He was chief of security at a hospital in Columbus, Georgia, until his death on April 18, 1992. Through good fortune, the enemy's ignorance of their predicament, Specialist Lose's first-aid knowledge . Since retiring he serves on the boards of half a dozen major corporations and also works as a consultant to defense industries. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Since completing her degrees, she has decided to take a step back from academia to focus her career on writing and sharing history in a more accessible way. New York, He and his wife, Pat, live in Avon Park, Florida. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. In Washington, Ia Drang convinced Johnson that he was in for a long, bloody war. But Charlie was back in the air, flying F-4 Phantoms, less than a year later. 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.". They are all Don Cornett to him, his best friend. The battle was the culmination of Operation Silver Bayonet I, a combined American-South Vietnamese offensive to relieve the . WASHBURN, Richard B., fifty-seven, platoon leader, 2/20th Aerial Rocket Artillery in the Ia Drang, returned to Vietnam for a second combat tour. Its not so much what we went through as it is knowing what the other guys went through. In 1982, he joined U.S. News & World Report magazine. In the fall of 1965 the Vietnam War was an event most Americans saw as a series of smaller battles leaving little to remember. Although each survivor's story is unique, . He checked in with the nearest Veterans Administration hospital; they sent him home, telling him they would call him back for an operation to place a plate over the hole. In 1974 he transferred from the infantry to the military police. 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. Hear Walters story. "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. They have a son, who is in college, and a daughter, still in high school. Savage and the 22-year-old medic, Sp5. 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. However, Americans killed an estimated 1,800 North Vietnamese, through rifles, artillery, helicopters, and jets. Today he lives in Riverside, Rhode Island, is in the photo business, and is active in veterans affairs. 5 cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list. The 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment went toward LZ Columbus, while the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment traveled to LZ Albany, capturing two NVA soldiers on the way. He was medically evacuated the next morning. Photo extracted from U.S. Army motion picture footage from November 1965. 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 . He joined IBM as a salesman in Austin, Texas, and spent twenty years with them, rising to the post of Midwestern regional manager. 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. Sandpoint, ID 83864 In November, troops would take on North Vietnamese regulars for the first time in the Battle of Ia Drang Valley. He is married and the father of two children. 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. Throughout the day, he changed helicopters after some were so badly damaged to stay in the air. He and his wife have two teenage children. He was director of training development at Fort Benning when he retired as a colonel in 1983. She is an active member of Sons and Daughters in Touch, an organization sponsored by the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Nebraska, They have three children, daughters Abigail and Alison and a son, Thomas Alexander. 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 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. 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. On February 26, 2007, President George W. Bush presented Crandall with the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Ia Drang Valley. After retiring from the Army, Freeman became the northwest area director of aircraft services for the U.S. Department of the Interior. Linda Carole Mustion has not added any memorials to this virtual cemetery. He returned for a second Vietnam tour as an adviser in IV Corps in August 1968; in the 1970s he earned bachelors and masters degrees. Battalions would use helicopters to be transferred in and out as artillery support came in from above. Shortly thereafter, US units began . Omaha, A month before the Ia Drang operation, North Vietnamese regulars attacked a U.S. Special Forces base at Plei Me, hoping to lure the ineffectual South Vietnamese army out of its base at the provincial capital, Pleiku, and destroy it. They were interrogated by McDade, who, along with most of the commanding officers and radio operators, were called into a meeting to discuss the intel. At various times in recent years he has been reported to be either employed or a patient in VA hospitals in Mississippi and Alabama. "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. The battle was later dramatized in the film We Were Soldiers. Despite their efforts, the North Vietnamese retake the position soon after. Search above to list available cemeteries. 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. 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. Moore lectures at military academies and at several colleges and universities. A Chicago native, Doc Carrara returned home, changed his specialty to pathology. It is based on the Battle for Landing Zone X-Ray, part of the Battle of Ia Drang, the first major battle of the Vietnam War. USA, West Point, He went home to Salinas, California, where he lives with his wife and three sons. 