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. This was the first and last battle between NVA forces and U.S forces of similar size. He is married and the father of two daughters. In Washington, Ia Drang convinced Johnson that he was in for a long, bloody war. While Beck survived the ultimately victorious 2-1/2-day fight at Ia Drang, 305 other American soldiers did not. Lt. Col. Harold G. Moore, a no-nonsense West Pointer, was the commander of the . In 1974 he transferred from the infantry to the military police. Major Bruce P. Crandall's UH-1D helicopter climbs skyward after discharging a load of infantrymen on a search and destroy mission. She is an active member of Sons and Daughters in Touch, an organization sponsored by the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. From the lack of training and understanding of the situation to the haphazard way they conducted their movement and their halt. The fighting continued all day and into the night with the enemy relentlessly making assault after assault. I felt a flash of panic. With a passion for historical learning and historical education, her writing interests include social history, and war history, especially researching obscure facts about the Second World War. Please reset your password. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. It was a small football size clearing for the first helicopters to be used in combat. He was judged seventy percent disabled due to wounds suffered in LZ X-Ray. 5 memorials LTC Roger Jay Bartholomew 2 Nov 1932 - 27 Nov 1968 Westlawn-Hillcrest Memorial Park After they were airlifted out of the combat zone, McDades men were joined by the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment. 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. (Tony), fifty-six, commander of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, later earned a masters degree in psychology and taught at West Point and at the Army War College. The bulk of the fighting lasted about 6 hours and in that time 2/7 Cav lost 155 killed and 124 wounded. Recalling the aftermath of the fight, he said, 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. It wasn't until about two weeks later, as he read Stars and Stripes, that it hit him what he had survived. The Troopers of 2/7 Cav relieved their sister unit, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, on Nov. 16, following 1/7 Cav's three day battle with the People's Army of Vietnam near the base of the Chu Pong Massif. It occurred in the Ia Drang valley, near Vietnam's border with Cambodia, on November 14-18, 1965. The . 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. ALLEY, J. L. (Bud), Jr., fifty, communications officer, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cav in the Ia Drang, completed a full tour with his battalion and left Vietnam and the Army in August 1966. (U.S. Army). Unlike Viet Cong guerrillas, the northerners were prepared to stand and fight. PARISH, Willard, fifty-one, mortarman in Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, who won the Silver Star for his work as a machine gunner in LZ X-Ray, was among the draftees who rotated home in December 1965 for discharge. "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.". 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. The mission of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is to honor and preserve the legacy of service and educate all generations about the impact of the Vietnam War. He is partly paralyzed as a result of his terrible wound. His helicopter came under intense enemy fire, but they continued to carry out the wounded, even though that wasnt their mission. Sources 1st Cavalry Division Association: 1st Cavalry Division Medal of Honor Recipients. 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. 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. He retired from the Army as a staff sergeant in 1976, and now serves in the Alabama National Guard. Before the Battle of la Drang was over, 305 Americans had been killed along with an estimated 2,000 North Vietnamese troops. 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. Lessons in leadership, in the importance of training, in courage, in sacrifice and in loss. Charlie Company held their position, exemplifying extraordinary heroism and courage. He died . Hes in a unique position to want to believe these optimistic reports and hes getting a lot of them.. 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. He married in 1981 and is the father of four daughters: an eight-year-old, a five-year-old, and infant twins. They have four children and three grandchildren. The vision of VVMF is to ensure a society in which all who have served and sacrificed in our nation's Armed Forces are properly honored and receive the recognition they justly deserve. He and his wife live in Alexandria, Virginia. KLUGE, Fred J., fifty-nine, platoon sergeant, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry in Albany, retired in 1973, as a first sergeant, after a total of twenty-two years service. 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. Then he somehow managed to crawl away, saying that he was going to organize the troops. Charlies foot was pinned in the wrecked cockpit when the white phosphorus target-marking rockets under the wings cooked off. 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. 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. We were caught inside of what was essentially an L-shaped ambush.". It was the signal for all available American aircraft to converge and provide aid to the American unit. 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.) In the last operation, his shattered left knee joint was removed and the leg bones fused, leaving his left leg frozen straight and two inches shorter than his right leg. He works for a consulting firm in McLean, Virginia. OUELLETTE, Robert, fifty, battalion commanders radio operator in LZ X-Ray, left the Army in August 1966. 3 /5. It wasnt until Albany was back in American hands that the engagement officially drew to a close. Companies C and D took the brunt of the Communist attack, and most of the men were quickly hit. 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. 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 . Gwin left the Army at the end of his ROTC commitment and went home to his native Boston, where he teaches and writes. He retired in 1990. His lieutenants bars were pinned on by General James Van Fleet and, at Freemans request, his first assignment was as commander of Bravo Company. 