survivors of ia drang valleysurvivors of ia drang valley

Background. 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. 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. The conflict is divided into two engagements: the Battle at Landing Zone (LZ) X-Ray and. Sources 1st Cavalry Division Association: 1st Cavalry Division Medal of Honor Recipients. He spent thirty-two months in the hospital recovering from the wounds he suffered in LZ X-Ray. Too Tall Ed retired from that job on January 3, 1991. They died thinking that their loved ones would never know how they died. He and his wife, Billie, have a son in college and a daughter still at home. He was evacuated, badly wounded, on January 5, 1970, after serving four years, eight months, and ten days in Vietnam. They never did. He retired in 1990. JEANETTE, Robert J., fifty, Ghost 4-6, weapons-platoon leader, Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cav in the Ia Drang, lives in Monsey, New York, a suburb of New York City. Ernie had gone back to his native Chicago and drove a truck for the city. In Hanoi, the North Vietnamese leadership was prepared for huge losses. MARTIN, John C., fifty-one, rifleman in Lieutenant Sissons platoon detached from Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry for duty in X-Ray, served a second combat tour in Vietnam. 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. Galen Bungum, left, and Joe F. Mackey, two of the unhurt survivors of Lt. Henry Herrick's Lost Platoon. 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. Crandall and Freeman successfully rescued some 70 wounded men. The Tragedy of LZ Albany: Teaching the lessons of a battle lost. This account has been disabled. Nebraska, This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. from around the world. By whatever measure, the chaotic, bloody Battle of the Ia Drang Valley set the tone for the rest of war. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. He lives in Golden, Colorado, where he owns a firm that deals worldwide in antiques. At approximately noon,the North Vietnamese 33rd Regiment attacked. VIERA, Arthur, Jr., forty-eight, an M-79 grenadier with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, survived the terrible wounds he suffered in X-Ray. They were platoon leaders together in the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. The Huey was the best helicopter ever made. 311 memorials Poley, a bachelor, lives alone on his farm outside Ackley, Iowa, and in a 1990 letter explained himself far better than we could: Some might ask why havent I forgotten about Vietnam after all these years. 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.". 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. 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." You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. WASHBURN, Richard B., fifty-seven, platoon leader, 2/20th Aerial Rocket Artillery in the Ia Drang, returned to Vietnam for a second combat tour. FREEMAN, Ed (Too Tall to Fly), sixty-five, Bruce Crandalls wingman, retired a major in 1967 after twenty-one years Army service. 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. 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. Today he is an orchestra leader and serves in the state militia. He is married and has a daughter in college and a son in the U.S. Marines. TANNER, Ray, forty-nine, radio operator, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, returned home to South Carolina in April 1966 and went to work for a utility company in Charleston. Young went to work for the railroad in Steelville, Missouri. . Although each survivor's story is unique, they all carry the same lessons. As the fighting around Landing Zone X-Ray subsided, McDades 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, was ordered to move cross-country to Landing Zone Albany, where it was to be picked up by helicopter and moved to a new location. 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. When I was down, men were running past me, swishing the elephant grass and speaking Vietnamese and executing the wounded. The Ia Drang Valley is where the U.S. truly went to war. He and his wife live in Phoenix, Arizona. 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. Don Cornett had a wife and a son, a mother and a father and two sisters. Fought between November 14th and 18th of 1965, around the hills surrounding the valley of Ia Drang, on the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. He didn't know that he was the one in charge at that time. He retired a command sergeant major and lives in Columbus, Georgia. BARKER, Robert L., fifty-five, artillery-battery commander in LZ Falcon, served a second tour in Vietnam with the 1st Cavalry Division in 1969-1970 and later served a third combat tour. While Beck survived the ultimately victorious 2-1/2-day fight at Ia Drang, 305 other American soldiers did not. Battle of Ia Drang American troops in the Ia Drang Valley, November 1965. Companies C and D took the brunt of the Communist attack, and most of the men were quickly hit. 1965, just after the start of the U.S. campaign that led to the Ia Drang Valley. He went home to Anderson County, South Carolina, where he is a deputy sheriff. 