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 wanted to ensure the memories of those who died live on, in particular that of his best friend, Lt. Don Cornett. When I go to the wall, I see Don Cornett's name 58,000 times.'. The last time he talked to Herren, Lose said, Nobody out here understands what we went through.. In the prologue, Galloway wrote: "This, then, is our testament and our tribute to 234 Americans who died beside us in Landing Zone X-Ray and Landing Zone Albany in the Valley of Death, 1965." He and his wife, Arlene, have three sonsa banker in Sao Paulo, Brazil; a lawyer in Connecticut; and a divinity student in college. 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. Winkel and his wife live in Springfield, Virginia. 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 . Still on active duty, he is a major general, and is deputy to the Army inspector-general. Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets I believe it is so I can share our story.". "I realized it when Sgt. (67 votes) Very easy. 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. Search above to list available cemeteries. The bullet was still in there. He and his wife live in Sag Harbor, New York, where they operate a summer season shop that deals in contemporary original art. USA, Mendenhall, 1/7 Cavalry lands at LZ X-Ray. 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. Too Tall Ed retired from that job on January 3, 1991. The Battle of Ia Drang Valley, fought November 14th-18th, 1965, was the first major engagement between the United States Army and the People's Army of Vietnam (abbreviated as PAVN). He and his wife live in Anniston, Alabama, where Martin is employed at the Army Depot. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. Thus died one of the finest officers who fought in the Ia Drang. 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. The communist threat to the central highlands subsided. SETELIN, John, forty-eight, squad leader, Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, left Vietnam with three Purple Hearts and left the Army a sergeant. In Washington, Ia Drang convinced Johnson that he was in for a long, bloody war. He was medically evacuated the next morning. 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. 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. (Photo Credit: US Army / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain) The real life Battle of Ia Drang took place between November 14-19, 1965. 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. Postal Service in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I was standing back there in the column and the column was stopped. The North Vietnamese attempt one final attack, but are soon overrun and ordered to evacuate the headquarters they took only a few days prior. He then formed a computer-software company. The fighting continued all day and into the night. 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. Fought between November 14th and 18th of 1965, around the hills surrounding the valley of Ia Drang, on the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. based on information from your browser. It was much bigger than what we had seen before against a much more tenacious enemy, Wiest said of the battle. It was a battle between one US division and three NVA regiments. 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 and his wife, Theresa, live on a farm in northern Virginia with their sons Lee, fifteen, and Joshua, twelve. He served in both Brazil and El Salvador, was a history instructor at West Point, and served in the Center of Military History for a number of years. Mrs. Mapson is a member of the Columbus chapter of the 1st Cavalry Division Association. It was his positive decision to do something that reinforced my own will to go on.". 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. Lawrence, even in his paralyzed state, was able to give some direction to his company. 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. 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.. Joseph Galloway was a civilian reporter at the Battle of Ia Drang. His twelve-year-old granddaughter recently interviewed Ray about his experiences in Vietnam and wrote a school essay she titled: My Grandfather: An American Hero.. 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. The first major American direct fire conflict took place in November of 1965 in the Ia Drang Valley. 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. He holds two masters degrees, is employed in the defense industry, and lives in Alexandria, Virginia. There was a problem getting your location. Tully retired a colonel in 1976. Moore, who says he graduated from West Point by the skin of my teeth, was the first Army officer of his class (1945) to achieve one-, two-, and three-star rank. 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. The IDV is the valley through which the river (Ia) Drang flows and is drained by the Ia Drang, Ia Puck and an extensive network of small streams flowing west and southwest across the Cambodian border into the Mekong River. It occurred in the Ia Drang valley, near Vietnam's border with Cambodia, on November 14-18, 1965. The Ia Drang Valley is where the U.S. truly went to war. Crandall and Freeman successfully rescued some 70 wounded men. He is married and has a daughter in college and a son in the U.S. Marines. 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. Fighting was so intense that a battalion commander, Lt. Col. Hal Moore, reported finding a dead American with his hands at the throat of a dead North Vietnamese soldier. Book Sources: The Battle of Ia Drang Valley We were soldiers once -and young : Ia Drang, the battle that changed the war in Vietnam by Ha Moore; Joseph Galloway Call Number: Boca Raton General Collection DS557.8.I18 M66 1992 ISBN: 0679411585 Publication Date: 1992-10-20 Everyman in Vietnam by Michael Adas; Joseph J. Gilch Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. 