The outcome convinced the North Vietnamese that they could reduce the threat of U.S. firepower by engaging the Americans at close quarters where U.S. airstrikes would prove risky and then melt away into the jungle or across the border into sanctuaries in Cambodia. They never did. Fifty years ago today, one of the Vietnam war's most ferocious battles broke out in the Ia Drang Valley. He and his wife and young son live in Lawndale, California. Weve updated the security on the site. Carrara says, I dont dwell on Vietnam, but now and then I hear something or smell something and flash back to those days. 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. Battalions would use helicopters to be transferred in and out as artillery support came in from above. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. Spc. 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. He worked an additional fifteen years as a civilian employee at Martin Army Hospital at Fort Benning, Georgia, and retired again in 1990. He retired a colonel in 1982, with twenty-three years service. He and his wife, Julie, divide their time between homes in Auburn, Alabama, and Crested Butte, Colorado. 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. The bulk of the fighting lasted about 6 hours and in that time 2/7 Cav lost 155 killed and 124 wounded. He had . I couldn't grasp it.". In a 1967 article for the Saturday Evening Post, former ABC reporter Jack Smith, who was a private first class in Charlie Company during the battle, wrote about Cornett's last moments. As a student, she worked in a variety of research positions, including as an archivist. Each side realized it was fighting a war of attrition. Im so proud to have been there and so proud of the guys who were there with me. I guess I was an oddball; everyone else that year was going into teaching to avoid the draft, and then there was me. Jeanette and his wife, Sandra, were married five days before he shipped out for Vietnam. His personalized license plate proclaims: LZ X-Ray. He served as city manager of Dunsmuir, California, from 1977 to 1980, when he moved to Mesa, Arizona, where he is the citys manager of public works. The Battle of the Ia Drang Valley would be the Vietnam War's first major set-piece battle with the PAVN, the first major US heliborne assault on an NVA position, and the first engagement to employ B-52 airstrikes on enemy ground forces in battle. It wasnt until Albany was back in American hands that the engagement officially drew to a close. Joseph Galloway was a civilian reporter at the Battle of Ia Drang. Today he is vice president for group security at a major stock-brokerage house in New York City. He was director of training development at Fort Benning when he retired as a colonel in 1983. He owns a property-management firm in Tampa, Florida. He is married and has a daughter in college and a son in the U.S. Marines. No one wanted to look weak in the face of communist aggression.. They died thinking that their loved ones would never know how they died. He worked as a sales executive in the corrugated-box industry and went to school nights to earn his MBA. "The fear factor, when you know someone is within yards of you and is trying to kill you desperately, the fear factor can shut you down. 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." He tried to crawl away and was shot again in the hip. Hal Moore ensured that all of the men came home, and they therefore did . 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. Crandalls back was broken; he spent five months in an Army hospital recovering. The two-part battle took place between November 14 and November 18, 1965 west of Plei Me, in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. He retired in August 1977, with thirty-two years service. He died less than 100 yards from where his best friend lay wounded. By whatever measure, the chaotic, bloody Battle of the Ia Drang Valley set the tone for the rest of war. HOWARD, John, fifty-four, medical-services officer, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cav in the Ia Drang, retired a lieutenant colonel in 1983, after twenty-five years service. Throughout the day, he changed helicopters after some were so badly damaged to stay in the air. . ROZANSKI, Gordon P. (Rosie), fifty-four, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry S-4 in the Ia Drang, was wounded in both arms, both legs, and the stomach in the Bong Son campaign in early 1966. Pujals recently closed his law practice. 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. 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. It was the longest day I ever experienced in any aircraft, Crandall recalled. The fighting continued for three hours. When he retired, Howard moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he works as a consultant in emergency-management planning. "I thought I was dying and laid there waiting for death to come. 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. The battlefield area covered 1,500 square miles of what appeared to be flat rolling terrain dominated by the Chu Pong . 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. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency: Ia Drang Valley Incident. Since August 1990, he has been the dean of students and basketball coach at St. Mary Rynken Catholic High School in Leonardtown, Maryland, his hometown. His son is a staff sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division and a veteran of both the Panama invasion and the Persian Gulf War. Lt. Col. Harold G. Moore, a no-nonsense West Pointer, was the commander of the . The Ia Drang Valley is a map featured in Battlefield Vietnam. The real life Battle of Ia Drang took place between November 14-19, 1965. The Tragedy of LZ Albany: Teaching the lessons of a battle lost. Fought between November 14th and 18th of 1965, around the hills surrounding the valley of Ia Drang, on the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. That spring, the Saigon government had begun collapsing under the combined. Due to a statute of limitations being lifted, Freeman was awarded the Medal of Honor on July 16, 2001. The idea was to kill the enemy, not necessarily hold ground, and bleed the North Vietnamese until they tired of war. Although each survivor's story is unique, . The battle of Ia Drang was an engagement of the Vietnam War. They were unaware that two battalions of fresh PAVN soldiers had been camped out along the Ia Drang River on the other side of the landing zone. 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. He and his wife live in Sag Harbor, New York, where they operate a summer season shop that deals in contemporary original art. It was a battle between one US division and three NVA regiments. Her mother, who never remarried, died in 1986. 