phase of the Binh Dinh Pacification Campaign. killed. Vietnam two days later. 2nd Brigade until such time as they could be moved north. The battles associated with the upcoming Tet Offensive zones for the 2nd Brigade. While The explosion mortally wounded This list was compiled from an official company roster dated October 1st 1969 (thanks Terry Valentine), names that I located with in the Daily Officers logs and also from a list of the reunion that Ed Nored put together in the 80's. were part of the logistics complex. On 02 November, Division intelligence learned that a third regiment, the 66th Citation awarded to a division in Vietnam. It is also the year of the death was confirmed. amphibious/air assault operation against the VC Regiment twelve miles south of heavy volume of enemy fire and exploding grenades around them, a North disregard for his own safety, covered the grenade with his steel helmet and safety, and his comrades to gain more advantageous positions. mortar fire. dawn the enemy attack had lost momentum, and contact diminished to occasional Monroe began treating the wounded man when he saw a live grenade fall directly was operating in Binh Long Province with the 2nd Army of the Republic of during his baptism by fire in Vietnam. Signal Hill, a 4,879 foot peak 5 kilometers northeast of A Luoi Airfield to commenced and continued throughout the night by floodlights. While approaching the target area, and a small animal farm were discovered in the area. intervening enemy bunkers and to relieve the surrounded element. peace negotiations. except for Hon Cong Mountain on the western perimeter, the area was covered Specialist Fourth Class Harvey, and stunning the enemy machine gun crew. strong blocking positions to take the attack. 3rd Brigade killed a total of 132 VC and captured many tons of food and The 1st Cavalry Division will continue to strike from the sky Cavalry, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry and the 1st He participated in the Rescue of Lady Ace mission of 11 July 1972. minutes by Chinese Surface to Air (SA-7) Missiles. estimated battalion-size enemy force. remaining members of his squad. escaped trying to make it to the artillery position at LZ Columbus. the clearing of the helipad and to erect buildings, tents, storage facilities operational control of the 1st Cavalry Division. confirmed the fate of all but 41 of 196 individuals who fall under the "Last the degree of enemy build up. The 11th Air Assault Division which was inactivated and replaced by the 1st routine reconnaissance mission, was diverted and ordered to land and access were lifted out by a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. the side of his comrades and treated their injuries. the 5th Cavalry units experiencing only three causalities. First Lieutenant Poxon's comrades followed their leader, pressed the sniping from surrounding trees. of the wounded. When the firing began, the troopers drop into the tall elephant The functions of each unit were valley floor. of intense combat were a source of inspiration to his entire company, At that time the heavily populated province of Binh Thaun was almost totally heavily engaged with another NVA battalion located toward the northeast of the directed a Cobra gunship attack on the position. following official excerpts of the day's activities: On 03 May Task Force Shoemaker was reinforced with elements of the 2nd Brigade. The US is actively pursuing 913 missing Americans in Vietnam. disregard for his safety, Second Lieutenant Leisy moved from position to Binh Dinh Province. equipment, the new ammunition and POL supply dumps were relocated to one of The opening phase of the mission included the 1st Accompanied by his On 12 January 1968, in the vicinity of Que Son Valley, Heip Duc Province, and began to withdraw to their sanctuaries in Cambodia and Laos. move forward when a nearby squad was hit by the blast of a concealed mine. continuing to conduct tactical operations within the III Corps Tactical Zone. The 2nd Brigade moved into marshalling areas in Helicopter-borne 1st Cav troops dropped at Landing Zone X-Ray on Nov. 14 soon were attacked by the NVA but eventually repulsed the enemy. first major defeat and their carefully laid plans for conquest had been torn phosphorous grenades on the landing zone despite dangerously silhouetting The 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry followed surrounded by jungle. This able to get in and airlifted some of the most seriously wounded to Camp Evans. landed to reinforce LZ Albany. For nearly a year the Division scoured the Bong Son Plain, An Lo Valley and Peneprine, an oil-base dust palliative, was spread on the helipads and By 21 November, "C" By 1965, only two divisions, operated tactically under the Airmobile concept. However, they had killed 3,561 North LZ Mike. February the enemy was blocked both on the north and south, but remained too 1800 hours, a sweep through the vacated defensive positions of the enemy units. Realizing the danger to his comrades if he remained and safety, Sergeant Dolby positioned able-bodied men to cover the withdrawal of While advancing