The Battle of Ia Drang - fought between November 14th - 18th, 1965 - was the first major battle between the United States Army and the People's Army of Vietnam, also referred to as the North Vietnamese Army.
It was part of the Pleiku Campaign conducted early in the Vietnam War. Both sides claimed victory, and some have said that Ia Drang was the battle that convinced Ho Chi Minh that he could, in the end, defeat the Americans. Three Medals of Honor were awarded from actions during this engagement.
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. The fighting continued all day and into the night with the enemy relentlessly making assault after assault.
The North Vietnamese forces had succeeded in engaging the U.S. forces in very tight quarters. The cavalry regiment returned fire, but the enemy were dug into prepared fighting positions and many of the American leaders had died or were wounded during the initial stages of the attack.
Temperatures reached 100 degrees, and by the afternoon there was a firestorm battle for survival. Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Hal Moore and his men continued on, receiving support from artillery units and air strikes, helping the American troops hold themselves against the enemy.
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. They resupplied ammunition, water, and supplies, while evacuating the wounded. They saved some 70 soldiers when the Medevac units refused to fly into the intense landing zone. Both later were awarded the Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest award for heroism in combat.
Before the Battle of la Drang was over, 305 Americans had been killed along with an estimated 2,000 North Vietnamese troops. American officials declared the Battle of the la Drang Valley a victory.
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This is KTFS 1400 Texarkana. It's 520.
Here's the KTFS 2020 news for people with vision.
Artillery from the communist side has been pounding American positions south of the
demilitarized zone between the two Vietnams. The firing that continued throughout the
South Vietnamese voting killed eight U.S. Marines and wounded 20.
The conflict in Vietnam, spurred on by the Gulf of Tonkin incident, is on its way to becoming a
full-scale war. Small numbers of advisors become tens of thousands of fighting men
as the nation continues to expand its involvement in a war few Americans understand.
The U.S. intends to remain in Vietnam just long enough for the South Vietnamese government
to organize and train its own military forces to stand under its own power.
But as tensions mount, President Lyndon B. Johnson and his administration struggle to find the right
level of involvement, hoping to contain the communist threat coming down from North Vietnam.
As soldiers make landfall, 1965 is the year the Vietnam War truly begins.
November 14, 1965. The first major conflict between the U.S. Army and the North Vietnamese
will happen along the Drang River and be known as the Battle of Ia Drang.
Most importantly, it will be a harsh lesson in the unforgiving terrain of Vietnam.
The newly formed 1st Cavalry Division includes an old regiment, the 7th Cavalry.
In times past, its most famous commander was General George Armstrong Custer.
Their first battle may parallel Custer's own ignominious defeat. The 1st Cavalry is in hot
pursuit of a North Vietnamese regiment retreating from the attempted destruction of a U.S. special
forces camp. On this day, the 7th Cavalry Regiment's 1st Battalion find themselves
in the Ia Drang Valley on a search and destroy mission. 16 helicopters shuttle Battalion
Commander Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore's Bravo Company into landing zone X-Ray on the northeast
side of Chu Pong Mountain. They are to secure the area to prepare for the arrivals of Alpha,
Charlie, and Delta companies. It will be a hard lesson in the unforgiving Vietnamese terrain.
LZ X-Ray looks deceptively flat and open from the air, but on the ground is a different manner.
Five foot high elephant grass is perfect cover for enemy soldiers. Enormous anthills dot the area,
large enough to cover weapons units. Colonel Moore is aware of NVA troops in the area,
but not of the three regiments lurking nearby, ready to attack the outnumbered Bravo Company.
It is an unarmed NVA deserter, discovered by Bravo's 1st Platoon, who reveals the bloodthirsty
enemy lying in wait. Bravo intensifies their search as Alpha Company arrives to secure the LZ.
Bravo's 1st Platoon does not search for long. Just after noon, they are flanked on both sides
by an equally sized enemy force. Bravo's 2nd Platoon rushes to aid them. En route,
they pursue a fleeing squad of enemy troops and are soon cut off from the rest of the platoon.
Men in the platoon's 3rd Squad spot 20 North Vietnamese scrambling to large anthills
off their left flank. The 3rd opens fire. As they exchange fire,
a U.S. Grenadier finds the enemy range and pumps several grenade rounds into their position.
A volley of enemy fire cuts into the platoon's right flank,
killing the heroic Grenadier and pinning the rest of the squad. With heavy enemy fire from all sides,
the 3rd managed to reach the platoon's main body and form a tight perimeter. NVA fire kills
four U.S. machine gunners, and then they use the fallen soldier's M60 against its own men.
Bravo's trapped 2nd Platoon remains outnumbered, and the 1st and 3rd Platoons
rush in to help. Will they arrive in time? Meanwhile, Alpha and part of Charlie companies
land at 1330 hours. It is not a safe landing, as rounds of 60 and 81mm mortar slam into the
elephant grass in the LZ's center. Colonel Moore rushes an Alpha platoon
to help the beleaguered Bravo amidst this chaos. Alpha Company 2nd Platoon Leader 2nd Lieutenant
Walter J. Marr bravely pushes his men forward in a skirmish from the hot LZ and towards the sound
of enemy fire. His men meet up with a platoon from Bravo Company and continue on. They spot a force
of khaki-clad NVA soldiers moving across their front from left to right. It is the same enemy
troops that had separated the 2nd. Both sides incur casualties in the fierce firefight.
