid-November 1965, as they wait for an ambulance helicopter. 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