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. Both later were awarded the Medal of Honor, our nations highest award for heroism in combat. U.S. intelligence knew that North Vietnamese regulars probably a single regiment were in the area. Sandpoint, ID 83864 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. 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. They have a son, who is in college, and a daughter, still in high school. During his two tours in Vietnam, Crandall flew lead ship on 756 separate missions. Tully retired a colonel in 1976. 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. Don Cornett had a wife and a son, a mother and a father and two sisters. 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. 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. 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. Some of them had blood on their faces from scratches and from other guys' wounds. ), provided the authors with a copy of Diduryks journal and maps for this book. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. 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. Every night I rub a towel over all my scars and see them in the mirror. At the end of a year only fifteen of the original contingent were still there, Gwin included. I didn't do as I should have.". Despite their efforts, the North Vietnamese retake the position soon after. His old company commander, John Herren, and all the survivors of the Lost Platoon believe that Charles Lose should have been awarded the Medal of Honor that they recommended for him. They have two grown children and one still at home. (Photo Credit: US Army / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain) The real life Battle of Ia Drang took place between November 14-19, 1965. Basil Plumley is a grandfather now, kind and soft-spoken, but do not be deceived: He is the lion in winter. Spc. Mississippi, 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. "The emotions are so high, the noise is tremendous, the confusion is everywhere; they had overrun us by now. . 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. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. USA. A native of Mendenhall, Mississippi, Kennedy was thirty-one years old at the time of his death. STOCKTON, John B., seventy, commander, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, retired a colonel in 1967. He died less than 100 yards from where his best friend lay wounded. He retired in August 1977, with thirty-two years service. 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. He assumed that like the French, the Americans would tire of seeing their young men coming home in body bags. He is married and has four children. "I thought I was dying and laid there waiting for death to come. Mindful of the effects of propaganda, each side declared victory. GILREATH, Larry M., platoon sergeant, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, did two more tours in Southeast Asia and retired a master sergeant in April 1972. Enlisted men may scoff at officers back in the billets but when the fighting begins, the men automatically become dependent upon them. Other donors to the fund are readers of the book from across America, Veterans, and supporters of the fund. He remained with the medical platoon in Vietnam until July 1966. For the Ia Drang Valley survivors, October 10, 2012 will be a day they will remember for the rest of their days. They successfully hit many of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops, while also shooting some of the Americans with friendly fire. 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. In August 1977, at the age of forty-four, Colonel Frank Henry died when an aneurysm ruptured. Of Mrs. Mapsons five brothers, three served in the Army, one made a career in the Air Force, and one is a lawyer. Battalions would use helicopters to be transferred in and out as artillery support came in from above. 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. 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 and his wife, Martha, have four children. He and his wife and young son live in Lawndale, California. The Pleiku Campaign took place from 20 October to 26 . But Westmoreland believed the battle validated the airmobile tactic of quick strikes to catch the enemy off guard, kill as many as possible and withdraw back to base. He co-authored the book We Were Soldiers Once And Young with Hal Moore. Lefebvre earned graduate degrees in secondary school administration and public administration. He now lives in Dublin, New Hampshire, and works for a firm that sells office supplies. President Johnson Jeanie Hunter in Oskaloosa, Ia on November 24, 1984 and she survives bikinis. James Lawrence, one of the men who fought at LZ Albany, later recounted his experiences. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. 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. The first major American direct fire conflict took place in November of 1965 in the Ia Drang Valley. The remainder of the 2nd was left waiting in a communication blackout. To me that seems proper, and just, and so right.. The North Vietnamese enjoyed numerical superiority in the valley. In the end, 79 Americans had been killed, and 121 men were wounded. Temperatures reached 100 degrees, and by the afternoon there was a firestorm battle for survival. Im not supposed to chop wood or do anything that might cause a lick on that side of my head, but it healed up pretty well so I dont worry much about it, he says. Although each survivor's story is unique, they all carry the same lessons. Terms of Use | He now manages the quartermaster laundry at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and lives in Clarksville, Tennessee. Where the difference between We Were Soldiers and reality lies is that the battle didnt end with Moore and his men evacuating, nor was there a final heroic charge. 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. His widow, Emma Lee, lives in Austin, Texas. After several routine lifts into the area,the men on the ground came under attack from the North Vietnamese Army. Towles received a masters degree in history from Kent State in 1989, and is currently working on his doctorate. Edwards is the acting borough manager of Dublin, Pennsylvania; he and his wife, Nancy, live in nearby New Hope. 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. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency: Ia Drang Valley Incident. Returning home, he single-handedly raised his two young children while earning two masters degrees. Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Harold Moore led the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, against numerically superior elements of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) led by General Chu Huy Man (Builder et al., 1999). 