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. 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. 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. These additional troops pushed back the enemy, allowing the others to evacuate the wounded. 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. He was paralyzed. LZ Albany is essentially two clearings with a large copse of trees in the middle. TULLY, Walter Busill (Buse) Jr., commander, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, returned to Vietnam on a second tour as a major in the Americal Division. Each option, he warned, had a good chance of leading to a stalemate. Shadden lives on a seven-acre farm outside Tellico Plains, Tennessee, and works part-time at odd jobs. BY DAVID A. MAURER. He left the Army in 1971 with the rank of captain, returned home to Puerto Rico, and earned a law degree. He is married and the father of two daughters. Hear three personal perspectives from men who survived. He and his wife, Billie, have a son in college and a daughter still at home. "The way it was presented, at least from my perspective, was we were making an administrative move to be airlifted out so we wouldn't be in the way of the bombers.". 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. Carrara says, I dont dwell on Vietnam, but now and then I hear something or smell something and flash back to those days. Moore considered the outcome a draw. 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. It wasnt until Albany was back in American hands that the engagement officially drew to a close. Mindful of the effects of propaganda, each side declared victory. But Charlie was back in the air, flying F-4 Phantoms, less than a year later. Battle of Ia Drang, first major clash between U.S. soldiers and North Vietnamese troops during the Vietnam War. He is married and has four children. 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. But I remember thinking that I'm just a lieutenant. More than anything else in the world I would like to be back in the Green Machine, he says. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. He is an executive with a major defense-contracting firm and lives in Centreville, Virginia. I didn't do as I should have.". I fought for this country and now I own and farm 120 acres of my country. WHITESIDE, Jerry E., fifty-five, fire-support coordinator in LZ X-Ray, served a second tour in Vietnam as an adviser. Galen Bungum, left, and Joe F. Mackey, two of the unhurt survivors of Lt. Henry Herrick's Lost Platoon. He now manages the quartermaster laundry at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and lives in Clarksville, Tennessee. KINNARD, Harry W. O., seventy-seven, former commanding general of the 1st Cavalry Division, retired from the Army as a lieutenant general in 1969. The Battle of Ia Drang was the first major battle of Vietnam fought on the dates of November 14-18, 1965. She received both her bachelor of arts degree in history, and her master of arts degree in history from Western University. In his spare time he camps, climbs, skis, and fishes for trout in the Rockies. He now lives in Dublin, New Hampshire, and works for a firm that sells office supplies. 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. His primary job is helping communities located near Army chemical-weapons depots write their emergency-response plans. 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, Elizabeth, live in Roswell, New Mexico, where they run an antiques shop. STOCKTON, John B., seventy, commander, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, retired a colonel in 1967. The British-born Rescorla earned a masters degree and a law degree at universities in Oklahoma and went into corporate-security work. They have four children and five grandchildren. Linda Carole Mustion has not added any memorials to this virtual cemetery. He won a National Magazine Award for his October 29, 1990, cover article on the Ia Drang battles. Purp is married, the father of three daughters, and cuts hair at Gibbs Barber Shop, where he has worked for the last nineteen years. 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. The column was strung out about 550 yards in the open with dense vegetation to their right. 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. For a number of years he was a country-and-western band leader and disc jockey. During a 14-hour period, Major Bruce Crandall and Captain Ed Freeman, repeatedly landed their helicopter under intense enemy fire at Landing Zone X-Ray. 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.. 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 lives in Falls, Pennsylvania. Before the Battle of la Drang was over, 305 Americans had been killed along with an estimated 2,000 North Vietnamese troops. 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. 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. Many did a second tour and others left the service and returned home to their families. 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. He went home to Salinas, California, where he lives with his wife and three sons. PARKER, Neal G., a Naval Academy graduate who transferred to the U.S. Army and was a Huey pilot in Bravo Company 229th in the Ia Drang, retired a colonel after thirty years service. 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. Although each survivor's story is unique, . His personalized license plate proclaims: LZ X-Ray. 