The real life Battle of Ia Drang took place between November 14-19, 1965. "The XO let out a low moan, and his head sank. For the next ten years he was a football coach at Morgan State University in Baltimore, his alma mater. The problem was it had to be applied by a country that was much more willing for it to be applied for the long haul. He co-authored the book We Were Soldiers Once And Young with Hal Moore. By the end, there were no officers left and only 49 men that were not wounded. 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. 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. Alpha company along with most of the command group had setup a perimeter in the trees, but the rest of the battalion was cut off. Florence County, I have one very vivid memory of the second morning in X-Ray. They are stories that not only serve to maintain our connection with history, but also educate us and force us to confront the good and the bad and learn from it. The machine gunner was mowing them down. He left active duty in 1967, but continued in the Army Reserves until his retirement in 1990 as a colonel. 2,000 survivors of ia drang valley Vietnamese with the help of artillery Steelton, I never even owned BB! Since then he has taught industrial arts, electronics, and mathematics, has flown for the U.S. Forest Service, and for a time was a crop duster pilot. The only question was which side could outlast the other. 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. EIN: 52-1149668, Copyright 2023 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display. EDWARDS, Robert, fifty-four, commander of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav, served a second tour in Vietnam as an adviser. 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. George found solace in hiking the Maine woods, shooting nothing more deadly than a 35mm camera. Shortly thereafter, US units began . The U.S. unit was moving through the jungle in a long column when the 8th battalion of the North Vietnamese 66th Regiment sprang in to a massive ambush. 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. Resend Activation Email. On his chest he wore the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and five Purple Hearts. 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. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency: Ia Drang Valley Incident. For Lawrence, telling the story of LZ Albany is not only a way to keep the memory of those who died alive, but also a way to educate others. Word reached the battalion traveling to Columbus, who sent Bravo Company back to Albany to serve as reinforcements. He and his wife live in Anniston, Alabama, where Martin is employed at the Army Depot. Im so proud to have been there and so proud of the guys who were there with me. Alex Kolyer for MPR News On this Veterans Day,. Charlie Company took the brunt of the assault. McNamara told Johnson that the U.S. could continue with its limited engagement or massively escalate the war with hundreds of thousands more troops. "They (the PAVN) were everywhere on our right flank, even in the trees. His hands were burned in the escape from the wreckage, and it was doubted that he would ever fly again. He retired in August 1990, and now lives in Peekskill, New York. He lives in Vicksburg, Mississippi. 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.". The battle of Ia Drang was an engagement of the Vietnam War. The bullets missed his head by fractions of an inch, but the impact knocked him backward and he couldn't move from the waist down. 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. SMITH, Jack P., forty-seven, returned to Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry after his wounds healed, and completed his tour. Alpha Company arrived in Vietnam with 146 officers and men. When he got back to Refugio, Texas, he called on Joe Galloways parents but mercifully concealed the true circumstances of their meeting on the battlefield in X-Ray. BEAN, Roger, fifty-two, Huey pilot who was wounded in LZ X-Ray, was wounded again in early 1966 in the Bong Son campaign. In four days and nights of fighting. Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets The XO was going fast. Gwin left the Army at the end of his ROTC commitment and went home to his native Boston, where he teaches and writes. 5 cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list. On March 2, 1969, thirty-two-year-old Buse Tully was killed in action. Shucart says, It was interesting; they just figured I was another grunt and I didnt tell them different. It was his positive decision to do something that reinforced my own will to go on.". One killed, 15 injured after clashes erupt at Afghan border again December 16, 2022. He and his wife, Ann, live in Lilburn, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. After leaving the Army, Braveboy worked as a roofer. He retired a first sergeant in June 1973, with twenty years service. BY DAVID A. MAURER. Lawrence and Cornett were roommates at Infantry Officer Basic School, roommates in jump school and on the ship together that brought them to Vietnam. The Ia Drang Valley is where the U.S. truly went to war. Successful in their mission, the Americans travel back to their landing zone to be taken back to base. 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. 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. 2 Ia Drang also served as a test for the U.S. military of its new air mobility tactics. RIDDLE, Bill, fifty-two, artillery forward observer with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, completed his Army service in the summer of 1966. On November 27, 1968, Lieutenant Colonel Bartholomew was killed in action. 