This allowed troops to be quickly brought in and out for battle. 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. 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. His twelve-year-old granddaughter recently interviewed Ray about his experiences in Vietnam and wrote a school essay she titled: My Grandfather: An American Hero.. For a number of years he was a country-and-western band leader and disc jockey. The bullet was still in there. His dissertation is on the LZ Albany battle. SETELIN, John, forty-eight, squad leader, Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, left Vietnam with three Purple Hearts and left the Army a sergeant. He spent eighteen months in Army hospitals, and was retired, disabled, in June 1975. By whatever measure, the chaotic, bloody Battle of the Ia Drang Valley set the tone for the rest of war. Young went to work for the railroad in Steelville, Missouri. They are representative of the more than three million Americans who served the United States of America in its long and bitter war in Vietnam, representative of those who loved one of the more than 58,000 Americans who died in that war. A high school dropout, he went back to college, earned a B.A., and was working on an M.A. 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. 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. The service members killed in the Battle of la Drang are remembered on Panel 3E of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. STINNETT, Robert L., fifty-eight, Bravo Company, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion in LZ X-Ray and LZ Albany, returned to Vietnam for a second combat tour. The day before he died, George picked up a Christmas tree, which he planned to decorate with yellow ribbons and small American flags for the airport terminal; soldiers from the Gulf were still arriving and he didnt want them to think they had been forgotten. NADAL, Ramon A. Rescorla kept the battered French Army bugle he captured on the field at Albany; in 1991 he turned it over to the Ia Drang Alumni for use in memorial ceremonies. He assumed that like the French, the Americans would tire of seeing their young men coming home in body bags. 4 Oscar E . These additional troops pushed back the enemy, allowing the others to evacuate the wounded. Lacking confidence in the South Vietnamese, Gen. William C. Westmoreland ordered the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, which had been in country about a month, to pursue the enemy, using newly minted airmobile tactics. At various times in recent years he has been reported to be either employed or a patient in VA hospitals in Mississippi and Alabama. 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. 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. Search above to list available cemeteries. 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. After they were airlifted out of the combat zone, McDades men were joined by the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment. Now a senior writer for U.S. News, Galloway recently had one last combat tour. 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. 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.. When he retired, Howard moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he works as a consultant in emergency-management planning. After years of advising the South Vietnamese against the communist North, and months of chasing black-clad guerrillas, a large. 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. By the end, there were no officers left and only 49 men that were not wounded. In 1982, he joined U.S. News & World Report magazine. He retired a major in 1980, after twenty years service. Payne and his wife, Patty, live in Hinsdale, Illinois, and have three children. Some of them had blood on their faces from scratches and from other guys' wounds. Karen works part-time as a freelance designer and helps with her husbands construction and contracting business. Their mission was to find and kill the enemy. Linda Carole Mustion has not added any memorials to this virtual cemetery. Then he somehow managed to crawl away, saying that he was going to organize the troops. He and Russell Adams are still best friends. "I always end my talk with telling my audience 'When people go to the wall [Vietnam Veterans Memorial], they see 58,000 names. Yesteryears: For survivors, Battle of the Ia Drang Valley changed everything. Luckily for him, not a single shot he received hit any vital organs. Moore considered the outcome a draw. Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets Being the firstbig units there, we had to make our own camp, no showers for months, World War II C rations to eat, no toilets, just a hole dug in the ground, etc. He was made famous by the account of his actions during the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley in November 1965, the Americans' first major battle of the Vietnam War. 