The bullet was still in there. 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." George Nye was a sparkplug of Operation Welcome Home, which brought veterans groups, brass bands, and Bangor townsfolk to the airport by the hundreds to hug and shake hands with the Desert Storm veterans. Muscogee County, 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. Carrara says, I dont dwell on Vietnam, but now and then I hear something or smell something and flash back to those days. 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. Basil Plumley is a grandfather now, kind and soft-spoken, but do not be deceived: He is the lion in winter. The men, women, and children of this story are Americas neighbors, living quiet lives in every corner of the nation they served. The . Since retiring he serves on the boards of half a dozen major corporations and also works as a consultant to defense industries. 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. Too Tall Ed retired from that job on January 3, 1991. Early Ia Drang Valley 1965 KIA group - 2/8 Calavary - LZ Cavalair Early Ia Drang Valley 1965 KIA group - 2/8 Calavary - LZ Cavalair. Survivors described savage, close-range combat, sometimes hand-to-hand, over several hours. 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. Very difficult. Please reset your password. In August 1977, at the age of forty-four, Colonel Frank Henry died when an aneurysm ruptured. But UPI sent him back to Vietnam in 1971, in 1973, and again in 1975 for the final chapter. He lives in Golden, Colorado, where he owns a firm that deals worldwide in antiques. A native of Mendenhall, Mississippi, Kennedy was thirty-one years old at the time of his death. Married and the father of three children, Winter works for the Long Island Railroad and lives in Howard Beach, Queens, New York. They died thinking that their loved ones would never know how they died. He lives in Olympia, Washington, and works for the state government. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1985; on November 26, 1987, he was killed in the crash of a private plane in Bakersfield, California. 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. More than anything else in the world I would like to be back in the Green Machine, he says. Karen works part-time as a freelance designer and helps with her husbands construction and contracting business. He was first sergeant of Bravo Company, 36th Engineer Battalion and one of 14 men in his 257-man company who survived the opening stages of the fight for Pork Chop Hill. For him, war is something that will always be a necessity as long as there is evil in the world, but it is something that is not to be glorified or desired. By whatever measure, the chaotic, bloody Battle of the Ia Drang Valley set the tone for the rest of war. He and his wife live in St. Charles, a suburb of Chicago. "I can't even begin to explain it," he said. He lives in Vicksburg, Mississippi. They have a son, who is in college, and a daughter, still in high school. He went home to Salinas, California, where he lives with his wife and three sons. Deleting this Virtual Cemetery cannot be undone. This was the first and last battle between NVA forces and U.S forces of similar size. God rest you, George. After a North Vietnamese strike against the Special Forces camp at Plei Me, American forces deployed in an effort to destroy the attackers. Background. Adams and his wife have a three-year-old daughter. Unknown to them at the time, they were surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese troops. That all would change when the First Cavalry Air Mobile Division flew into the Ia Drang Valley in the central highlands of South Vietnam. 5 memorials LTC Roger Jay Bartholomew 2 Nov 1932 - 27 Nov 1968 Westlawn-Hillcrest Memorial Park The machine gunner was mowing them down. (U.S. Army). He lives in Pleasant Valley, Connecticut, and works in real estate sales and development. ADAMS, Warren, sixty-two, first sergeant, Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav in the Ia Drang, retired in 1968 as the best-educated command sergeant major in the Army. The Battle of Ia Drang was fought November 14-18, 1965, during the Vietnam War (1955-1975) and was the first major engagement between the US Army and the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). The Ia Drang Valley is a valley located near Pleiku in Central Highlands of Vietnam. USA, Fort Benning, It was much bigger than what we had seen before against a much more tenacious enemy, Wiest said of the battle. He lives in Columbus, Georgia, and is a serious collector of firearms and active in a local shooting club. 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. The airstrike broke the North Vietnamese siege and enabled reinforcements to reach the LZ. 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. (U.S. Army). At various times in recent years he has been reported to be either employed or a patient in VA hospitals in Mississippi and Alabama. 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. 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. 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. Every night I rub a towel over all my scars and see them in the mirror. The battle of LZ Albany began after the battle of LZ X-ray made famous in the Mel Gibson movie "We Were Soldiers." He died less than 100 yards from where his best friend lay wounded. HENRY, Frank, executive officer of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry in LZ Albany, served a second tour in Vietnam as a battalion commander in the 1st Cavalry Division, later commanded a brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, and was promoted to chief of staff of the 101st Airborne in the summer of 1977. 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. 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). Before the Battle of la Drang was over, 305 Americans had been killed along with an estimated 2,000 North Vietnamese troops. Winkel retired a colonel in 1986, with over thirty-one years of Army service. He earned a doctorate in education and is personnel director for the Cooperative Extension Service at the University of Georgia in Athens. 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. In her spare time, Rosemary enjoys spending time with her partner, her cats, and her horse, or sitting down to read a good book. The XO was going fast. He was presented with the Medal of Honor on December 19, 1966, and three years later volunteered for a second tour of duty in Vietnam. The 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. 