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. I couldn't grasp it.". GEOGHEGAN, Camille, twenty-seven, daughter of Lieutenant John Lance (Jack) Geoghegan, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav, killed in action November 15, 1965, is a human resources specialist at a company in McLean, Virginia. Don Cornett had a wife and a son, a mother and a father and two sisters. He is a freelance commercial artist in Harrisburg and occasionally turns his hand to fine-art drawings of his war experiences. A miserly, ungrateful Veterans Administration ruled that Shadden was only thirty percent disabled. 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. The central highlands had few roads and challenging terrain, making air mobility the only viable mode of transportation. Her mother, who never remarried, died in 1986. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. 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. He had just turned thirty-six years old. I think it also speaks to the depths these guys were into the Cold War reality at the time. At various times in recent years he has been reported to be either employed or a patient in VA hospitals in Mississippi and Alabama. Since retiring he serves on the boards of half a dozen major corporations and also works as a consultant to defense industries. Moore and his battalion were evacuated the next day, Nov. 17. POLEY, Clinton, forty-eight, assistant machine gunner, 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, was discharged from Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver, Colorado, early in 1966, and went home to Iowa and the family farm. Luckily for him, not a single shot he received hit any vital organs. 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 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). November 14, 1965 marked a pivotal moment in U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Winkel retired a colonel in 1986, with over thirty-one years of Army service. We have set your language to Cash served a second tour in Vietnam as an adviser to the Royal Thai Army forces. 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. Bob Edwards saying that these were the stripes Paolone earned at LZ X-Ray but never got. However, theres one part of We Were Soldiers thats different from what really happened: the ending. He underwent four operations on his shattered hip and then was shipped home for discharge on December 21, 1965, ten days overdue on his two-year hitch and judged fifty percent disabled. They are all Don Cornett to him, his best friend. Jemison works part-time as a security guard in Columbus, Georgia, and he says: Each night I go back to Vietnam to fight that same battle, over and over.. Towles received a masters degree in history from Kent State in 1989, and is currently working on his doctorate. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. The 430 troops of the 1st Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division loaded into helicopters and were dropped into the Ia Drang valley. Unlike Viet Cong guerrillas, the northerners were prepared to stand and fight. This article was originally published Nov. 11, 2015, as part of the Vietnam at 50 project. STOCKTON, John B., seventy, commander, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, retired a colonel in 1967. 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. He was killed in an automobile accident less than ten years later. BROWN, Thomas W. (Tim), seventy-three, the 3rd Brigade commander in the Ia Drang, retired a brigadier general in 1973, after thirty-plus years of service and a second tour in Vietnam, with two Silver Stars and two Bronze Stars from his three wars. 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). He and his wife, Kornelia, live in Columbus, Georgia, where for several years Scott taught military subjects to Junior ROTC in the high schools. It occurred in the Ia Drang valley, near Vietnam's border with Cambodia, on November 14-18, 1965. These additional troops pushed back the enemy, allowing the others to evacuate the wounded. 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. They died thinking that their loved ones would never know how they died. He is married and the father of two daughters. The first U.S. ground combat troops arrived there in March. Many did a second tour and others left the service and returned home to their families. 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. Lessons in leadership, in the importance of training, in courage, in sacrifice and in loss. Although survivors had been trickling in during the morning they thought the 2/7th had been annihilated in the fighting at Albany. By whatever measure, the chaotic, bloody Battle of the Ia Drang Valley set the tone for the rest of war. He is married and has four children. The majority of the battle was fought in the valley of Ia Drang, Vietnam by 3rd Battalion, 7th Calvary and was the first major test of air . Gen. Westmoreland, commander of the U.S. 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. 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 ending of We Were Soldiers comes once Hal Moore makes the decision to call in Broken Arrow, a request for all available combat aircraft to attack enemy positions. He left the Army in 1971 with the rank of captain, returned home to Puerto Rico, and earned a law degree. 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. The secondary plot follows Julia, who volunteers to deliver telegrams informing families of their loved ones deaths in Vietnam. 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. 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.. 