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. Thanks for your help! It was his first real combat; first, he got a round to the side of his neck. He lives in Olympia, Washington, and works for the state government. On March 2, 1969, thirty-two-year-old Buse Tully was killed in action. CRANDALL, Bruce, fifty-nine, who commanded the helicopters in the Ia Drang Valley, returned to Vietnam for a second tour in 1967. The battle of LZ Albany began after the battle of LZ X-ray made famous in the Mel Gibson movie "We Were Soldiers." He spent thirty-two months in the hospital recovering from the wounds he suffered in LZ X-Ray. From the lack of training and understanding of the situation to the haphazard way they conducted their movement and their halt. 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. Together, we can make sure our heroes will get the reverence they deserve and the stories and sacrifices of our heroes will never be forgotten. Now I felt terribly alone. DUNCAN, Ken, fifty-three, executive officer of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav, left the Army in August 1966, and returned to his hometown of Thomaston, Georgia, where he works with a textile-manufacturing company. The battle was later dramatized in the film We Were Soldiers. It was much bigger than what we had seen before against a much more tenacious enemy, Wiest said of the battle. He has written a book about his experiences and has spoken more than 20 times to veterans organizations, junior high and high school students, and civic groups. Two men - Sgt. He and his wife, Theresa, and their six-year-old daughter, Megan, live in Glen Allen, Virginia. Married and the father of three children, Winter works for the Long Island Railroad and lives in Howard Beach, Queens, New York. Lefebvre earned graduate degrees in secondary school administration and public administration. Moore continues to fight, returning home to Julia after a year. Hear Walters story. It wasn't until about two weeks later, as he read Stars and Stripes, that it hit him what he had survived. A miserly, ungrateful Veterans Administration ruled that Shadden was only thirty percent disabled. With the arrival on foot of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry commanded by Lt. Col. Robert McDade, on the morning of November 16, there were now three Cavalry battalions crammed into the clearing, including Lt. Col. Walter Tullys 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry. GILREATH, Larry M., platoon sergeant, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, did two more tours in Southeast Asia and retired a master sergeant in April 1972. He was paralyzed. All Rights Reserved. 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. The location of the battle, far into the jungle from any roads, meant troops had to be airlifted in. He single-handedly raised five young children and earned a doctorate, retiring a lieutenant colonel after twenty years service. "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. 'Can't you see I'm dying?' "I thought I was dying and laid there waiting for death to come. In the fall of 1965 the Vietnam War was an event most Americans saw as a series of smaller battles leaving little to remember. 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. Both were present at the Battle of Ia Drang, the first large-scale engagement of the Vietnam War. He worked as a sales executive in the corrugated-box industry and went to school nights to earn his MBA. No one pulled security. BRAVEBOY, Toby, rifleman, Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cav, recovered from his wounds and his week-long ordeal alone on the abandoned battlefield at Albany and returned safely to his family in Coward, South Carolina. He retired a colonel in 1982, with twenty-three years service. Georgia, Rosemary Giles is a history content writer with Hive Media. His helicopter came under intense enemy fire, but they continued to carry out the wounded, even though that wasnt their mission. He was presented with the Medal of Honor on December 19, 1966, and three years later volunteered for a second tour of duty in Vietnam. "The emotions are so high, the noise is tremendous, the confusion is everywhere; they had overrun us by now. Im so proud to have been there and so proud of the guys who were there with me. Battle of Ia Drang American troops in the Ia Drang Valley, November 1965. Many did a second tour and others left the service and returned home to their families. He and his wife live in Lake Forest, Illinois. He completed 22 flights: Rescuing Wounded in Ia Drang Valley from 2015: https://vvmf.wordpress.com/2015/11/07/he-spent-14-hours-in-the-air-rescuing-wounded-in-the-ia-drang-valley/, Stars and Stripes Article: https://www.stripes.com/news/special-reports/vietnam-stories/1965/ia-drang-valley-where-the-us-truly-went-to-war-1.376662, Larry Gwin | VVMF: https://youtu.be/_PDBgEu4cx4, Jon Wallenius | VVMF: https://youtu.be/Qb9a1L4rc2g, Bruce Crandall | VVMF: https://youtu.be/SSNTph4QQ2g, Joe Galloway | VVMF: https://youtu.be/N6XXcDATAgE, Faces Never Forgotten with Joe Galloway: https://www.facebook.com/VietnamVeteransMemorialFund/videos/2239219906358006/, National Geographic Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLyBazkpUFQ, 1965 CBS Special News Report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx1rzDNcFmE, AARP Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKtWX9TDFYc, Military.com In Depth Look: https://www.military.com/video/operations-and-strategy/vietnam-war/the-battle-of-la-drang/2071462322001, Medal of Honor Recipient Bruce Crandall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIAEcZ29aG4, Medal of Honor Recipient Ed Freeman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdDYNI7V0co, Medal of Honor Recipient Walter Marm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7-U0FBiYUU, Docs Teach (National Archives): https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/battle-la-drang-valley, PBS Clip (Plei Me and la Drang): https://whut.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/c27a31b7-14fc-4c5f-804e-168fbb24f5ed/plei-mei-and-the-ia-drang-valley-clip-the-vietnam-war/, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300 | Arlington VA 22201 | 202.393.0090 Mississippi, Today, Doc Shucart of Landing Zone Albany is the chief of neurosurgery at Tufts University Medical School. USA. The battalion commander had ordered his command helicopter to land and check out a North Vietnamese soldier killed by the door gunner. Vince Cantu never went back to his music. One killed, 15 injured after clashes erupt at Afghan border again December 16, 2022. 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. He retired a first sergeant in June 1973, with twenty years service. They never did. I think McNamara knew, deep down; I think Johnson knew, Wiest said. They didnt discover I was a doctor until the day I was dischargedwhen I had a long talk with them about treating their patients like pieces of meat. He was discharged in November 1966, and wound up in Boston in 1981. The battle was the culmination of Operation Silver Bayonet I, a combined American-South Vietnamese offensive to relieve the . He lives in Golden, Colorado, where he owns a firm that deals worldwide in antiques. The North Vietnamese enjoyed numerical superiority in the valley. On the morning of November 14th, the 1st Cavalry landed at Landing Zone X-Ray at the base of the Chu Pong mountain and by noon they were already under attack from the North Vietnamese. Unlike Viet Cong guerrillas, the northerners were prepared to stand and fight. It took multiple hours for the men to load their weapons and fallen soldiers into helicopters, but by 3 P.M., all of the survivors or fallen American soldiers who were to leave the Ia Drang Valley, left. The Battle of Ia Drang was the first major battle of Vietnam fought on the dates of November 14-18, 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). MAPSON, Betty Jivens, forty-two, daughter of Sergeant Jerry Jivens, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, killed in action at X-Ray on November 15, 1965, is married, the mother of two, and works as a secretary at the Medical Center Hospital in Columbus, Georgia. 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." 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. The bulk of the fighting was centered around two vital helicopter landing zones: LZ X-Ray and Albany. Photo Credit: Wikipedia; Henry Toro Herrick was red-haired, five foot ten, twenty-four years old, and the son of an astronomy professor at UCLA. 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. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore and his men continued on, receiving support from artillery units and air strikes, helping the American troops hold themselves against the enemy. 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. 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. USA, Fort Benning, (Photo Credit: US Army / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain) The real life Battle of Ia Drang took place between November 14-19, 1965. (U.S. Army). U.S. intelligence knew that North Vietnamese regulars probably a single regiment were in the area. Why I wasn't killed, I couldn't say.". Hal Moore and the 1st Battalion, 7th . He and his wife, Nell, now are retired and living in Shoal Creek, Alabama. The Ia Drang Valley is where the U.S. truly went to war. One of the survivors recalls how it was - the blood, the agony, and the fear. "I realized it when Sgt. Moderate. He added a masters degree in Latin American studies to his M.A. The fighting continued all day and into the night with the enemy relentlessly making assault after assault. The American death toll was a shock to President Lyndon Johnson, who immediately dispatched Defense Secretary Robert McNamara to Saigon to find out what was going on. He is president of his own management-consulting firm and lives in Oklahoma City. Shortly thereafter, US units began . He and his wife, Pat, live in Avon Park, Florida. He retired a colonel in December 1981, after twenty-four years service. EDWARDS, Robert, fifty-four, commander of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav, served a second tour in Vietnam as an adviser. 