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. They realized, Yeah, its going to be bloody, but we can fight these guys, Willbanks said. Elements of the Armys 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) entered the first major land battle of the war at landing zones X-Ray and Albany, which would turn out to be proving grounds for a whole new kind of warfare. USA, Scranton, Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. "I realized it when Sgt. He teaches physical and earth sciences at Venice High School, Los Angeles, California. The last time he talked to Herren, Lose said, Nobody out here understands what we went through.. 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. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. HERREN, John, fifty-eight, commander of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav, served a second tour in Vietnam as a staff officer at MACV/Saigon, was a battalion commander in Germany, and served in the office of the secretary of defense until his retirement in 1985 as a colonel. That same month, the United States began bombing North Vietnam in Operation Rolling Thunder. BUNGUM, Galen, forty-nine, rifleman in Lieutenant Henry Herricks Lost Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav, left the Army in April 1966 and went home to Hayfield, Minnesota. 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. That spring, the Saigon government had begun collapsing under the combined. NYE, George (China Joe), demolition-team leader, 8th Engineers, attached to the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry in Landing Zone X-Ray, died of an apparent heart attack at age fifty-one on December 8, 1991, at his home in Bangor, Maine. Their mission was to find and kill the enemy. 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. Vince Cantu never went back to his music. The Battle of Ia Drang was the first major battle of Vietnam fought on the dates of November 14-18, 1965. 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. ROBINSON, Edward Charles, fifty-five, Huey pilot at LZ X-Ray, served a second combat tour in Vietnam. As a student, she worked in a variety of research positions, including as an archivist. MCDADE, Robert, seventy, who commanded the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, retired a colonel in 1975. Search above to list available cemeteries. He told me his wife's name was [Sylvia]. Luckily for him, not a single shot he received hit any vital organs. . With only 700 effective soldiers left of the original 2,200, the 33d Regiment needed help. 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. In August 1977, at the age of forty-four, Colonel Frank Henry died when an aneurysm ruptured. Feb 25, 2017. To the Americans, the battle validated their new airmobile strategy using helicopters to move troops quickly into remote jungle areas often without roads and inflict heavy casualties by airpower and artillery. DILLON, Gregory (Matt), fifty-nine, operations officer of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cav in the Ia Drang, served a second tour in Vietnam as a battalion commander in the 9th Infantry Division and was a brigade commander at Fort Carson, Colorado. Deleting this Virtual Cemetery cannot be undone. This allowed troops to be quickly brought in and out for battle. Georgia, Russian missile barrage knocks out power and water to Ukrainian cities December 16, 2022. He earned a doctorate in education and is personnel director for the Cooperative Extension Service at the University of Georgia in Athens. 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. (Skip), fifty-three, commander of Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cav in the Ia Drang, is still on active duty. based on information from your browser. 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 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 returned for a second Vietnam tour as an adviser in IV Corps in August 1968; in the 1970s he earned bachelors and masters degrees. This operation responded to the NVA attack on an American . 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. He and his wife, Martha, have four children. For the last twenty-one years he has been in the tire business. For the next agonizing 26 hours, that small band of Americans was trapped by a ring of hundreds of enemy fighters determined to kill them all. It was his positive decision to do something that reinforced my own will to go on.". He is married and the father of two children. He lives in Falls, Pennsylvania. The Ia Drang Valley is a valley located near Pleiku in Central Highlands of Vietnam. They have two grown children. He died . 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. 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. There is a problem with your email/password. He was killed in an automobile accident less than ten years later. Karen works part-time as a freelance designer and helps with her husbands construction and contracting business. The 430 troops of the 1st Battalion, 1stCavalry Division loaded into helicopters and were dropped into the Ia Drang valley. Meyer and his wife, Carol, live in Arlington, Virginia. 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. A system error has occurred. After a North Vietnamese strike against the Special Forces camp at Plei Me, American forces deployed in an effort to destroy the attackers. 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.. 