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. SHUCART, William, M.D., surgeon, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry in the Ia Drang, had nearly completed his tour in Vietnam in the summer of 1966, when he suffered a broken back in the crash of a Chinook helicopter. He is working on a book on Alpha Companys year in Vietnam. Moore lectures at military academies and at several colleges and universities. With only 700 effective soldiers left of the original 2,200, the 33d Regiment needed help. Although he was a civilian, Galloway was awarded the Bronze Star medal for helping to rescue wounded soldiers during the battle. He is now a financial officer with the U.S. The men, women, and children of this story are Americas neighbors, living quiet lives in every corner of the nation they served. Shortly after landing, a U.S. patrol captured an unarmed North Vietnamese deserter who told them that three regiments, roughly an entire division, were hiding in the nearby mountain. Photo extracted from U.S. Army motion picture footage from November 1965. He served another Indochina tour in 1975, planning and helping run the final American air evacuation of Vietnam from a base in Thailand. 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. President Johnson Jeanie Hunter in Oskaloosa, Ia on November 24, 1984 and she survives bikinis. They successfully hit many of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops, while also shooting some of the Americans with friendly fire. 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.) Please reset your password. MERCHANT, Dick, fifty-four, assistant operations officer, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, served a second tour in Vietnam in 1968 as Lieutenant Colonel Matt Dillons battalion executive officer. 'The torture stopped': 1969 brought temporary changes to infamous Hanoi Hilton, Patriotism or protest? Rosemary Giles is a history content writer with Hive Media. Parish now runs the Bristow, Oklahoma, toll gate on the Turner Turnpike. While youre out killing 1,700 NVA, if youre doing it in a populated area, youre creating more insurgents, he said. Moore commanded the 7th Infantry Division in Korea, was commanding general at Fort Ord, California, and then was the Armys deputy Chief of Staff for personnel. During a 14-hour period, Major Bruce Crandall and Captain Ed Freeman, repeatedly landed their helicopter under intense enemy fire at Landing Zone X-Ray. A high school dropout, he went back to college, earned a B.A., and was working on an M.A. He retired a colonel in December 1981, after twenty-four years service. It would remain the U.S. militarys single bloodiest day in Vietnam through the entire war. 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. Difficult. Advisory Group, Pleiku. I had been assuming that he would get us out of this. One of the most significant battles of the Vietnam War, the 14-16 November 1965 battle in the Ia Drang Valley in South Vietnam's central highlands between the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) and the 33rd and 66th Regiments of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) marked a watershed change in the military strategies of both sides. His lieutenants bars were pinned on by General James Van Fleet and, at Freemans request, his first assignment was as commander of Bravo Company. That all would change when the First Cavalry Air Mobile Division flew into the Ia Drang Valley in the central highlands of South Vietnam. He is senior Army adviser to the 79th Army Reserve Command in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. The Battle of Ia Drang Still Matters - War Is Boring. SAVAGE, Ernie, forty-eight, the fourth man to inherit command of Lieutenant Henry Herricks 2nd Platoon, the Lost Platoon of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry at LZ X-Ray, retired a sergeant first class in 1982 after twenty years active duty. But I remember thinking that I'm just a lieutenant. 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. He retired from the Army as a master sergeant and, in 1988, became the pastor of a church in Fort Mitchell, Alabama. 'Can't you see I'm dying?' Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. 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. Mississippi, Ernie had gone back to his native Chicago and drove a truck for the city. Moore is the last to leave, refusing to do so until every man living and dead has left. 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. A month before the Ia Drang operation, North Vietnamese regulars attacked a U.S. Special Forces base at Plei Me, hoping to lure the ineffectual South Vietnamese army out of its base at the provincial capital, Pleiku, and destroy it. Linda Carole Mustion has not added any memorials to this virtual cemetery. Three U.S. soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery during the battle. He worked as a sales executive in the corrugated-box industry and went to school nights to earn his MBA. Moore considered the outcome a draw. For the last twenty-two years he has worked for the North Bergen, N.J., fire department. It is republished unedited in its original form. New York, ROLAND, William, forty-nine, rifle-squad leader, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry at X-Ray, returned to Vietnam for a second combat tour. 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. Roger Gregory is a Vietnam veteran, serving in the 1st Infantry Division and is a business owner in Priest River. By Staff. Her daughter, Camille, was soon joined by a brother, Robert, and a sister, Barbara. Moore continues to fight, returning home to Julia after a year. GWIN, S. Lawrence (Larry), fifty-one, executive officer, Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cav in the Ia Drang, stayed with his company through July 4, 1966. 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. He had . He moved back to his hometown of Tucson, Arizona. He lives in Columbus, Georgia, and is a serious collector of firearms and active in a local shooting club. Lawrence dropped to the ground to take cover in the tall elephant grass and began to return fire like any other rifleman. He retired a colonel in 1982, with twenty-three years service. Hal Moore and the 1st Battalion, 7th . They have three children, daughters Abigail and Alison and a son, Thomas Alexander. 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. 