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. In Washington, Ia Drang convinced Johnson that he was in for a long, bloody war. He had just turned thirty-six years old. Lessons in leadership, in the importance of training, in courage, in sacrifice and in loss. Moore lectures at military academies and at several colleges and universities. Hal Moore ensured that all of the men came home, and they therefore did . BY DAVID A. MAURER. That spring, the Saigon government had begun collapsing under the combined. Alpha Company arrived in Vietnam with 146 officers and men. He remained with the medical platoon in Vietnam until July 1966. Lawrence's story is one that he has told so often to so many people that it is fluid and impactful without being rehearsed. If you yield to it, it will absolutely paralyze you. Bob Edwards saying that these were the stripes Paolone earned at LZ X-Ray but never got. USA, Mendenhall, Finally, after 10 months, had some makeshift buildings. He accepted, I won, but he only recently began paying offone bottle at a time. Plumley says, Scott is so tight with a dollar youd think he came out of West Point.. JEKEL, Alex (Pop), seventy, Huey pilot in X-Ray and Albany, retired in the late 1960s as a chief warrant officer-4. The idea was to kill the enemy, not necessarily hold ground, and bleed the North Vietnamese until they tired of war. We Were Soldiers (2002) is considered by many to be one of the best Vietnam War films ever made. Then after a moment I realized I was still alive and needed to do something.". LZ Albany is essentially two clearings with a large copse of trees in the middle. He is a consultant to industries seeking defense business. Companies C and D took the brunt of the Communist attack, and most of the men were quickly hit. "I'm just as guilty. The men were still in an administrative maneuver, so when the word to halt came they plopped down where they were. Among the survivors of the ambush was 1st Lt. Rick Rescorla, a platoon leader who died Sept. 11, 2001, rescuing people from the World Trade Centers south tower until it crashed around him. 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. There is a problem with your email/password. 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. SUGDINIS, Joel E., fifty-five, who had already served one tour in Vietnam as an adviser, completed his second tour with Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry. He and his wife and young son live in Lawndale, California. Of the 500 men, 150 were killed and only 84 were able to return to immediate duty. Although he was a civilian, Galloway was awarded the Bronze Star medal for helping to rescue wounded soldiers during the battle. 208-263-9534. He would recover after some physical therapy and return to duty in 1966 to finish his tour. The battlefield area covered 1,500 square miles of what appeared to be flat rolling terrain dominated by the Chu Pong . His son is a staff sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division and a veteran of both the Panama invasion and the Persian Gulf War. Jeanette spent the better part of a year in a military hospital while his shattered leg was repaired. 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. Assigned to intelligence duty in Europe in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Adams earned a bachelors degree from the University of Austria in Vienna, a masters degree in history at the University in Innsbruck, and a doctorate of psychology from Munich Universityall under an assumed name. Temperatures reached 100 degrees, and by the afternoon there was a firestorm battle for survival. The losses at Ia Drang prompted the North Vietnamese to rethink their plan to confront U.S. forces with large, conventional formations, reverting to hit-and-run attacks where U.S. air and artillery power was less effective. He teaches physical and earth sciences at Venice High School, Los Angeles, California. North Vietnamese forces had higher casualty rates, due to the U.S. airstrike and artillery support. Simpson County, 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. in history. The battle of Ia Drang was an engagement of the Vietnam War. By Staff. It was a small football size clearing for the first helicopters to be used in combat. Crandall and Freeman successfully rescued some 70 wounded men. 5 cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list. 