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Heroes of Vietnam: Death in the Ia Drang Valley American soldiers fought their first pitched battle of the Vietnam War here. He and his wife, Theresa, and their six-year-old daughter, Megan, live in Glen Allen, Virginia. 5 cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Today he is a city bus driver in Houston, Texas. 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. 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. He is the perennial master of ceremonies at the Ia Drang dinners; he claims he is the only one of the brothers who can get through an entire sentence without using the f-word. When I go to the wall, I see Don Cornett's name 58,000 times.'. They successfully hit many of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops, while also shooting some of the Americans with friendly fire. 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. Moore lectures at military academies and at several colleges and universities. Both later were awarded the Medal of Honor, our nations highest award for heroism in combat. 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). 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. On February 26, 2007, President George W. Bush presented Crandall with the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Ia Drang Valley. In 1946, Ho Chi Minh had warned the French, who were trying to restore control over their former protectorate, that you can kill 10 of my men for every one I kill of yours, yet even at those odds, you will lose and I will win.. Scott says: On the boat going to Vietnam I bet Plumley a case of beer I would be wounded first, and that I would be home for Christmas. Alley is general manager of a box factory in Dayton, Tennessee. A system error has occurred. Lawrence dropped to the ground to take cover in the tall elephant grass and began to return fire like any other rifleman. 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. In August 1977, at the age of forty-four, Colonel Frank Henry died when an aneurysm ruptured. I thought to myself. 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. As the command ship touched down, other NVA soldiers opened up; Myron Diduryk was struck in the stomach in the doorway of the chopper. In the end, 79 Americans had been killed, and 121 men were wounded. Moderate. 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." His awards include the Combat Infantrymans Badge with two stars; two Silver Stars; two Bronze Stars; four Purple Hearts; a Master Parachutist Badge with five combat-jump stars; a European Theater Service ribbon with eight campaign stars and four invasion arrows; a Korean Service ribbon with three campaign stars and one invasion arrow; a Vietnam Service ribbon with one silver and three bronze campaign stars; and the Presidential Unit Citation badge. He was the father of four children, aged twelve through twenty. The location of the battle, far into the jungle from any roads, meant troops had to be airlifted in. He moved back to his hometown of Tucson, Arizona. Together, they flew in supplies, water, and ammunition needed for the troops. 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. One infantry company began the day of Nov. 14 with 110 men. He served another Indochina tour in 1975, planning and helping run the final American air evacuation of Vietnam from a base in Thailand. He is married and the father of two daughters. His helicopter came under intense enemy fire, but they continued to carry out the wounded, even though that wasnt their mission. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Westmorelands recommendation for more troops carried the day even as Johnson and his advisers privately questioned prospects for success. It was fifty-five years ago on November 14, 1965, the First Cavalry Division commanded by Lt. Col. Hal Moore landed in the Ia (pronounced Eye) Drang Valley, South Vietnam. He retired a lieutenant colonel in 1977, and lives with his wife in Arlington, Texas. This praise is largely due to the heavy emphasis director Randall Wallace put on ensuring what he created was as accurate to the real events of the Battle of Ia Drang as possible. One killed, 15 injured after clashes erupt at Afghan border again December 16, 2022. Later, after he was evacuated the doctors thought his spine was severed, but discovered later that he had a severely bruised spine from the force of the bullets whipping his head back. Joseph Galloway was a civilian reporter at the Battle of Ia Drang. He and his wife live in Anniston, Alabama, where Martin is employed at the Army Depot. The largely [North Vietnamese Army] units we ran into, they were interested in staying and fighting.. Bob Edwards saying that these were the stripes Paolone earned at LZ X-Ray but never got. Assigned as the operations officer of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry, Diduryk was killed in action on April 24, 1970, in a Huey helicopter at an abandoned fire base near the Cambodian border. To replenish his battered forces, the North Vietnamese commander ordered the 2,000 soldiers of his reserve regiment, the 66th, forward from its staging area in Cambodia into the Ia Drang valley. He died. Hear Bruces story. He wanted to ensure the memories of those who died live on, in particular that of his best friend, Lt. Don Cornett. 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. BY DAVID A. MAURER. "I realized it when Sgt. KOMICH, Leland C., fifty-two, Huey pilot with Bravo Company 229th in X-Ray and Albany, retired a chief warrant officer-4 with more than twenty years service. 5 memorials LTC Roger Jay Bartholomew 2 Nov 1932 - 27 Nov 1968 Westlawn-Hillcrest Memorial Park All Rights Reserved. A fresh unit, the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, was ordered to march from LZ X-Ray to LZ Albany a few miles away. Although he was a civilian, Galloway was awarded the Bronze Star medal for helping to rescue wounded soldiers during the battle. 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. 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. 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. "I thought I was dying and laid there waiting for death to come. He teaches physical and earth sciences at Venice High School, Los Angeles, California. She is an active member of Sons and Daughters in Touch, an organization sponsored by the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. 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. 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. 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. In his spare time Wal-lenius draws, paints, and does etchings and prints, sometimes of Vietnam War scenes. The conflict is divided into two engagements: the Battle at Landing Zone (LZ) X-Ray and. 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. 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. 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. 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. The Ia Drang Valley is where the U.S. truly went to war. 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.. In Washington, Ia Drang convinced Johnson that he was in for a long, bloody war. OUELLETTE, Robert, fifty, battalion commanders radio operator in LZ X-Ray, left the Army in August 1966. 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. Adams and his wife have a three-year-old daughter. His widow, Emma Lee, lives in Austin, Texas. USA, Fort Benning, About 80 U.S. soldiers were killed, 124 wounded, in the first two days of the fight. It featured a question-and-answer session with some of the battle's key players, including retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore. BECK, Bill, forty-nine, assistant machine gunner, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav in the Ia Drang, left the Army in 1966 and went home to his native Steelton, Pennsylvania. He and his wife live in Phoenix, Arizona. The airstrike broke the North Vietnamese siege and enabled reinforcements to reach the LZ. They saved some 70 soldiers. The communist threat to the central highlands subsided. He was forty-five. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. The Ia Drang Valley is a valley located near Pleiku in Central Highlands of Vietnam. 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. That spring, the Saigon government had begun collapsing under the combined. For the next four years he was executive vice president of the company that developed the Crested Butte, Colorado, ski area. The machine gunner was mowing them down. The Ia Drang Valley is a map featured in Battlefield Vietnam. 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. That same month, the United States began bombing North Vietnam in Operation Rolling Thunder. The former arrives in Vietnam in November 1965, and, soon after, is tasked with leading his 400 men in an effort to take out the enemy troops who attacked one of the bases in the Ia Drang Valley. Adams and his wife have a three-year-old daughter. North Vietnamese forces had higher casualty rates, due to the U.S. airstrike and artillery support. The real life Battle of Ia Drang took place between November 14-19, 1965. But UPI sent him back to Vietnam in 1971, in 1973, and again in 1975 for the final chapter. 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. Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets 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. Moore is the last to leave, refusing to do so until every man living and dead has left. 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. Temperatures reached 100 degrees, and by the afternoon there was a firestorm battle for survival. 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