CRANDALL, Bruce, fifty-nine, who commanded the helicopters in the Ia Drang Valley, returned to Vietnam for a second tour in 1967. Married and the father of three children, Winter works for the Long Island Railroad and lives in Howard Beach, Queens, New York. On November 14, 1965, 450 American soldiers of the 1st Air Cavalry Division were airlifted by helicopter to this valley with the intention of locating and eliminating North Vietnamese forces. And it all began early one fall day. We were taking an administrative break, guys were taking off their packs and lighting cigarettes and the enemy was less than 100 yards on our right flank and deploying and we couldn't see 'em or hear 'em," he said. CANTU, Vincent, fifty-one, mortarman, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav, left the Ia Drang battlefield and immediately rotated home for discharge, two weeks late, in December 1965. He spent eighteen months in Army hospitals, and was retired, disabled, in June 1975. Facebook Twitter When someone shook me and tried to get me moving I was actually offended. This is the tale of the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam in 1965. 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. He is the perennial master of ceremonies at the Ia Drang dinners; he claims he is the only one of the brothers who can get through an entire sentence without using the f-word. "To do it you've got to get up. Thus died one of the finest officers who fought in the Ia Drang. They died thinking that their loved ones would never know how they died. There's captains and majors and colonels and I assume they know what they are doing. In his spare time Wal-lenius draws, paints, and does etchings and prints, sometimes of Vietnam War scenes. No one wanted to look weak in the face of communist aggression.. However, theres one part of We Were Soldiers thats different from what really happened: the ending. Major Bruce Crandalls UH-1D helicopter climbs skyward after discharging a load of infantrymen on a search and destroy mission in Ia Drang. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. They never did. It featured a question-and-answer session with some of the battle's key players, including retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore. 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. Adams and his wife have a three-year-old daughter. James T. Lawrence, a first lieutenant in the Battle of Ia Drang Valley, learned a lesson in leadership the hard way 50 years ago. She and her husband live in Annandale, Virginia. when I said to hell with it. He and his wife own and manage a trailer park, and Kluges night job is corrections officer for the Arizona State Department of Corrections. THORPE, Henry, fifty-eight, commander, Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, left the Army as a captain in September 1967, after eight years service, and went home to his native North Carolina. Lawrence's story is one that he has told so often to so many people that it is fluid and impactful without being rehearsed. Towles received a masters degree in history from Kent State in 1989, and is currently working on his doctorate. For the last twenty-two years he has worked for the North Bergen, N.J., fire department. Today he lives in Riverside, Rhode Island, is in the photo business, and is active in veterans affairs. He and his wife, Ann, live in Lilburn, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. Charlie Company took the brunt of the assault. 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. The battle of LZ Albany began after the battle of LZ X-ray made famous in the Mel Gibson movie "We Were Soldiers." The North Vietnamese enjoyed numerical superiority in the valley. (Purp), fifty, rifleman, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry, was evacuated to Japan. Today he is president of a major chemical-waste management corporation in Oak Brook, Illinois. Privacy Policy Alpha company along with most of the command group had setup a perimeter in the trees, but the rest of the battalion was cut off. 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. Rozanski returned to the Ia Drang five times on various intelligence missions and described the place as a cemetery. He was retired, disabled, as a major in the mid-1970s. He and his wife have two college-age children. When the last of his old friends in the 1st Cavalry and the U.S. Marines rotated home, Galloway also left, vowing never to return. Despite their efforts, the North Vietnamese retake the position soon after. He and his wife, Julie, divide their time between homes in Auburn, Alabama, and Crested Butte, Colorado. 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. Terms of Use | A system error has occurred. Army vet Jimi Hendrix had the 'most electrifying moment' at Woodstock, Hamburger Hill: For war-weary Americans, 10-day battle defined futility of Vietnam War, Nixon struggles to achieve peace with honor and end unpopular Vietnam War, Marines shut down elite scout sniper platoons in favor of all-weather, info-gathering units, Navy gives leaders mental health playbook to help troubled sailors, Cadets at the service academies can now have children while attending school, Military, VA provide troops, vets more gun safety options to help reduce suicides, Pentagon tells service members to stop displaying giant US flags at major events, K-Town Now features the latest news from the Kaiserslautern Military Community. He and his wife and young son live in Lawndale, California. He and his wife live in Phoenix, Arizona. Forces, was Time magazines Man of the Year. He lives in Olympia, Washington, and works for the state government. After retiring from the Army, Freeman became the northwest area director of aircraft services for the U.S. Department of the Interior. Successful in their mission, the Americans travel back to their landing zone to be taken back to base. Hal Moore ensured that all of the men came home, and they therefore did . One killed, 15 injured after clashes erupt at Afghan border again December 16, 2022. Please enter your email and password to sign in. This account has been disabled. There was a problem getting your location. For the Ia Drang Valley survivors, October 10, 2012 will be a day they will remember for the rest of their days. Importantly, the battle of the Ia Drang Valley was interpreted in different ways by various groups and individuals: Army generals saw it differently from their civilian leaders; American soldiers had their own take on the combat; the news media saw the battle in yet another way. Things were quiet, but in the morning, the North Vietnamese attacked. Cash served a second tour in Vietnam as an adviser to the Royal Thai Army forces. He and his wife, Pat, live in Avon Park, Florida. His dissertation is on the LZ Albany battle. Fifty years ago today, one of the Vietnam war's most ferocious battles broke out in the Ia Drang Valley. He retired a lieutenant colonel in 1980 with twenty years service, and is now a plastics-plant manager. Then after a moment I realized I was still alive and needed to do something.". Each option, he warned, had a good chance of leading to a stalemate. "The XO let out a low moan, and his head sank. That is the theme of Lawrence's book and of his talks. Most of the planes touched down between midnight and six A.M., but George Nye was always there, rain or shine. Sandpoint, ID 83864 He single-handedly raised five young children and earned a doctorate, retiring a lieutenant colonel after twenty years service. She is an active member of Sons and Daughters in Touch, an organization sponsored by the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Due to a statute of limitations being lifted, Freeman was awarded the Medal of Honor on July 16, 2001. 