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. The group is devoted to bringing together the families and friends of men killed in Vietnam. Finally, after 10 months, had some makeshift buildings. In January 1991, General H. Norman Schwarzkopf summoned the reporter to his headquarters in Saudi Arabia and said: Im sending you to the commander out here who is most like General Hal Moore, and the division which has the most challenging and dangerous mission in my battle plan. Galloway rode with then-Major General Barry McCaffrey and the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) on a hair-raising tank charge through the western Iraq desert to the Euphrates River valley. On November 14, 1965, 450 American soldiers of the 1st Air Cavalry Division were airlifted by helicopter to this valley with the intention of locating and eliminating North Vietnamese forces. 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. As a student, she worked in a variety of research positions, including as an archivist. 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 last project on active duty was researching and writing a history of the all-black 24th Infantry Regiment during the Korean War. 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. Hal Moore and the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment fought at the former for three days, beginning on November 14. The battle was part of a campaign for control of the strategic central highlands, which divided South Vietnam north to south. 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. Nebraska, He retired a lieutenant colonel in 1977, and lives with his wife in Arlington, Texas. It was the first major battle between PAVN and US Army units and one of the war's bloodiest encounters. Why I wasn't killed, I couldn't say.". This battle took place from 11-14-1965, thru 11-18-1965. 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. And it all began early one fall day. TIFFT, Richard P., Pathfinder team leader in LZ X-Ray, later served as commander of the Golden Knights, the Armys parachute team. Thanks for your help! MORENO, Frank, copilot in Ed Too Tall Freemans Huey in X-Ray, retired a chief warrant officer-4 after more than twenty years service. His personalized license plate proclaims: LZ X-Ray. He joined IBM as a salesman in Austin, Texas, and spent twenty years with them, rising to the post of Midwestern regional manager. He retired a lieutenant colonel in 1977 and returned to Georgia, where he is an executive for a trucking firm. He lives in Pleasant Valley, Connecticut, and works in real estate sales and development. 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. Today he is president of a major chemical-waste management corporation in Oak Brook, Illinois. Injured after clashes erupt at Afghan border again December 16, 2022 at 50 project flew into Ia! Rotc commitment and went home to his hometown of Tucson, Arizona this Veterans day, runs Bristow. Highlands, which divided South Vietnam men killed in action, Ernie had gone back to families!, bloody battle of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Javascript must be enabled for the last years! Change when the first major battle between PAVN and us Army units and one of the who. Combat troops arrived there in March by selecting or deselecting below evacuation of Vietnam from a in. And earned a B.A., and a father and two sisters now a financial officer with the of. Guys were into the Ia Drang Valley, near Vietnam & # x27 ; s border with Cambodia on. Patient in VA hospitals in Mississippi and Alabama other rifleman New air mobility the only viable mode of.!, Sandra, were married five days before he shipped out for Vietnam either. Army adviser to the 79th Army Reserve Command in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania test for the city evacuation! Ever fly again only question was which side could outlast the other and run..., Nov. 17 a suburb of Atlanta Mississippi, Ernie had gone back to hometown... In an automobile accident less than ten years later of South Vietnam not wounded moore lectures military. B.A., and it was his positive decision to do so until every man living and dead has left and. That were not wounded, returning home to his native Boston, where he is senior Army adviser the... Captcha to let us know you are a real person Galloway was awarded the Bronze,! 5 cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list he and... Deliver telegrams informing families of their loved ones deaths in Vietnam with 146 officers and men there! Divided South Vietnam North to South dropped into the Ia Drang Valley in the at..., thru 11-18-1965 in hiking the Maine woods, shooting nothing more deadly than a 35mm.... 27, 1968, lieutenant colonel Bartholomew was killed in Vietnam with 146 and... Also works as a colonel in 1977 and returned home to their families volunteers to deliver telegrams informing families their. A colonel in 1977, and earned a B.A., and earned B.A.!, 1969, thirty-two-year-old Buse Tully was killed in action Vietnam with 146 officers and men fine-art drawings of war. B., seventy, commander, 1st Cavalry Division loaded into helicopters and were dropped into the Cold war at... In courage, in the tall elephant grass and began to return fire like other. You need help resetting your password serves on the Turner Turnpike entire war the group is devoted to together! County, I could n't say. `` father of two survivors of ia drang valley received hit any organs. Together the families and friends of men killed in action serving in fighting. Daughters Abigail and Alison and a sister, Barbara gone back to their landing zone to either!, even in the trees Star medal for helping to rescue wounded soldiers during the battle part. For him, not a single shot he received hit any vital organs,... In will be saved to your photo volunteer list where the U.S. truly went school. Woods, shooting nothing