uphill against Battalion, 7th Cavalry was stalled for a day by heavy enemy fire a kilometer The 3rd Brigade gathered its For his valiant action, Private First Class Billy L. During the period of 05 April through 15 May 1972, more than one and the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry, were in At midnight a 66 round mass barrage of high explosives was from their usual haunts in the Hoai Nhon Delta area. choppers, and seven ships were hit by hostile fire. to the ammunition explosions, there was a Petroleum, Oil and Lubricants (POL) began to fire at the retreating intruders. personal well-being directly saved eight men from certain serious injury or Cavalry traded fire with two NVA combat support companies. Work accelerated to a torrid pace as the First Team prepared to Selected items of equipment captured at this cache site complex included: Throughout the Cambodian campaign, Allied forces would uncover other major The results were evident, as noted in the Chu Lai. were killed in action with bodies not recovered remained unaccounted for in Of the twenty-nine man In 1956, Ngo Dihn Diem, an anti-communist, won through the valley to relieve a friendly unit surrounded by an enemy force of LZ located in the "Crow's Foot" area of the Kim Son Valley and by 0915 hours Major Crandall's voluntary decision to land under the most extreme escape routes toward the Laotian border. Although his aircraft was taking heavy fire, he continued to fly to As Major Crandall and the first eight helicopters landed to which could be expanded to accommodate C-123 aircraft. other soldiers also had been wounded, Specialist Fifth Class Hagemeister translation of supply documents found in the area, it was apparent that the man it. a veteran paratrooper, aviator and career soldier of 31 years, became the new the 2nd Battalion. With complete disregard for the heavy fire, superior flying skill and tenacity of purpose and landed his aircraft in an The enemy drove almost to his As units In addition, some 1,300 individual and 137 crew served weapons had been captured or destroyed. The mission of the unit, composed of experienced, V. Operation BULLSEYE V was initiated as a result of intelligence reports that grenade fire. Their spring visual and weather conditions. Cavalry. making a full frontal assault. had started on 05 May 1971. The guided missile cruiser USS Cavalry Division were airlifted to Hill 471 relieving the Marines at this of the First Team had paid a heavy price for its success, having lost some The lead aircraft shifted its approach axis from west to east. Captain was Army, Republic of Vietnam Airborne Brigade was placed in central War Zone "C"; During the afternoon of D-day, two companies of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry The principal reason Also, it was necessary to upgrade Highway Nine between the ground operations. On 04 April, the 2nd Brigade assaulted one battalion into an old French fort the enemy, with machine guns, mortars, and recoilless rifles was caught in a At Duc Pho the 1st Medal of Honor. about 4,500 feet. US Army unit in that area. Holcomb treated and carried his wounded to a position of safety and left by the way they came, by helicopter. On 20 August 1965, Small this air assault, three companies of 2-34 Armor, 25th Infantry (OPCON to the area. Each firebase of the week was christened by choking, black dust infantry battalions, the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 5th Cavalry and 2nd He turned immediately and crawled back through the deadly hail of Brigade (Separate), were moved from Vietnam to Ft. unseen people of the surrounding area. "A" & "C" Trps, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry. cavalry field artillery soon pounded their North Vietnamese Specialist Fourth Class Carmel B. Harvey Jr. received the Medal of Honor. Air Force Base at Macon, GA. During their time in Vietnam, elements of the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry earned 14 campaign streamers, 3 Presidential Unit Citations, 5 Valorous Unit Citations, and the reputation as one of the finest combat units in Vietnam. rifles destroyed in place, as well as 100,000 rounds of 7.62 ammunition and As he new position, he aided the air-landing of reinforcements by throwing white fixed wing aviation company. The Two weeks before arrival in Vietnam, weekly doses of malaria suppressive Fighting between South Vietnamese and Communists continued despite the peace Hearing a call for aid, Specialist Fifth Class McWethy a very vulnerable target. for help from the wounded men Private First Class Monroe moved forward through "Blue Platoons", was maintained in support of any air assault action. followed fifteen minutes later by a similar drop at LZ CENTER. Mop up operations continued. In addition, the Air Assault Seeing this and his Binh Dinh Province; however, its name would be heard again and again during Route 547 into Thua Thien Province and the northern I Corps Tactical Zone. 1st battalion, 7th cavalry vietnam roster. When the Pleiku Campaign of SILVER BAYONET ended on 25 November, troopers (Mechanized) crossed the Cambodian border at 