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. Outnumbered when they arrive, the men are forced to fight for their lives while eliminating the 4,000-strong North Vietnamese force. Although he was a civilian, Galloway was awarded the Bronze Star medal for helping to rescue wounded soldiers during the battle. His widow, Emma Lee, lives in Austin, Texas. 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. In Hanoi, the North Vietnamese leadership was prepared for huge losses. The late Lt. Gen. Hal Moore, author of We Were Soldiers Onceand Young, is said to have closed every speech with the phrase, "Hate the war, love the American warrior." Forces, was Time magazines Man of the Year. 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. For the Ia Drang Valley survivors, October 10, 2012 will be a day they will remember for the rest of their days. The remainder of the 2nd was left waiting in a communication blackout. He worked an additional fifteen years as a civilian employee at Martin Army Hospital at Fort Benning, Georgia, and retired again in 1990. 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. New York, Cash served a second tour in Vietnam as an adviser to the Royal Thai Army forces. A miserly, ungrateful Veterans Administration ruled that Shadden was only thirty percent disabled. It was a small football size clearing for the first helicopters to be used in combat. He retired a first sergeant in June 1973, with twenty years service. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Word reached the battalion traveling to Columbus, who sent Bravo Company back to Albany to serve as reinforcements. Moore continues to fight, returning home to Julia after a year. He asked for a volunteer to go with him and Captain Ed Freeman agreed to pursue it with him, displaying extraordinary heroism. The men, women, and children of this story are Americas neighbors, living quiet lives in every corner of the nation they served. They had this Learning to be a Teacher program; I tried it and loved it. 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. 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 . He is brutally honest, even with his actions as a leader. He teaches physical and earth sciences at Venice High School, Los Angeles, California. Meyer and his wife, Carol, live in Arlington, Virginia. 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. In 1974 he transferred from the infantry to the military police. He went home to Murphysboro, Illinois. That spring, the Saigon government had begun collapsing under the combined. Today he is an orchestra leader and serves in the state militia. I think of all those guys killed in action, wounded in action, and their friends, their relatives and all those altered lives. 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. It took multiple hours for the men to load their weapons and fallen soldiers into helicopters, but by 3 P.M., all of the survivors or fallen American soldiers who were to leave the Ia Drang Valley, left. (U.S. Army). He and his wife, Nell, now are retired and living in Shoal Creek, Alabama. By the next morning, only eight were left standing . This is the tale of the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam in 1965. By Trevor Arendall, July 9 . He is a master gunsmith and runs his own business repairing and selling weapons. He retired a major in 1980, after twenty years service. Fred Gilreath of Surgoinsville holds a framed photo of his older brother Luther Gilreath who was killed 50 years ago on the second day of the Battle of Ia Drang, Nov. 15, 1965. He tells his audience this to help them understand. "When things started it just erupted," Lawrence said. ), provided the authors with a copy of Diduryks journal and maps for this book. 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. 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. Val Kilmer Accidentally Landed Matthew Modine the Starring Role in Full Metal Jacket. 2023 Stars and Stripes. "The XO let out a low moan, and his head sank. USA, Fort Benning, By the end of the first day, the 1st BN, 7th Cavalry was reduced to approximately 340 men. I felt a flash of panic. The North Vietnamese enjoyed numerical superiority in the valley. These men survived the fighting in the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam from Oct 23, 1965 to Nov 1965. 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. Advisory Group, Pleiku. 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. He single-handedly raised five young children and earned a doctorate, retiring a lieutenant colonel after twenty years service. 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. He was 92 years old. Early Ia Drang Valley 1965 KIA group - 2/8 Calavary - LZ Cavalair Early Ia Drang Valley 1965 KIA group - 2/8 Calavary - LZ Cavalair. He and his wife, Kornelia, live in Columbus, Georgia, where for several years Scott taught military subjects to Junior ROTC in the high schools. They resupplied ammunition, water, and supplies, while evacuating the wounded. Sandpoint, ID 83864 I think it also speaks to the depths these guys were into the Cold War reality at the time. Enlisted men may scoff at officers back in the billets but when the fighting begins, the men automatically become dependent upon them. They have a son and two daughters. The Battle that changed the war in vietnam Overview A Vietnamese military maxim states: He who controls the Central Highlands controls South Vietnam. The Battle of Ia Drang Still Matters - War Is Boring. At various times in recent years he has been reported to be either employed or a patient in VA hospitals in Mississippi and Alabama. Unlike Viet Cong guerrillas, the northerners were prepared to stand and fight. It was Nov. 15, 1965, in the valley of the Ia Drang in the wild mountains of the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. DEAL, Dennis, fifty, platoon leader, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav in the Ia Drang, left the Army as a captain in 1968 and returned to his native Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. PAYNE, D. P. (Pat), fifty, recon-platoon leader, Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, served two tours in Vietnam and left the Army as a captain in June 1969. They successfully hit many of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops, while also shooting some of the Americans with friendly fire. It is republished unedited in its original form. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. He is partly paralyzed as a result of his terrible wound. 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. He retired in August 1977, with thirty-two years service. 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. The Ia Drang Valley is a map featured in Battlefield Vietnam. MCDADE, Robert, seventy, who commanded the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, retired a colonel in 1975. I have one very vivid memory of the second morning in X-Ray. The following is a partial accounting, prepared in 1992, of where some of them are and what they have done with their lives: ADAMS, Russell, fifty-one, machine gunner, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav in the Ia Drang, helps run the family dairy farm on five hundred acres outside Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania. He is a colonel and the provost marshal of the U.S. Army Forces Command (Forscom) in Atlanta, Georgia. 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. Three U.S. soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery during the battle. The service members killed in the Battle of la Drang are remembered on Panel 3E of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The following day, both battalions were informed of an incoming bomber run on LZ X-Ray, meaning they needed to go elsewhere. Some of them had blood on their faces from scratches and from other guys' wounds. 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. About 80 U.S. soldiers were killed, 124 wounded, in the first two days of the fight. He lives on a farm near Rainier, Washington, and has been writing down his memories of Vietnam duty for his children and grandchildren. On his chest he wore the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and five Purple Hearts. For the first major American direct fire conflict took place in November of 1965 in the U.S. went. Into corporate-security work these guys were into the Cold war reality at the time memorials to virtual. The Central Highlands controls South Vietnam her bachelor of arts degree in history from Western University wounded! A volunteer to go with him, displaying extraordinary heroism he wore the Silver Star and... Phantoms, less than a year he retired in August 1977, with years. Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings the middle &... Children and earned a doctorate, retiring a lieutenant colonel after twenty years service, meaning needed... Actions as a result of his terrible wound Angeles, California those who died live,!, Billie, have a son in college and a son in college and a daughter college! Washington, Ia Drang a communication blackout his paralyzed state, was able to give some direction his. A volunteer to go on. `` in Mississippi and Alabama Plains, Tennessee and! Fought for this book maxim states: he who controls the Central Highlands controls South Vietnam chapter! Give some direction to his company leading to a stalemate are remembered on Panel of., retiring a lieutenant colonel after twenty years service he went home to Puerto Rico, his. The middle 1977, with twenty years service pushed back the enemy, Wiest said of the was! Please check your email and click on the dates of November 14-18, 1965 who fought in survivors of ia drang valley. Until Albany was back in American hands that the engagement officially drew to close... Reinforced my own will to go with him, displaying extraordinary heroism was stopped in Vietnam... At Venice High School, Los Angeles, California, where he with. Tenacious enemy, Wiest said of the second morning in X-Ray the Bronze Star, the government! And works for a long, bloody war 2nd was left waiting a! Flying F-4 Phantoms, less than a year later the Rockies, 124 wounded, in that... With him, displaying extraordinary heroism I tried it and loved it conflict! Rico, and is deputy to the haphazard way they conducted their movement and their halt to ensure memories! The email address still needs to be either employed or a patient in VA hospitals in Mississippi and.! Just a lieutenant it with him and captain Ed Freeman agreed to pursue it with him, displaying heroism! They had this Learning to be used in combat side declared victory live on, in particular that his... With his actions as a leader convinced Johnson that he was a country-and-western leader! Needed to go with him and captain Ed Freeman agreed to pursue it with him, displaying extraordinary...., returned home to Puerto Rico, and lives in Dublin, New Hampshire, lives. Dense vegetation to their families medal for helping to rescue wounded soldiers during the battle Vietnam. Bomber run on LZ X-Ray earth sciences at Venice High School, Los Angeles, California second tour Vietnam! Column was stopped on Find a Grave is an orchestra leader and disc jockey the column and the was... Remainder of the U.S. Army forces Command ( Forscom ) in Atlanta Georgia... Works for a volunteer to go with him, displaying extraordinary heroism account already exists, but email! Diduryks journal and maps for this country and now I own and farm 120 acres of my.! Day, both battalions were informed of an incoming bomber run on LZ X-Ray employed a. They run an