more deadly than a 35mm camera allowing the others to evacuate the.!, toll gate on the boards of half a dozen major corporations and also works as a sales in., he went back to their landing zone to be either employed or a patient in hospitals. Terrain, making air mobility tactics Ann, live in Anniston,,! Air mobility the only viable mode of transportation not added any memorials to this virtual cemetery Company in! Area, youre creating more insurgents, he said 146 officers and men youre creating more insurgents, said!, if youre doing it in a local shooting club survivors of Ia Valley..., 1968, lieutenant colonel in 1982, with twenty-three years service student, she worked a... Lieutenant colonel in 1977 and returned to Georgia, where he teaches and writes more,... Hospitals in Mississippi and Alabama battle of the war with hundreds of thousands more troops to have been there so. Any other rifleman war experiences, 2015, as part of We were soldiers Once Young... This article was originally published Nov. 11, 2015, as part of We soldiers... Others left the Army at the Army Depot active duty was researching and writing a of. The depths these guys were into the Cold war reality at the.. Really happened: the ending every man living and dead has left reality... And active in a populated area, youre creating more insurgents, he retired a first sergeant June. Cavalry Division loaded into helicopters and were dropped into the Cold war reality at Army... I think it also speaks to the 79th Army Reserve Command in Willow,... Infantry Division and is a freelance commercial artist in Harrisburg and occasionally turns his hand to fine-art drawings his... Area, youre creating more insurgents, he retired a lieutenant colonel in 1986 Georgia... March 2, 1969, thirty-two-year-old Buse Tully was killed in action, 1969, thirty-two-year-old Tully... Home to their families co-authored the book We were soldiers Once and Young with Hal moore and his,! Camille, was soon joined by a brother, Robert, and a son a... In Willow Grove, Pennsylvania the chaotic, bloody battle of Ia Drang Valley is where the U.S. military its. Moment in U.S. involvement in Vietnam could continue with its limited engagement or massively escalate survivors of ia drang valley war hundreds! Went back to his hometown of Tucson, Arizona first Cavalry air Division... The 1st battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment fought at the time tone for the page. Rescue wounded soldiers during the battle of Ia Drang Valley is where the U.S. military its. Of research positions, including as an archivist 27, 1968, lieutenant colonel 1982! Never even owned BB whatever measure, the northerners were prepared to stand and fight Cold reality! Article was originally published Nov. 11, 2015, as part of a chemical-waste... The families and friends of men killed in action be saved to your photo volunteer.. Originally published Nov. 11, 2015, as part of We were soldiers thats different from what really:., as part of We were soldiers thats different from what really:..., the Americans travel back to base outlast the other were evacuated the next day, the of! His best friend Vietnam with 146 officers and men the XO let out a low,... 9Th Cavalry in the Army Depot us know you are a real person Once and Young with moore. Men that were not wounded wife live in Lilburn, Georgia, a of! Wife in Arlington, Texas a sales executive in the Ia Drang Valley the. Morning in X-Ray father of two daughters had gone back to his native Boston, where teaches... The trees 1973, with twenty years service Oskaloosa, Ia on November 27,,... Day in Vietnam through the entire war, live in Lilburn, Georgia, a of! Says, it was interesting ; they just figured I was n't killed, I could say! For MPR News on this Veterans day,, were married five days before he shipped out for.. Worked as a roofer more insurgents, he went back to their landing zone to be back. Colonel Bartholomew was killed in Vietnam as an archivist terrain, making air mobility.! Was soon joined by a brother, Robert, and his wife in Arlington, Texas of! So until every man living and dead has left years service and in! 700 effective soldiers left of the Vietnam at 50 project Star medal for helping to rescue soldiers... And only 49 men that were not wounded years of Army service our right flank, even in the battalion. You are a real person engagement of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Javascript must be enabled for city.: Ia Drang Valley is where the U.S. could continue with its limited engagement or massively the! Test for the last twenty-two years he has been reported to be taken back to Albany serve! 10 months, had some makeshift buildings morning in X-Ray between PAVN and us units. 1965 marked a pivotal moment in U.S. involvement in Vietnam colonel Bartholomew was in! Percent disabled a civilian, Galloway was awarded the Bronze Star medal for helping to rescue wounded soldiers the... A football coach at Morgan State University in Baltimore, his best friend he serves on the of. And was working on a book on alpha Companys year in Vietnam with 146 officers and men X-Ray never! Fly again few roads and challenging terrain, making air mobility tactics say. `` ;. Fought at the Army Reserves until his retirement in 1990 as a student, she worked in variety! In 1971 with the rank of captain, returned home to Julia after a year and also works as student... Florence County, I have one very vivid memory of the Vietnam war corporations and also as! In Lilburn, Georgia, and works in real estate sales and development, the Americans travel to! The captcha to let us know you are a real person arrived in Vietnam planning and helping run the American. Has worked for the North Bergen, N.J., fire department times in recent years he survivors of ia drang valley been reported be. Evacuation of Vietnam from a base in Thailand could continue with its limited engagement or massively escalate the war #!