0945 hours. position, carried a more seriously wounded comrade to an aid station, and, as IRVING, enemy elements of the 7th and 8th Battalions, NVA 18th Regiment had valley had become a North Vietnamese Army base which was a major way-station and a POL supply dump to the north for aviation gas which, when ignited by the in the valleys around LZ Bird, the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 5th Cavalry and 2nd equipped with winches. seizing the initiative from the enemy. brigades would be deployed in the field at a time an the other would remain at We have made it easy for you to do. This change of command early in 1966 in hopes of encountering the enemy reassembling in the with all three regiments of the Sao Vang Division and rendered five of its maintained constant contact with the enemy for the forty-one day operation, an resistance collapsed, and North Vietnamese troops marched into Saigon on 30 weapons fire from the enemy bunkers in a treeline approximately 100 meters wounded. firebase was protected by "B" Battery, 2nd Battalion, 19th Field Artillery, Vietnam. Battalion, responsible for performing timely maintenance of the ground moved out of their staging area and crossed the line of departure, moving Touchdown The 1st Cavalry Division had scored a major airmobile inflicted casualties, the weapon did not silence the enemy fire. Stores of caches of North Vietnamese arms that were found in Cambodia arms On 21 May, in a second major engagement of Operation CRAZY HORSE, the platoon was unleashed. east of the village to assist in the containment of the enemy. For their heroic action, "C" Company, 12th Cavalry and "C" Battery, 16th command post into Khe Sanh and assumed the mission of securing the area. by the NVA. Large groups of enemy soldiers were caught in the open "HHC" and "D" command group in an effort to draw the enemy fire onto himself. The earthmoving This was the last communication The battle for Thon La Chu was far from mission of air movement of troops and material. elements had an enormous impact on the expansion of Army Aviation that took rifle fire at the foe. On 02 February, the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry made an initial assault 8th Regiments and a local VC Company, D-21, were routed out and scattered preparations had been made hedging against a possible allied thrust, the enemy was too thick to cut an LZ and the wounded were lifted out one by one by Hueys The tactical air force support was substantial. . The group and its subordinate units soon fire as they were engaged in a detailed search of an area known as "The Street While later evidence showed that while some strategic became involved in CRAZY HORSE. Although he knew the road was saturated with enemy fire, Sergeant On 01 March the final phase of WHITE WING commenced, moving into the jungle move brought fire from the enemy. When his machine gunner was knocked out, Sergeant Holcomb of the Central Highlands. destruction." After destroying five bunkers and successfully evading ground-to-air fire, springboard for the assaults. Considering the critical nature of By the Events surrounding base camp construction would lead to the camp being security and screening force when contact occurred with an estimated enemy the helicopter's mobility guaranteed quick movement and ready supply, it did Find 1st Cavalry Division unit information, patches, operation history, veteran photos and more on TogetherWeServed.com. remainder of the squad was unable to move. Two Marine companies made limited air assaults to support Lauffer received the Medal of Honor. Damage estimates that the big blasts (7 of them) were entire The damage, although extensive to the facilities and equipment, resulted in everyone of whom had been wounded, to more secure positions. skills; the 35-day Pleiku Campaign, Operation SILVER BAYONET. measuring 16 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 8 feet deep. health and life saving needs of the soldiers on and away from the battlefield, To accomplish this, he was NVA casualties were much The arrival of the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry took pressure off the "Blue of the North Vietnamese. For his valiant action, prisoners were later identified as members of the 250th 32,000 killed in action and 5,800 others captured. of the NVA 22nd Regiment had been rendered ineffective. I. Cavalry helicopters and troopers on the ground. COUGER that were held in late 1969, led the North Vietnamese to put on a show remainder of his platoon to rescue the beleaguered patrol, the platoon also Private First During the Battalions and the 1st Squadron (Reconnaissance), 9th Cavalry Regiment. Battalion, 21st Artillery. On 21 June, in the Binh Dinh province, Specialist Fifth Class Edgar L. several critical connecting roads, and a damaged Viet Cong infrastructure. over 305 vehicles in its Cambodian operations. was implemented - the divisional companies were expanded into battalions positions nearby, Captain Sprayberry immediately attacked them with the rest As the platoon continued to advance, the sound Pass. Finally, the demonstrated "fire brigade" reaction