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. He would recover after some physical therapy and return to duty in 1966 to finish his tour. He went home to Salinas, California, where he lives with his wife and three sons. "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. 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. WASHBURN, Richard B., fifty-seven, platoon leader, 2/20th Aerial Rocket Artillery in the Ia Drang, returned to Vietnam for a second combat tour. Photo Credit: Wikipedia; Henry Toro Herrick was red-haired, five foot ten, twenty-four years old, and the son of an astronomy professor at UCLA. The U.S. unit was moving through the jungle in a long column when the 8th battalion of the North Vietnamese 66th Regiment sprang in to a massive ambush. Parish now runs the Bristow, Oklahoma, toll gate on the Turner Turnpike. ROBINSON, Edward Charles, fifty-five, Huey pilot at LZ X-Ray, served a second combat tour in Vietnam. YOUNG, James, fifty-one, rifleman, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry in LZ Albany, made it home to the family farm outside Keysville, Missouri, on Christmas Eve, 1965, with an Army discharge in his pocket and a quarter-size hole in the side of his skull. The outcome convinced the North Vietnamese that they could reduce the threat of U.S. firepower by engaging the Americans at close quarters where U.S. airstrikes would prove risky and then melt away into the jungle or across the border into sanctuaries in Cambodia. With only 700 effective soldiers left of the original 2,200, the 33d Regiment needed help. Two men - Sgt. SUGDINIS, Joel E., fifty-five, who had already served one tour in Vietnam as an adviser, completed his second tour with Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry. He retired a colonel in December 1981, after twenty-four years service. 4/C Jack P. Smith (Illustration by Noel Sickles, SEPS) Weekly Newsletter SUPPORT THE POST I didn't do as I should have.". Deleting this Virtual Cemetery cannot be undone. Shucart says, It was interesting; they just figured I was another grunt and I didnt tell them different. Lawrence dropped to the ground to take cover in the tall elephant grass and began to return fire like any other rifleman. Knowles retired from the Army in 1974 as a lieutenant general. It was his positive decision to do something that reinforced my own will to go on.". He teaches physical and earth sciences at Venice High School, Los Angeles, California. The central highlands had few roads and challenging terrain, making air mobility the only viable mode of transportation. copyright 2023 ), provided the authors with a copy of Diduryks journal and maps for this book. 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. His last known address was Miami, Florida. 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 . As the command ship touched down, other NVA soldiers opened up; Myron Diduryk was struck in the stomach in the doorway of the chopper. Spec. Very difficult. Her research focused on military, environmental, and Canadian history with a specific focus on the Second World War. 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. These men survived the fighting in the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam from Oct 23, 1965 to Nov 1965. Why I wasn't killed, I couldn't say.". Returning home, he single-handedly raised his two young children while earning two masters degrees. The last time he talked to Herren, Lose said, Nobody out here understands what we went through.. 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. U.S. intelligence knew that North Vietnamese regulars probably a single regiment were in the area. 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. For information, the 1st Air Cavalry arrived in the fall of 1965, about the same time I did as a member of the 1stInfantry Division. 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. 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. . He works at Fort Benning, Georgia, evaluating Army Reserve training. You can always change this later in your Account settings. DIDURYK, Myron F., commander of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cav in LZ X-Ray and LZ Albany, completed his tour in Vietnam with Bravo Company in 1966, and later returned to Vietnam and the 1st Air Cavalry Division as a major. 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. His personalized license plate proclaims: LZ X-Ray. They have a son and two daughters. He lives in Golden, Colorado, where he owns a firm that deals worldwide in antiques. Vince Cantu never went back to his music. He served as city manager of Dunsmuir, California, from 1977 to 1980, when he moved to Mesa, Arizona, where he is the citys manager of public works. He lives in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He is married and has four children. He lives in Falls, Pennsylvania. 1965 was the year America took the gloves off in Vietnam, moving from advising and assisting the South Vietnamese military to an active combat role. "I realized it when Sgt. He still grows soybeans and corn on the farm in his spare time. 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. It was a small football size clearing for the first helicopters to be used in combat. WINTER, Pete, fifty-one, rifleman, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, was discharged in December 1965. The bulk of the fighting lasted about 6 hours and in that time 2/7 Cav lost 155 killed and 124 wounded. Charlies foot was pinned in the wrecked cockpit when the white phosphorus target-marking rockets under the wings cooked off. 'The torture stopped': 1969 brought temporary changes to infamous Hanoi Hilton, Patriotism or protest? Today he is a city bus driver in Houston, Texas. At a surprise fiftieth-birthday party for Ernie, he was presented a plaque engraved with sergeants stripes and inscribed with a message from Colonel (ret.) 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 . 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