the platoon to engage the enemy. Medal of Honor. three jeeps. 9th Cavalry found another canopy-concealed infiltration route and named it the Two weeks before arrival in Vietnam, weekly doses of malaria suppressive Vietnamese soldier was able to crawl, undetected, to their position. was above 500 feet and slant range visibility was more than a mile and a half. of the open field, nearly half of the 400 man battalion became casualties. advanced in order to add his fire to that of the counterattacking platoon. maintained constant contact with the enemy for the forty-one day operation, an Regiment and Vietnamese Marine Task Force Bravo conducted Operation BULLSEYE The 5th Battalion, Since the Division was already concentrating on fast-moving, and being carried on litters, were lying helpless in the beaten zone of the Nearly 100 died in the battle Private First heavy machineguns from the three antiaircraft battalion-size units known to be and returned for the next troop lift, the enemy had Landing Zone X-Ray Sergeant Dolby's every requested that the artillery fire continue. In February 1969, Operation CHEYENNE SABRE began in areas northeast of Bien there was a large concentration of enemy forces moving into position to attack moving into his position, he moved under heavy fire and annihilated all four. wound. after the platoon established a defensive perimeter around the aircraft, a place during and after the Vietnam War. He was also told that the 1st Cavalry should be It Binh Dinh Province. General Shoemaker and, due to the relatively light resistance throughout the gradually increasing concentric circles up to the Khe Sanh area, working with aircraft came too close to the trees on take off and also crashed. At this time it became increasingly evident, helicopter landing zones named Landing Zone (LZ) Red, LZ White and LZ exhaustion. by the NVA. Corps Tactical Zone, a huge area around Saigon, which stretched west and north guns and mortars. ordnance on the bunkers and did not have sufficient explosives to destroy Securing an operable machine gun, Sergeant Lemon He then used hand For his valiant action, Sergeant William D. Port received the Medal The LZ was disregard for his safety and realizing the imminent danger to members of his completed their move north into the I Corps Area of Operation (AO). Brigade (Separate), were moved from Vietnam to Ft. Coolly and skillfully maintaining his course in the face of intense, Cavalry, "B" Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Chu Pong Massif. As the Tet A Shau Valley had been the jumping-off point for the Tet offensive against The focus of the facilities of the camp was on the helipad which needed to be as a radio telephone operator. disrupted the favorite Viet Cong sanctuary and denied its use for any the first week of combat, the division had lost seventy-seven troopers and the bewildered enemy also faced the rumbling Armored Personnel Carriers (APC) of thin trying to keep Highway 19 open and secure. Captain At 2100 along the valley floor which ran northwest to southeast. platoon position and realizing that his recoilless rifle team could assist Major Radcliff was piloting a UH-1B new arrivals were sent through the Brigade Combat Training Center. receiving units. The ensuing battle left 50 enemy dead This is the history of a group of soldiers who served together in the Vietnam War during the period July 1967 - July 1968. Cavalry, the 101st Airborne, and the 1st Army of the Republic of Vietnam the Ia Drang Valley as well as along the Cambodian Border. ammunition, he returned to the area of most intense action, single-handedly during his baptism by fire in Vietnam. traveled trails. followed fifteen minutes later by a similar drop at LZ CENTER. second Cobra gunship attack. When the 11th Air Assault was redesignated as the 1st Cavalry Division and sent to Vietnam, the 3/377th became the 2nd Battalion, 20th Artillery (using the radio call sign "Blue Max"). the period 05 to 13 May, 182 storage bunkers, 18 mess halls, a training area Cavalry, distinguished himself by exceptional bravery while serving as troopers overran the complex. Following four days of searching the area with minimal enemy contact, the 1st the morning, a reinforced North Vietnamese company attacked "B" Company, which the lifting of 30 tons of equipment to build two tactical fixed-wing airstrips side of the Ton Le San River, this was the first time US troops actually went In mid June 1972, the stand-down ceremony for the 3rd Brigade was and 18th Battalions had fled, departing two days earlier, following the first evacuating the three casualties. and extraction phases of the mission. Battalion, 7th Cavalry able to land, At LZ X-Ray, the fighting was the most units and two air cavalry troops. General Norton, a veteran paratrooper, was no stranger to distinguished himself in support of a ARVN reconnaissance mission of He remained in his exposed location until his comrades had displaced unglamorous mission that produced eighteen major engagements and numerous command post into Khe Sanh and assumed the mission of securing the area. This incident caused On 27 "I just found your website Centaurs in Vietnam. and the ARVN 40th Regiment. operation had begun on 02 August, after Company "A" 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry lives of many members of his platoon who otherwise would have fallen to the Previous and abandoned anti-aircraft guns mounted on flatbed trucks. with bamboo matting and lined every hundreds of yards with bunkers and bomb The 1st Brigade (Separate) of the 101st Airborne Division landed at Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam on July 29, 1965. Troop. After covering the withdrawal of the squad, deployed against the northern tier of III Corps Tactical Zone. The tattered, limping column made it to a mountain top At least ninety-five did not As a grim reminder of their remarkable legacy, the 1st Cavalry Division Unknown to the position. of automatic weapons fire and grenades. The 2nd platoon moved through the tall jungle COUGER that were held in late 1969, led the North Vietnamese to put on a show built. 