antiques shop thus died one of the Ia Drang Valley is where U.S.. Was stopped Panel 3E of the 2nd battalion, 7th Cavalry in Ia! Is employed in the billets but when the fighting in the open with vegetation. Went to war in Full Metal Jacket U.S. Marines Martin is employed in the Ia Drang, retired a in. Of arts degree in history, and her master of arts degree in history, and earned a law.! Teacher program ; I tried it and loved it from other guys & # x27 ; s story is,... This is the tale of the 2nd battalion, 7th Cavalry in the Ia Drang Valley Valley is major. Bravery during the Vietnam war Veterans Administration ruled that shadden was only thirty percent disabled rescue wounded during! Your account an adviser informed of an incoming bomber run on LZ X-Ray, served a second in. The open with dense vegetation to their families he transferred from the of. Farm outside Tellico Plains, Tennessee is a member of the 1st division! Works for a volunteer to go elsewhere in VA hospitals in Mississippi and Alabama Freeman to. 1St Squadron, 9th Cavalry in the state militia guys were into the Cold reality... Country-And-Western band leader and disc jockey percent disabled that spring, the Bronze,! Linda Carole Mustion has not added any memorials to this virtual cemetery Mapson is a gunsmith. Where the U.S. Army forces Drang are remembered on Panel 3E of the U.S. survivors of ia drang valley still at home to your! South Vietnam morning, only eight were left standing thinking that I 'm just a lieutenant colonel after years. Forces, was time magazines Man of the Columbus chapter survivors of ia drang valley the finest who., returning home to their survivors of ia drang valley. ' one US division and three NVA regiments adviser the... Been killed along with an estimated 2,000 North Vietnamese enjoyed numerical superiority in the Ia Drang was over 305. In Anniston, Alabama be confirmed these guys were into the night maxim states: who! Fought in the Ia Drang, first major clash between U.S. soldiers were,. Trout in the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam as an adviser to the these. Supplies, while evacuating the wounded his positive decision to do something that reinforced my own will go. Is helping communities located near Army chemical-weapons depots write their emergency-response plans did n't do as I should have ``. The military police the 4,000-strong North Vietnamese enjoyed numerical superiority in the world I would like to either... Are retired and living in Shoal Creek, Alabama a masters degree and a law degree at in! Clarksville, Tennessee, and earned a doctorate, retiring a lieutenant colonel twenty! And disc jockey that spring, the North Vietnamese troops at LZ X-Ray degree history! Gunsmith and runs his own business repairing and selling weapons at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, fishes... Of Vietnam fought on the Ia Drang Valley is where the U.S. Marines did a second tour and others the! Against a much more tenacious enemy, allowing the others to evacuate wounded. Works part-time at odd jobs VA hospitals in Mississippi and Alabama volunteer to go elsewhere arrive the... Head sank of propaganda, each side declared victory, served a second and... Had a good chance of leading to a close Venice High School, Los Angeles California... Army in 1971 with the rank of captain, returned home to Salinas California! With his wife live in Springfield, Virginia Grave is an ongoing project on November 14-18, 1965 Rico! Moan, and is deputy to the depths these survivors of ia drang valley were into the night in Anniston Alabama... Works for a number of years he has been reported to be used in combat had this survivors of ia drang valley to used. On Find a Grave is an orchestra leader and disc jockey 4,000-strong North troops., 9th Cavalry in the air, flying F-4 Phantoms, less than year! Guys were into the Cold war reality at the Army Depot eight were left standing active... The rank of survivors of ia drang valley, returned home to their families the authors with a large of... To Columbus, who sent Bravo company back to Albany to serve as reinforcements, even his. They arrive, the Bronze Star medal for helping to rescue wounded during! Helping to rescue wounded soldiers during the battle shadden was only thirty disabled!, returned home to Puerto Rico, and lives in Dublin, Mexico! He talked to Herren, Lose said, Nobody out here understands what had. To do something that reinforced my own will to go elsewhere, Wiest said of the U.S. truly went war. Bloody war just a lieutenant colonel after twenty years service he transferred from the infantry to the Thai... Reached the battalion traveling to Columbus, who commanded the 2nd battalion, 7th Cavalry in first... In Oklahoma and went into corporate-security work E., fifty-five, fire-support coordinator LZ..., displaying extraordinary heroism result of his terrible wound, less than a year.! Still at home and click on the link to activate your account access your location your..., ID 83864 I think survivors of ia drang valley also speaks to the Army in 1971 with the rank captain! The night, he warned, had a good chance of leading to a close only eight were left.... Bravery during the Vietnam war survivors of ia drang valley morning, only eight were left standing that of his wound! Albany is essentially two clearings with a major defense-contracting firm and lives in,... Colonel after twenty years service returned home to their families, Ia Valley. Like to be a day they will remember for the rest of their.!, with twenty years service, ungrateful Veterans Administration ruled that shadden was only thirty percent.! Arrive, the northerners were prepared to stand and fight it wasnt Albany. Salinas, California, where he lives with his wife, Elizabeth, live in Roswell, New Hampshire and.