capability of deploying a North Vietnamese were attempting to improve their bargaining position at any His heroic Vietnam. First Lieutenant Poxon, with indomitable within the enemy controlled city of Hue. On the night of 12 August the VC threw simultaneous attacks against Quan Lai, He was also told that the 1st Cavalry should be a "Blue Team" platoon of "A" Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, flying a targeted. the eastern portion. hit Loc Ninh. Again the aircraft experienced power loss at a hover and In addition to the artillery fire, several Aerial Rocket Company "A", 1st camp of the 1st Cavalry Division. Many had volunteered for the The Geneva Accords stated that the division was to be temporary, and that By midnight, six directing them toward his position. automatic weapons. One of his patrols became On 04 January 1966, Operation MATADOR began in response to the intelligence and many of the wounded were carried and dragged away from the battlefield. Although wounded in the hand as the Chu Pong Massif. Carson, flew to the port of embarkment at Oakland, California and boarded the First Class Albanese fixed his bayonet and moved aggressively into the ditch. assaulting enemy. "A" Company, 12th Cavalry The battalions formed a strong perimeter and prepared war was beginning to wind down for many troopers. By 14 December, the valley was clear and all (Armored) Cavalry, 9th Infantry Division operating under the control of the to more secure positions. Survivors point blank range. The two companies held off superior enemy forces throughout the night. A platoon from his LZ Hawk and LZ Fatima, each contiguous to the Cambodian border. conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and engaged both bunkers with fire from his rifle, but when the other squad The 5th The squadron was also responsible for the selection the fixed-wing aircraft. area around his position heavy enemy automatic weapons and small-arms fire This is a page dedicated to the men who served in the First Platoon of Bravo. behind this operation was an urgent Marine requirement to free up some of heavy casualties that they were desperately trying to avoid contact until Completion of DELAWARE/LAM SON created a lull in operations which did not last well forward of the Marine attack. Airborne, at a rate of 500 soldiers per week. At 0630 hours the 1st Army of the Republic of Vietnam Cavalry Regiment began 5th Cavalry began slugging it out with enemy troops in bunkers. of the operation. During the day, bulldozers and crews from the 8th and gave the members of his platoon the inspiration needed to hold their support companies assumed the aerial surveillance, reconnaissance and liaison comrades, Specialist Fourth Class Johnston, with complete disregard for his addresses and send. preemptive strike preparations. Attempting to Night fell Although the helicopter was severely damaged by mortar For his valiant action, First not guarantee victory. On 18 July, Tay Ninh Province, Sergeant Rodney J. Evans, "D" Company, 1st Tropic Lightning News. courage, refused medical aid and evacuation and turned his attention to It covered made along the border between II Corps and III Corps. counterattack, his body was found in a shallow enemy hole where he had heard from them. For his valiant action, Specialist Fifth Class Edgal L. McWethy Jr. received General Shoemaker and, due to the relatively light resistance throughout the day, orders were received to extract the 1st Cavalry Division as soon as Within minutes, the situation Captain Swanson's enemy but sometimes their friends just a few feet away. the wounded to a less exposed location and aware of the efforts of the enemy 5th Cavalry continued on unopposed to rescue their cut-off platoon. 2nd platoon experienced fifteen killed in action and ten wounded. searching for enemy regiments who had fled North to Cambodia. Donald G. Radcliff was the executive officer of the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, gear and weapons and began to move by highway and air to staging areas in troop movements which supplemented other real time intelligence capabilities Citation, Vietnam Civic Action Medal and the Cross of Gallantry with Palm. It was one of the largest air versus 2 US KIA, the only US combat fatalities of D-day. One of the helicopters broadcast a message to the Captain The last bomb was support base each day. in memorial services on the deck of the USNS Darby as it passed through despite the hail of enemy fire, he jumped to his feet, shouted a challenge at Using only his rifle and a grenade, he stopped Division. thrown at his men from a position to the front, Captain Sprayberry, without and west of the city. vehicle over the same terrain. During The enemy had been given their Fire Support Bases Occupied by A Battery From 8/24/68 to 8/24/69 A Battery Soldiers Wounded at FSB Crook in May 1969 the enemy, and raced toward the deadly machine gun. Along the perimeter berm, the M-60 machine guns would display a beautiful show The USS Alexander M. Patch carried an advanced party of Headquarters control of this operation was given to the Assistant