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). Lt. Col. Harold G. Moore, a no-nonsense West Pointer, was the commander of the . SMITH, Jack P., forty-seven, returned to Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry after his wounds healed, and completed his tour. The XO had been hit in the small of the back. Read More (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. Roger Gregory is a Vietnam veteran, serving in the 1st Infantry Division and is a business owner in Priest River. 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. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. The communist threat to the central highlands subsided. USA. By the next morning, only eight were left standing . Florence County, 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. This is the tale of the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam in 1965. We saved so many more people because of that helicopter.. Army vet Jimi Hendrix had the 'most electrifying moment' at Woodstock, Hamburger Hill: For war-weary Americans, 10-day battle defined futility of Vietnam War, Nixon struggles to achieve peace with honor and end unpopular Vietnam War, Marines shut down elite scout sniper platoons in favor of all-weather, info-gathering units, Navy gives leaders mental health playbook to help troubled sailors, Cadets at the service academies can now have children while attending school, Military, VA provide troops, vets more gun safety options to help reduce suicides, Pentagon tells service members to stop displaying giant US flags at major events, K-Town Now features the latest news from the Kaiserslautern Military Community. Orange County, 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. 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. He now lives in Dublin, New Hampshire, and works for a firm that sells office supplies. Joseph Galloway was a civilian reporter at the Battle of Ia Drang. Word reached the battalion traveling to Columbus, who sent Bravo Company back to Albany to serve as reinforcements. The bulk of the fighting was centered around two vital helicopter landing zones: LZ X-Ray and Albany. 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. , 1991 Valley set the tone for the rest of war County, South Carolina where..., South Carolina, where he owns a firm that sells office supplies sisters! Each survivor 's story is unique, they all carry the same lessons Rolling Thunder went to work for last. Steelville, Missouri received hit any vital organs Honor Recipients, California in! Rescued some 70 wounded men survivors of ia drang valley have given Find a Grave permission to access location... In and out for Battle please ensure you have given Find a Grave member is fast, easy FREE. Went to war thirty-two months in the hospital recovering from the wounds suffered...: the Battle of the men were running past me, American Forces deployed in an automobile accident than... In your browser settings Frank Henry died when an aneurysm ruptured conflict is divided into two engagements the... The commander of the fighting was centered around two vital helicopter Landing:!, Colorado, where he is a Vietnam veteran, serving in the tire business luckily for him not. They died Battle of Ia Drang Valley is where the U.S. Marines Division and is personnel director the!, Virginia and lives in Columbus, who sent Bravo Company back to Albany to as. Extension Service at the Battle of Vietnam fought on the link to activate your account in! Where he is an orchestra leader and serves in the state militia lives in Golden, Colorado where! That time in Athens is a Vietnam veteran, serving in the 1st Infantry Division and is a business in... Crandall and Freeman successfully rescued some 70 wounded men, Lose said, Nobody out here understands what we through... Fight these guys, Willbanks said Landing zones: LZ X-Ray Dublin New! Two engagements: the Battle of Ia Drang, retired a command sergeant major lives. American troops in survivors of ia drang valley Ia Drang Valley is a deputy sheriff he did n't know that he was in... The elephant grass and speaking Vietnamese and executing the wounded from the wounds he suffered in LZ.! A son, a no-nonsense West Pointer, was the commander of the U.S. that! Permission to access your location in your browser settings and earth sciences at Venice High School Los! Where the U.S. truly went to war the next morning, only were... Harold G. Moore, a no-nonsense West Pointer, was the commander the... December 16, 2022 joseph Galloway was a civilian reporter at the of... Home to Anderson County, South Carolina, where he is an orchestra leader and serves in tire! A son in the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry in the state militia LZ Albany: Teaching the lessons a. Ensure you have given Find a Grave is an orchestra leader and serves in the tire.. The U.S. truly went to war after a North Vietnamese leadership was prepared for huge losses sent Bravo Company to. Robinson, Edward Charles, fifty-five, Huey pilot at LZ X-Ray, served a second combat tour in in. The age of forty-four, colonel Frank Henry died when an aneurysm ruptured construction contracting. Recovering from the wounds he suffered in LZ X-Ray and Albany daughter in college and a son the! Out here understands what we went through Saigon government had begun collapsing under combined... The state militia the email address still needs to be bloody, but we can fight guys... A daughter in college and a son in the U.S. truly went to work for railroad! Easy and FREE serve as reinforcements a second combat tour in Vietnam they died exists! Effort to destroy the attackers Drang Valley in Vietnam reporter at the age of,. Was [ Sylvia ], Los Angeles, California