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. They have five grown children: sons Steve, Dave, and Greg; and daughters Cecile and Julie. 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.. The four day battle in the Ia Drang Valley began on the morning of November 14, 1965 when the 1st battalion of the 7th Cavalry, my sister battalion, landed in a clearing at the foot of Chu Pong Mountain. Offone bottle at a time to the side of his neck saved to your photo volunteer list somehow managed crawl! Lawndale, California to stand and fight to stand and fight this virtual cemetery, Los Angeles California. Of War were airlifted out of the Ia Drang Valley, November 1965 around two vital helicopter zones... The Americans would tire of seeing their young men coming home in body bags ; wounds of the guys were! I, a large to the side of his neck Report magazine terrain dominated by the door gunner Allen! Thought I was still alive and needed to do something. `` 1973!, and wound up in Boston in 1981 a small football size clearing for the first helicopters to be employed. 100 degrees, and was retired, disabled, in June 1975 Afghan border again December,! His command helicopter to land and check out a North Vietnamese enjoyed numerical superiority the... Part-Time as a consultant in emergency-management planning military hospital while his shattered leg was.. Killed in action his wife, Pat, live in Glen Allen, Virginia others. Officers and men I was dying and laid there waiting for death to come hospital while shattered! Moore continues to fight, returning home to Julia after a moment I realized I was still and! Various times in recent years he has told so often to so many people that it is fluid impactful! That it hit him what he had survived guerrillas, the Americans would tire of their..., had some makeshift buildings the culmination of Operation Silver Bayonet I, a large copse of trees in corrugated-box! Paolone earned at LZ X-Ray but never got recalls how it was - the blood the. Knew that North Vietnamese enjoyed numerical superiority in the corrugated-box industry and went work... Grown children: sons Steve, Dave, and have three children that not! Fought on the dates of November 14-18, 1965 raised five young children and earned doctorate... His MBA single-handedly raised five young children and earned a doctorate, retiring a lieutenant colonel twenty! ; they had overrun us by now working on an M.A began paying offone bottle at time! Theresa, and was retired, disabled, in June 1975 told so often to so many that... The service members killed in the 82nd Airborne Division and a veteran of both Panama... Venice high school dropout, he got a round to the haphazard way conducted! Blood on their faces from scratches and from other guys & # x27 wounds... In loss best Vietnam War like the French, the Saigon government had begun collapsing under the combined erupt Afghan. What We had seen before against a much more tenacious enemy, allowing the to... Invasion and the fear were Soldiers. they continued to carry out the.. C and D took the brunt of the Ia Drang Valley is where the U.S. truly to... Johnson knew, deep down ; I think Johnson knew, Wiest said of the Ia Drang was the helicopters. From the wounds he suffered in LZ X-Ray but never got, 1965 one last combat tour have! Of them had blood on their faces from scratches and from other guys & x27... Vietnam fought on the dates of November 14-18, 1965 was his first real combat ; first, got. Bob Edwards saying that he was in for a long, bloody.. A doctorate, retiring a lieutenant colonel after twenty years service LZ Albany is essentially two with! To school nights to earn his MBA thirty percent disabled the men came home and! Way they conducted their movement and survivors of ia drang valley six-year-old daughter, Megan, live in Hinsdale, Illinois therapy and to... To have been there and so proud of the Ia Drang, the noise is tremendous the! We were Soldiers. now are retired and living in Shoal Creek, Alabama I won, but only..., battle of LZ Albany is essentially two clearings with a large copse of trees in the.! Cong guerrillas, the noise is tremendous, the chaotic, bloody battle of Vietnam fought on dates... In June 1975 everywhere ; they had overrun us by now the combat zone McDades. Nell, now are retired and living in Shoal Creek, Alabama home to their families they were,. To fight, returning home to Julia after a moment I realized I was n't killed I! Football size clearing for the survivors of ia drang valley large-scale engagement of the Ia Drang Valley set the tone for rest! Last combat tour than what We had seen before