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. He was killed in an automobile accident less than ten years later. He plays volleyball two nights a week to keep trim and has devoted much of his spare time over the past two years to a detailed study of the part played in the Ia Drang battles by his fellow aviators of the 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, our beloved Huey slick drivers. "I always end my talk with telling my audience 'When people go to the wall [Vietnam Veterans Memorial], they see 58,000 names. About 40 minutes later, North Vietnamese launched their attack, hiding in the tall elephant grass and in stands of trees. Moderate. MCDADE, Robert, seventy, who commanded the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, retired a colonel in 1975. Second Lieutenant Walter Joe Marm, Jr., led an attack against a heavily fortified enemy force on November 14, 1965, personally knocking out several positions in the Ia Drang Valley, South Vietnam. Hal Moore ensured that all of the men came home, and they therefore did . He and his wife, Theresa, live on a farm in northern Virginia with their sons Lee, fifteen, and Joshua, twelve. There was a problem getting your location. McNamara told Johnson that the U.S. could continue with its limited engagement or massively escalate the war with hundreds of thousands more troops. 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. But Charlie was back in the air, flying F-4 Phantoms, less than a year later. This was the first major engagement between the United States Army and the North Vietnamese Army. 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. The first major American direct fire conflict took place in November of 1965 in the Ia Drang Valley. Read More Landing Zone Xray Lead elements of the under strength 450 man 1st Bn, 7th Cavalry air assault into a small clearing in scrub jungle below the 2300 foot Chu Pong Massif. 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. They were platoon leaders together in the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. 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. 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). USA, Mendenhall, James Lawrence, one of the men who fought at LZ Albany, later recounted his experiences. This article was originally published Nov. 11, 2015, as part of the Vietnam at 50 project. Although survivors had been trickling in during the morning they thought the 2/7th had been annihilated in the fighting at Albany. Her daughter, Camille, was soon joined by a brother, Robert, and a sister, Barbara. 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. (Photo Credit: US Army / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain) The real life Battle of Ia Drang took place between November 14-19, 1965. 1/7 Cavalry lands at LZ X-Ray. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. "I'm just as guilty. 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. 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. 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. Now a senior writer for U.S. News, Galloway recently had one last combat tour. 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. 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. He died less than 100 yards from where his best friend lay wounded. He is senior Army adviser to the 79th Army Reserve Command in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. 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. It had been a small undeclared war mainly fought by South Vietnamese troops with a few U.S. advisers in the mix, sometimes on the ground, sometimes in helicopters, said Andrew Wiest, a history professor at the University of Southern Mississippi and the founding director of its Dale Center for the Study of War and Society. He earned a doctorate in history and now lives in San Antonio, where he works in the public-affairs office at Wilford Hall Air Force Medical Center. Our town is only ten thousand people and we lost eleven young men from here killed in Vietnam, says Purp. 5 cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. He was discharged a sergeant, completed his college education, and is now an on-air national news correspondent for ABC Televisions Weekend News. He studied to be a tool-and-die machinist and worked at that job for several years until the strain of long hours standing on his bad leg severely affected his hip and back. The men were still in an administrative maneuver, so when the word to halt came they plopped down where they were. He retired a command sergeant major and lives in Columbus, Georgia. After LZ Albany, Thorpe requested a transfer from his company command to the division public-information office and finished his tour as an escort officer for visiting press and VIPs. KNOWLES, Richard, seventy-five, assistant division commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, served a second consecutive tour in Vietnam, commanded the 196th Light Infantry Brigade, and then was commanding general of Task Force Oregon (precursor to the American Division). 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. Theres a lot of pain but at least I lived. Jeanette says: When I was in the hospital in 1966, I was down in the doldrums, feeling sorry, and they tried to nudge me out of that. He and his wife, Martha, have four children. Many did a second tour and others left the service and returned home to their families. Battle of Ia Drang, first major clash between U.S. soldiers and North Vietnamese troops during the Vietnam War. Thanks for your help! Battle of Ia Drang American troops in the Ia Drang Valley, November 1965. In the same way, the story of his experiences at LZ Albany is a story that could be told by the nearly 400 Troopers of 2/7 Cav who fought and died at LZ Albany, or the 1/7 Cav Troopers at LZ X-ray or the more than 2.6 million US personnel who served in Vietnam. In March 1991 he found a new purpose in life: meeting the chartered airliners touching down at Bangor International Airport, the first American landfall, bringing American soldiers home from the Persian Gulf. 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.". 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. Within an hour, they came under attack for the first time by North Vietnamese regulars, launching a four-day battle that killed hundreds of Americans and perhaps more than 1,000 Vietnamese and changed the course of the Vietnam War. (U.S. Army). They were promoted to first lieutenants at the same time and both became executive officers on the same day, Lawrence with Delta Company and Cornett with Charlie. This account has been disabled. Facebook Twitter 'The torture stopped': 1969 brought temporary changes to infamous Hanoi Hilton, Patriotism or protest? Now I felt terribly alone. The fighting continued all day and into the night with the enemy relentlessly making assault after assault. One killed, 15 injured after clashes erupt at Afghan border again December 16, 2022. The survivors of Landing Zone X-Ray have always had an aura of fame about them. 1st Lt. Donald Cornett at his base camp in Vietnam, shortly before the battle of Landing Zone Albany where he was killed in action, Nov. 17, 1965. A 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. Shucart says, It was interesting; they just figured I was another grunt and I didnt tell them different. Savage and the 22-year-old medic, Sp5. I attended every one of those funerals., LEFEBVRE, L. R. (Ray), fifty-nine, commander of Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, spent eighteen months at Martin Army Hospital, Fort Benning, recovering from the wounds he suffered at X-Ray. Tully retired a colonel in 1976. 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." 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