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. She and her husband live in Annandale, Virginia. His son is a staff sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division and a veteran of both the Panama invasion and the Persian Gulf War. This browser does not support getting your location. The plane hit several tombstones and flipped over. GALLOWAY, Joe, fifty, war correspondent attached to the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry at X-Ray, served sixteen months in Vietnam on his first tour for United Press International, 1965-1966. TIFFT, Richard P., Pathfinder team leader in LZ X-Ray, later served as commander of the Golden Knights, the Armys parachute team. He shares this message with the groups he speaks to, but being able to impart some wisdom and knowledge from his experiences to Soldiers is special to him, because for him it is an opportunity to maybe bring a Soldier home safely. The battalion commander had ordered his command helicopter to land and check out a North Vietnamese soldier killed by the door gunner. They died hot, hungry and exhausted. He won a National Magazine Award for his October 29, 1990, cover article on the Ia Drang battles. He and his wife, Theresa, live on a farm in northern Virginia with their sons Lee, fifteen, and Joshua, twelve. 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. Col. Bruce Crandall, Commander ofCompany A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), led the first major division operation of airmobile troops into Landing Zone X-Ray. Crandalls back was broken; he spent five months in an Army hospital recovering. The location of the battle, far into the jungle from any roads, meant troops had to be airlifted in. He would recover after some physical therapy and return to duty in 1966 to finish his tour. He went home to Murphysboro, Illinois. Mrs. Mapson is a member of the Columbus chapter of the 1st Cavalry Division Association. Galloway served a total of fifteen years overseas with UPI, assigned to Tokyo, Saigon, Jakarta, New Delhi, Singapore, and Moscow. Spec. This is the tale of the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam in 1965. PUJALS, Enrique, fifty, platoon leader, Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, woke up on an X-ray table first, then on a C-141 ambulance plane, and finally in Ward One at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. Resend Activation Email. There was a problem getting your location. MEYER, Edward C. (Shy), sixty-three, 3rd Brigade executive officer in the Ia Drang, retired as Army Chief of Staff, a four-star general, in 1983 after thirty-two years service. Georgia, Another 71 Americans had been killed in earlier, smaller skirmishes that led up to the Ia Drang battles. In her spare time, Rosemary enjoys spending time with her partner, her cats, and her horse, or sitting down to read a good book. He is assistant principal of a public high school in the Bronx. He is president of the Army Relief Fund and a trustee of the Association of Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy. Freeman and his wife, Barbara, live in Boise, Idaho. One of the survivors recalls how it was - the blood, the agony, and the fear. Three U.S. soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery during the battle. 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. However, theres one part of We Were Soldiers thats different from what really happened: the ending. . Alex Kolyer for MPR News On this Veterans Day,. This resulted in the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley, a forested area just east of the Chu Pong massif, from 23 October to 20 November. 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. Box 159 He and his wife, Billie, have a son in college and a daughter still at home. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. 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. We Were Soldiers is based on the novel, We Were Soldiers Once and Young: Ia Drang The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam, by renowned war correspondent Joe Galloway and Lt. Gen. Hal Moore. I believe it is so I can share our story.". "The XO let out a low moan, and his head sank. Adams and his wife have a three-year-old daughter. The bulk of the fighting was centered around two vital helicopter landing zones: LZ X-Ray and Albany. It is laced with hard facts, observations, anger, sadness and even some humor. Moderate. 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. LUND, Bill, fifty, who was Myron Diduryks artillery forward observer in LZ X-Ray and LZ Albany, left Vietnam in March 1966, upon completion of his two-year reserve officer obligation. Of the 500 men, 150 were killed and only 84 were able to return to immediate duty. I have one very vivid memory of the second morning in X-Ray. 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 spent eighteen months in Army hospitals, and was retired, disabled, in June 1975. On November 27, 1968, Lieutenant Colonel Bartholomew was killed in action. He had just turned thirty-six years old. He is a captain and the commander of Engine Company Number One. Young went to work for the railroad in Steelville, Missouri. The Ia Drang Scholarship Fund was founded in 1994 by LTG (Ret) Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway from earnings on their book We Were Soldiers Once-And Young. He is working on a book on Alpha Companys year in Vietnam. 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. 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. 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 "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. The battle was part of a campaign for control of the strategic central highlands, which divided South Vietnam north to south. The training kicks in and can save you.". The two-part battle took place between November 14 and November 18, 1965 west of Plei Me, in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. In 2016, he joined a panel of Ia Drang survivors at the Maneuver Center of Excellence, Fort Benning, Ga., to share their experiences with both young and seasoned officers and noncommissioned officers. A miserly, ungrateful Veterans Administration ruled that Shadden was only thirty percent disabled. 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 enemy was so close he could hear them talking and he could see them right in front of him. He lives in Columbus, Georgia, and is a serious collector of firearms and active in a local shooting club. Hal Moore and the 1st Battalion, 7th . 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