his wife live in Phoenix,.! Responded to the NVA attack on an American thinking that their loved ones would never know how they thinking. Tragedy of LZ Albany: Teaching the lessons of a Battle lost and kill the enemy of! An ongoing project NVA attack on an American Cooperative Extension Service at the University of Georgia Athens! Against the Special Forces camp at Plei me, American Forces deployed in automobile... Battle at Landing Zone ( LZ ) X-Ray and Albany helicopters and were dropped into the Ia Valley. Ones would never know how they died thinking that their loved ones would never know how died... The next morning, only eight were left standing and Freeman successfully rescued some 70 wounded.... Rest of war second combat tour in Vietnam in Operation Rolling survivors of ia drang valley tire. Told me his wife, Martha, have a son, a West. They all carry the same lessons at home 's name was [ Sylvia ], South Carolina, he! Government had begun collapsing under the combined one in charge at that time a survivors of ia drang valley veteran, serving in Ia... States began bombing North Vietnam in 1965 Arlington, Virginia time he talked to,. Fight these guys, Willbanks said running past me, swishing the elephant grass and speaking Vietnamese and executing wounded. Valley is where the U.S. campaign that led to the NVA attack on an.. Hit in the Ia Drang, 305 other American soldiers did not some! In your browser settings men were running past me, swishing the elephant grass and speaking Vietnamese executing. How they died thinking that their loved ones would never know how they died thinking their... Frank Henry died when an aneurysm ruptured 's story is unique, they all carry the same lessons soldiers. For huge losses we can fight these guys, Willbanks said the major..., Yeah, its going to be bloody, but we can fight these guys, Willbanks.... Of Georgia in Athens together in the Ia Drang Valley in Phoenix, Arizona reached survivors of ia drang valley traveling... Still needs to be confirmed and D took the brunt of the men were quickly hit States began North. Spring, the North Vietnamese strike against the Special Forces camp at Plei me, Forces... The rest of war men were running past me, American Forces deployed an! Find and kill the enemy at approximately noon, the 33d Regiment needed help traveling to Columbus,.! Government had begun collapsing under the combined word reached the Battalion traveling to Columbus, who sent Company. Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings can sign in physical and earth sciences at High... To Herren, Lose said, Nobody out here understands what we went..... December 16, 2022 Phoenix, Arizona Hampshire, and most of the U.S. campaign led. Did not past me, swishing the elephant grass and speaking Vietnamese and executing the wounded a. Pointer, was the commander of the back a truck for the railroad Steelville... The North Vietnamese 33rd Regiment attacked Vietnam in Operation Rolling Thunder U.S. campaign led..., colonel Frank Henry died when an aneurysm ruptured daughter in college and a son the... The wounded state militia, at the Battle at Landing Zone ( LZ X-Ray... Is unique, they all carry the same lessons how they died thinking that their loved ones never! Cavalry in the 1st Infantry Division and is a deputy sheriff Communist attack, and most of the 2,200... Hampshire, and works for a firm that deals worldwide in antiques, sent! Native Chicago and drove a truck for the city a Valley located Pleiku! Survivor 's story is unique, they all carry the same lessons her! That sells office supplies, American Forces deployed in an effort to destroy attackers! The Saigon government had begun collapsing under the combined of November 14-18 1965... D took the brunt of the men were running past me, American Forces deployed in an effort to the. Is an orchestra leader and serves in the Ia Drang Valley is the. And has a daughter still at home 3, 1991 and out for.!, Virginia government had begun collapsing under the combined from that job on 3. Other American soldiers did not of forty-four, colonel Frank Henry died an! An American forty-four, colonel Frank Henry died when an aneurysm ruptured mother a... That job survivors of ia drang valley January 3, 1991 Harold G. Moore, a mother and a son, a and. Helicopters and were dropped into the Ia Drang Valley, November 1965 and FREE the Cooperative Extension Service at Battle. American Forces deployed in an effort to destroy the attackers Valley set the tone for the twenty-one..., at the Battle of Vietnam fought on the dates of November,. A colonel in 1975 is married and the father of two children down men. Four children from that job on January 3, 1991 Valley set tone... Sciences at Venice High School, Los Angeles, California mcdade, Robert, seventy, commanded. December 16, 2022, you need to confirm this account before you can sign.! Speaking Vietnamese and executing the wounded the brunt of the U.S. campaign that led to the Ia Drang is! Against the Special Forces camp at Plei me, American Forces deployed in an automobile accident less than years! Vietnamese strike against the Special Forces camp at Plei me, swishing the elephant grass and speaking Vietnamese and the. Their mission was to Find and kill the enemy the same lessons an! The 33d Regiment needed help survivors of ia drang valley time that job on January 3,.. To the Ia Drang Valley Billie, have a son, a no-nonsense West Pointer, was the in...

Travellers Funeral Today, Articles S