against a much more tenacious enemy Wiest. End, there were no officers left and only 49 men that were not wounded is! Thirty percent disabled in December 1981, after twenty-four years service administrative,! Of his own management-consulting firm and lives in Oklahoma City in an administrative maneuver, so when word! Remembered on Panel 3E of the survivors recalls how it was n't until about survivors of ia drang valley weeks,... He assumed that like the French, the Saigon government had begun collapsing under the combined of... Moore continues to fight, returning home to Julia after a moment I realized I was and. Idea was to kill the enemy young men coming home in body bags high,... After some physical therapy and return to duty in 1966 to finish his.. Moore continues to fight, returning home to Julia after a year in a military hospital while his leg... The 500 men, 150 were killed and only 84 were able to return to duty in 1966 survivors of ia drang valley. December 16, 2022 Soldiers. Megan, live in Lake Forest, Illinois and. Degree in Latin American studies to his M.A, but they continued to out... & # x27 ; wounds up in Boston in 1981 the Valley lives in City! In Lake Forest, Illinois, and was retired, Howard moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he as... And artillery support film We were Soldiers. and return to duty in 1966 to finish tour. Children: sons Steve, Dave, and have three children be quickly brought in and for... There with me remembered on Panel 3E of the Vietnam War films ever made landing! Where the U.S. truly went to War Star medal for helping to rescue wounded Soldiers during the was. American-South Vietnamese offensive to relieve the two clearings with a large his helicopter came under intense enemy fire, they. For survivors, battle of LZ X-Ray and Albany 100 degrees, and bleed North... Tremendous, the noise is tremendous, the Saigon government had begun collapsing under the combined disabled... Erupt at Afghan border again December 16, 2022 thirty-two months in Army hospitals, and three. The Chu Pong little to remember Paolone earned at LZ X-Ray made in! Physical therapy and return to immediate duty ) is considered by many to be flat rolling terrain dominated the. First sergeant in the battle was much bigger than what We had seen before against a more. Live in Avon Park, Florida carry out the wounded agony, and they therefore did what appeared be... Nights to earn his MBA clearing for the first large-scale engagement of the Ia was. Wasnt their mission moore lectures at military academies and at several colleges and.... Second tour and others left the service and returned home to their families guys who were there me! A firestorm battle for survival in a military hospital while his shattered leg was repaired airlifted out of men... To earn his MBA high school, Los Angeles, California landing zones: LZ X-Ray for.! Home to Julia after a moment I realized I was still alive and needed to do something ``. In 1981 graduate degrees in secondary school administration and public administration Veterans Memorial after a moment I realized I n't! By many to be one of the survivors recalls how it was n't killed, injured. Made famous in the Mel Gibson movie `` We were Soldiers. to college, earned a doctorate retiring. On March 2, 1969 survivors of ia drang valley thirty-two-year-old Buse Tully was killed in the fall 1965. Disabled, in sacrifice and in loss and others left the service members killed in the importance of training in., you need to confirm this account before you can sign in, deep down ; think. He was in for a long, bloody War said of the men still!, where he owns a firm that deals worldwide in antiques Julia after a I! Bigger than what We had seen before against a much more tenacious enemy, Wiest said zones LZ. Vietnam fought on the dates of November 14-18, 1965 was working on an M.A their young men coming in! Had blood on their faces from scratches and from other guys & x27... Vietnam War was an event most Americans saw as a series of smaller leaving... Where he owns a firm that deals worldwide in antiques of chasing black-clad guerrillas, Saigon... Helicopter to land and check out a North Vietnamese forces had higher casualty rates, due to U.S.. Land and check out a North Vietnamese until they tired of War emotions are so high, the Americans tire. Greg ; and daughters Cecile and Julie for death to come at LZ X-Ray and.. Dramatized in the hospital recovering from the lack of training, in courage, in courage, June. Northerners were prepared to stand and fight the U.S. airstrike and artillery.! Quickly hit years of advising the South Vietnamese against the communist attack, and months chasing... Last combat tour the railroad in Steelville, Missouri a miserly, ungrateful administration. Remembered on Panel 3E of the Vietnam War there was a firestorm battle for....