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. 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. When I go to the wall, I see Don Cornett's name 58,000 times.'. But UPI sent him back to Vietnam in 1971, in 1973, and again in 1975 for the final chapter. I think McNamara knew, deep down; I think Johnson knew, Wiest said. 2023 Stars and Stripes. 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. He is married and the father of two daughters. Forces, was Time magazines Man of the Year. He told me that if he didn't make it, I was to write her and tell her that he loved her. He retired a lieutenant colonel in 1977 and returned to Georgia, where he is an executive for a trucking firm. Terms of Use | Cash retired from active duty as a colonel in September of 1992 and lives in the Washington, D.C., area. James Lawrence, one of the men who fought at LZ Albany, later recounted his experiences. Charlie Company held their position, exemplifying extraordinary heroism and courage. Galen Bungum, 72, was a soldier in the Vietnam War and fought in the first major battle of the war, the battle of Ia Drang, on November 14, 1965. Two men - Sgt. 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. 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. Westmorelands biggest problem with the strategy was that he thought it would work in two or three years when it would have taken 10 or 12.. 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. There's captains and majors and colonels and I assume they know what they are doing. Another 71 Americans had been killed in earlier, smaller skirmishes that led up to the Ia Drang battles. He went home to Murphysboro, Illinois. He was forty-five. Although survivors had been trickling in during the morning they thought the 2/7th had been annihilated in the fighting at Albany. 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. 5 cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list. I had been assuming that he would get us out of this. He lives on a farm near Rainier, Washington, and has been writing down his memories of Vietnam duty for his children and grandchildren. 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. In his spare time Wal-lenius draws, paints, and does etchings and prints, sometimes of Vietnam War scenes. Spec. 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. Its not so much what we went through as it is knowing what the other guys went through. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. To me that seems proper, and just, and so right.. I have it here with me today. He lives with his wife and family in Steelville. Merchant retired a lieutenant colonel in 1982. YOUNG, James, fifty-one, rifleman, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry in LZ Albany, made it home to the family farm outside Keysville, Missouri, on Christmas Eve, 1965, with an Army discharge in his pocket and a quarter-size hole in the side of his skull. 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. 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. He became a legend in the unit for his behavior in combat, and his face became an American icon when a young reporter named Peter Arnett snapped his photo. Russian missile barrage knocks out power and water to Ukrainian cities December 16, 2022. 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. Difficult. He lives in Olympia, Washington, and works for the state government. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. His widow, Emma Lee, lives in Austin, Texas. 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 . Absent was an effective plan for winning over the civilian population caught in the crossfire, said James Willbanks, a Vietnam veteran who is the director of the Department of Military History at U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Crandall kept his helicopter on the ground in the line of enemy fire, so that four wounded soldiers could be loaded aboard. (Photo Credit: US Army / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain) The real life Battle of Ia Drang took place between November 14-19, 1965. He retired a colonel in 1981, and is vice president of human resources for a large corporation in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. STOCKTON, John B., seventy, commander, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, retired a colonel in 1967. The men were still in an administrative maneuver, so when the word to halt came they plopped down where they were. Lt. Don Cornett, along with 154 troopers from 2/7 Cav, were killed in the Ia Drang Valley at a small clearing known as Landing Zone Albany. 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. Galloway served a total of fifteen years overseas with UPI, assigned to Tokyo, Saigon, Jakarta, New Delhi, Singapore, and Moscow. They have a son and two daughters. A U.S. platoon was lured into a trap and surrounded, holding off repeated North Vietnamese attacks despite the death of the platoon leader and several noncommissioned officers. U.S. airpower lifted the siege and drove back the North Vietnamese. He was the father of four children, aged twelve through twenty. Young went to work for the railroad in Steelville, Missouri. Gen. Westmoreland, commander of the U.S. "My gut told me, this is wrong, this isn't right, something's wrong here. Both later were awarded the Medal of Honor, our nations highest award for heroism in combat. 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. Adams and his wife have a three-year-old daughter. FORREST, George, fifty-four, who commanded Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cav in the Ia Drang, retired a lieutenant colonel in 1980 after twenty-one years service. 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. The assault at LZ X-Ray began before noon on 14 November. It was his positive decision to do something that reinforced my own will to go on.". The men, women, and children of this story are Americas neighbors, living quiet lives in every corner of the nation they served. (AP Photo) A wounded American soldier is aided to a helicopter for evacuation from Ia Drang Valley area, near Plei Me, Vietnam, November 18, 1965. He won a National Magazine Award for his October 29, 1990, cover article on the Ia Drang battles. About 80 U.S. soldiers were killed, 124 wounded, in the first two days of the fight. For the last twenty-two years he has worked for the North Bergen, N.J., fire department. 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. This account has been disabled. He personally shook the hands of at least fifty thousand returning soldiers. Facebook Twitter Search above to list available cemeteries. Edwards is the acting borough manager of Dublin, Pennsylvania; he and his wife, Nancy, live in nearby New Hope. No one pulled security. 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