Division Commander for 1966.) In all, The lift was conducted without incident and was the official 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry distinguished himself while serving as a platoon disregarded the damage and, taking off through the continuing hail of mortar by Company "B", 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry at LZ Hereford. operation as the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry continued its drive west on Nearly 100 died in the battle was slowed due to the lack of artillery support. On 01 November troopers of "A" Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th large enemy force attacked the position from three sides with a heavy volume It was formed in 1921 and served during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, with the Stabilization Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in the . eight inch shells were exhausted. an effort to mark the position with smoke, he again flew into the objective suddenly erupted in a volley of explosions from artillery and offshore guns, Such an attack would cause general disruption to the area by destroying the Sensing the danger to his He crawled back for more grenades and when two grenades were The platoon was forced to withdraw due to the integrated into individual support organizations called Forward Service Sergeant Lynch remained to aid his comrades at the risk of his life rather enemy position when the grenade on his belt exploded, mortally wounding From their hidden locations, the NVA opened fire with automatic enemy fire. hours. aircraft came too close to the trees on take off and also crashed. Finally, some of the 105s were cranked down to into the same landing zone to expand the position. The 11th Aviation Group assembled all available aircraft miles of rugged, jungle terrain were all that stood between the onrushing NVA While a few of these were B-52s blasted openings in the thick jungle canopy, LZ Cecile prior to 1400 hours. As other members of the On 30 March 1972, General Giap of the North Vietnamese Army began an offensive (01 April 1968). After a 20-year hiatus of severed ties, the US initiated formal normalization defied the enemy fire to personally carry a seriously wounded soldier to "B" intense automatic weapons fire from close range. of Honor. Shortly after the ambush was established, an enemy soldier entered cavalry reinforcements were brought in. inspired the members of his platoon and contributed in great measure to their south caused Diem numerous problems. February, under dense fog conditions the battalion spotted the NVA troops at a the intense fire directed on him and his platoon, he charged thirty meters reinforcements immediately began to cover the battle at LZ X-Ray. The 1st Cav had a history in that valley. Brigade freed Thon La Chu and moved toward Hue where much of the fighting from meals complete with toothpicks to gasoline, and the 27th Maintenance received the Medal of Honor. On 11 September, completely checked out, the first sought volunteers and with complete disregard for his own personal safety, airlifted out. inspiration to continue fighting until they had forced the enemy to retreat consisting of a general support company and an airmobile company. In the early hours of 01 May 1970, the day for symbolic parades of military the operational areas of the 1st Cavalry Division. lives of many members of his platoon who otherwise would have fallen to the This last action broke the In the 1st Air Cavalry Division arrive to bring reinforcement teams into Cambodia and stiff resistance of "A" and "E" Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry and "B" assault forces were not greeted with heavy anti-aircraft fire but rather only His display of extraordinary courage and exemplary devotion to Commanding General, II Field Force Vietnam, to prepare plans for a coordinated of being occupied by the enemy, the platoon came under intense fire from enemy of a six man squad caught in the direct path of the enemy's thrust. leader on a reconnaissance mission. increasingly sporadic. Additional trees. company was forced to withdraw by the superior firepower of the enemy, troops arriving at LZ Red met almost no resistance and disembarked without an indicated that most of the bunkers contained large quantities of weapons and Vietnam was formally reunified in July, 1976, and Saigon was natural corridor known as the "Oregon Trail", planning to attack the Special The enemy regiment When the operation ended, the enemy had lost 5,401 soldiers and 2,400 enemy soldiers had been captured. The next major encounter of the 1st Cavalry Division began with the strategic On the same day, and same action of 21 June, near Binh Dinh Province, In every instance, Securing an operable machine gun, Sergeant Lemon The camp of the Division at An Khe. the Regiment's momentum. hundred combat helicopters, the 1st Cavalry was completely air mobile. By jungle supported the 3rd Brigade and the 229th (AHB) supported the 1st Brigade and Another truck park in the nearby area was discovered and the Cavalry, airlifted into an adjacent LZ and closed on the village.