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. The battlefield area covered 1,500 square miles of what appeared to be flat rolling terrain dominated by the Chu Pong . When he retired, Howard moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he works as a consultant in emergency-management planning. copyright 2023 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. Battle of Ia Drang, first major clash between U.S. soldiers and North Vietnamese troops during the Vietnam War. Of the 500 men, 150 were killed and only 84 were able to return to immediate duty. Controlling the central highlands would enable the North Vietnamese to cut the south in two and separate South Vietnams northern cities of Hue and Da Nang from the capital, Saigon, to the south. 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. He then formed a computer-software company. You can always change this later in your Account settings. Moore commanded the 7th Infantry Division in Korea, was commanding general at Fort Ord, California, and then was the Armys deputy Chief of Staff for personnel. In 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." Val Kilmer Accidentally Landed Matthew Modine the Starring Role in Full Metal Jacket. Too Tall Ed retired from that job on January 3, 1991. Her daughter, Camille, was soon joined by a brother, Robert, and a sister, Barbara. 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. MCDADE, Robert, seventy, who commanded the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, retired a colonel in 1975. 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. He says he did a lot of praying during the Persian Gulf War, when his son, his brother, and his old friend Galloway were all on the battlefield. By the end of the first day, the 1st BN, 7th Cavalry was reduced to approximately 340 men. On his next flight, three soldiers on his helicopter were killed and three were wounded. He is now a financial officer with the U.S. His widow, Emma Lee, lives in Austin, Texas. BEAN, Roger, fifty-two, Huey pilot who was wounded in LZ X-Ray, was wounded again in early 1966 in the Bong Son campaign. He was evacuated, badly wounded, on January 5, 1970, after serving four years, eight months, and ten days in Vietnam. The battle was later dramatized in the film We Were Soldiers. Crandall kept his helicopter on the ground in the line of enemy fire, so that four wounded soldiers could be loaded aboard. Johns retired a brigadier general and is now dean of faculty at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington, D.C. Mrs. Johns, whose two youngest children are in college, does volunteer work and writes for her own pleasure in her spare time. They have four children and five grandchildren. He earned his masters degree in public administration in 1976 and retired in 1977 as a lieutenant colonel. 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. How could I forget? The Ia Drang Valley is a map featured in Battlefield Vietnam. 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. He and his wife have two college-age children. His friends completed the tree for him and dedicated it to Sergeant China Joe Nye. Each side realized it was fighting a war of attrition. President Johnson Jeanie Hunter in Oskaloosa, Ia on November 24, 1984 and she survives bikinis. These additional troops pushed back the enemy, allowing the others to evacuate the wounded. Army Specialist Four (SP4) Bill Beck was an assistant machine gunner assigned to the 1 st Battalion, 7 th Cavalry Regiment (1/7 Cav), 1 st Cavalry Division on November 14, 1965, when the unit airlifted into Landing Zone (LZ) X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam. South Carolina, It was the first major battle between PAVN and US Army units and one of the war's bloodiest encounters. 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. He left the Army in October 1966, and went home to his native Ohio, where he works as a carpenter. 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. Freeman reconstituted the unit and led it back up Pork Chop. 1/7 Cavalry lands at LZ X-Ray. 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. Alley is general manager of a box factory in Dayton, Tennessee. Crandall and Freeman successfully rescued some 70 wounded men. He went home to Anderson County, South Carolina, where he is a deputy sheriff. This allowed troops to be quickly brought in and out for battle. Photo extracted from U.S. Army motion picture footage from November 1965. They had this Learning to be a Teacher program; I tried it and loved it. On 27 October Westmoreland committed a brigade of the 1st Air Cavalry to search-and-destroy operations. He is married and has four children. He won a National Magazine Award for his October 29, 1990, cover article on the Ia Drang battles. The Ia Drang Valley is where the U.S. truly went to war. In the end, 79 Americans had been killed, and 121 men were wounded. Both later were awarded the Medal of Honor, our nations highest award for heroism in combat. 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. He and his wife, Martha, have four children. He is a captain and the commander of Engine Company Number One. Things were quiet, but in the morning, the North Vietnamese attacked. The fighting continued all day and into the night with the enemy relentlessly making assault after assault. The North Vietnamese regulars, young men who had been drafted into the military much as the young American men had been, had paid a much higher price to test the newcomers to an old fight: an estimated 3,561 of them had been killed, and thousands more wounded, in the 34-day Ia Drang campaign. The only question was which side could outlast the other. Photo extracted from U.S. Army motion picture footage from November 1965. Box 159 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. Successful in their mission, the Americans travel back to their landing zone to be taken back to base. Shortly after the battalion set out, the North Vietnamese sprang a massive ambush. Basil Plumley is a grandfather now, kind and soft-spoken, but do not be deceived: He is the lion in winter. 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