The NVA troops break off and, unknown to Marr, are maneuvering behind him. Not wasting time,
Marr gathers his wounded and sends a squad leader off to the LZ with them. The man returns shortly
after. They are surrounded. Things are also grim for the others. Moore's battalion is at the
receiving end of enemy artillery on LZ X-ray. The remaining Charlie and lead of Delta companies
are only able to put down half their men because of the firefight. The remaining eight choppers
are ordered to stay away by Colonel Moore. The 2nd squad, still surrounded by NVA,
suffer leadership losses as they are cut down in manpower. The 27-men squad loses eight
and suffer 12 wounded. Marr and his men get a hundred yards from this lost platoon
before machine gun fire comes at them from 30 yards ahead, stopping them in their tracks.
Marr goes out into the open to pinpoint the enemy's exact location. Finding the bunker,
he orders one of his men to fire a LAW, a light anti-tank weapon, into the anthill bunker.
Affected by the humidity, the LAW misfires. Marr takes the LAW rocket, re-arms it, and fires it
into the enemy bunker himself. But it's not enough. The machine gun fire keeps coming.
Marr rushes from cover to the anthill. Risking his own life, he hurls a grenade
over the anthill. Several NVA soldiers are killed in the explosion. The remaining ones
are killed by Marr and his M16. He signals his men to move forward. They leave cover to join him.
Then, an NVA bullet meets its mark in Marr's lower jaw. A medic arrives and gets Marr back
to the LZ. He flies off to base camp, having saved the mission and the lives of his men.
Sergeant Ernie Savage, the fourth to assume command of the lost platoon,
organizes a defense and calls precision artillery strikes in, ones that protect his men by driving
the enemy back. They last throughout the night, before units from both 1st and 2nd battalions
join them the next day. For his actions that day, Sergeant Savage will receive the Distinguished
Service Cross. Lieutenant Joe Marr receives the Medal of Honor for his bravery. Helicopter pilots,
Major Bruce Crandall and Captain Ed Freeman also receive the Medal of Honor for their flights in
and out of X-ray, shuttling ammunition and supplies in and carrying wounded soldiers out.
President George W. Bush grants Freeman his medal in 2001 and Crandall his in 2007.
It is over 30 years since the actions that earned them. Major Crandall flew the men back to base
where the injuries could be treated. At that point, he had fulfilled his mission, but he knew that
soldiers on the ground were outnumbered and low on ammunition. So Major Crandall decided to fly
back into X-ray. He asked for a volunteer to join him. Captain Ed Freeman stepped forward.
In their unarmed choppers, they flew through a cloud of smoke and a wave of bullets.
They delivered desperately needed supplies. They carried out more of the wounded, even though
medical evacuation was really not their mission. If Major Crandall had stopped here, he would have
been a hero. But he didn't stop. He flew back into X-ray again and again. Fourteen times he flew into
what they call the Valley of Death. He made those flights knowing that he faced what was later
described as an almost unbelievably extreme risk to his life. Over the course of the day, Major
Crandall had to fly three different choppers. Two were damaged so badly they could not stay in the
air. Yet he kept flying until every wounded man had been evacuated and every need of the battalion
had been met. When they touched down on their last flight, Major Crandall and Captain Freeman had
spent more than 14 hours in the air. They had evacuated some 70 wounded men. They had provided a
lifeline that allowed the battalion to survive the day. Captain Freeman's citation, decades after
his heroic action. Captain Freeman's selfless acts of great valor, extraordinary perseverance,
and intrepidity were far above and beyond the call of duty or mission and set a superb example
of leadership and courage for all his peers. Captain Freeman's extraordinary heroism and
devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service
and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army. As for Crandall,
his is no less sterling or any less long-awaited. Major Crandall's voluntary decision to land under
the most extreme fire instilled in the other pilots the will and spirit to continue to land
their own aircraft and in the ground forces the realization that they would be resupplied
and that friendly wounded would be promptly evacuated. This greatly enhanced morale and the
will to fight at a critical time. His actions provided critical resupply of ammunition and
evacuation of the wounded. Major Crandall's daring acts of bravery and courage in the face
of an overwhelming and determined enemy are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military
service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army. By the end of 1965,
the U.S. military has 184,000 military personnel in South Vietnam. They are joined by South
Vietnamese soldiers and combat troops from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Thailand.
These and other nations are legitimately concerned about the communist expansion into South Vietnam
at a time when so many countries have swiftly fallen to communism. The commitment of the U.S.
to stand against the communist expansion and their inability to reach a diplomatic solution
results in a war that will last another 10 years after the start of rolling thunder.