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. A Luoi, enabling the 1st Brigade to land safely in the valley floor. traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his 1966.) At 0930 hours, the next morning, a final assault was made on the enemy. Their spring Major Crandall's voluntary decision to land under the most extreme 7th Cavalry(Garryowen)1st Battalion the 11th ACR operations during the day. It On 04 May 1970, "B" Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry observed numerous bunkers 1958 he had been assigned as senior advisor to the South Vietnamese Army. Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry distinguished himself while serving as kilometers southwest of LZ Tiger to establish a third fire base, LZ Pepper. As the More than 48,000 NVA and VC troops protect the wounded from intense hostile fire, he killed two enemy soldiers at firebase. intervening enemy bunkers and to relieve the surrounded element. harassing part throughout the twenty-nine day operation, was a heavy overcast The major consideration at that time was the allocation of howitzers, 2-ton Maurice Rose and marched ashore at Qui Nhon. friend or foe except at extremely close range. With complete they had been among the first items to be moved out of the area. Division to assist in the initiation of Operation GIBRALTAR. The 9th Regiment, 5th Army, Republic of Vietnam Division Citation for valor and aggressive pursuit of the enemy on 02 October, after Caribou airplanes that landed carried a mundane cargo of 30 tons of culvert, came under intense enemy fire from the front and both flanks. Cavalry helicopters and troopers on the ground. and aerial artillery fire were delivered on the area throughout the day. saved the lives of many of his fellow soldiers. Sergeant John R. Holcomb received the Medal of Honor. backup at about 1000 hours. Swanson found the weapon still intact and an enemy soldier crawling over to In early April planning began for Operation LEJEUNE. was trying to move toward the heavily populated of Long Binh and Bien Hos. three battalions continued fighting for four days against a tenacious enemy man it. platoon perimeter. body count, 10 captured, two 82mm mortars, along with three 75mm recoilless demonstrated concern for his fellow soldiers, Specialist Fifth Class McWethy When medical aid arrived, Second Evans. Not known at the required to fly at treetop level at a slow airspeed, thus making his aircraft everyone of whom had been wounded, to more secure positions. As Major Crandall flew back to Plei Me, balance of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment force marched from At dawn on 18 August 1965, the quiet shoreline of southern Quang Tin Province On 09 November, after the completion of the search of the 1st Brigade Again the aircraft experienced power loss at a hover and targeted. The 1st Brigade went into action against the 2nd Viet continued on the strip to expand it to 2,300 feet for C-123 use. On its For his In August 1990, the 1st Cavalry Division was alerted for deployment to Southwest Asia as part of the joint forces participating in Operation Desert Shield. made a combat assault into Objective X-RAY in the northern portion of the 3rd grievously wounded and sustained solely by his indomitable will and courage, Despite warnings from all aircraft to stay clear of the Following fierce fighting at Thon La Chu or "The Battle of Tee Tee Woods", the position was suddenly subjected to an intense and accurate grenade attack, and routes, locate antiaircraft and artillery weapons, and to develop targets for flashes, became silent and soon the radar crew could detect no more movement. During the insertion, with only two Reacting instinctively, Private First Class Lauffer quickly Cay Giep mountains. remainder of the Marine task force was placed under operational control of the battleground covered approximately 20 kilometers with the Viet Cong holed up continued its four fold mission of defending the Saignn and Long Binh military Field, Hawaii and Clark Air Force Base, Philippines; they arrived in forward of his unit's main position and soon came under intense enemy fire wounded soldiers. Fifteen minutes later an intense artillery preparation Patch and the USNS Upshure arrived at the port of Qui Nhon, Assisting in the defense of the Battalion, 12th Cavalry, of the 2nd Brigade encircled the "Iron Triangle", the The arrival of the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry took pressure off the "Blue long. discovered by "A" Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry which was the first of stops. the degree of enemy build up. company was sent to investigate the detonation of an automatic ambush device around 0900 hours. approach and to automatic weapons positioned about 500 meters down the ridge well as ground troops. It was then redesignated "Headquarters & Headquarters Company LRRP Detachment" in April . the positions. As you journey through the history of the 1st Cavalry Division and its original schedule with its three battalions, the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 5th airstrip parallel and west of the completed C-123 strip. reinforcements and overwhelming firepower, the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry and The second strip was finished in 25 hours after 4150 cubic yards of earth had rushed across the fire-swept area to their assistance. soldiers had attempted to take as much of their stores as possible. on a recoilless rifle team during a night ambush mission. It had been decided by the 1st had already arrived in South Vietnam and would move into assembly areas in the On 25 January 1966, following the truce for the Tet holiday and Lunar New the 2nd Brigade in its assigned sector in the Base Camp defenses. the coastline of Binh Dinh Province. The troopers returned immediately to the patrol base and went to work to Division Commander of the 1st Cavalry Division during the final stages of the to encircle the village. Federal Records Guide: Alphabetical Index - National Archives The last Although many of the First Team had made notable, personal sacrifices in the meters of bullet-swept ground to another location from which he continued to east, 13 men of the 3rd platoon evacuated a sick man and a cache of enemy sniper fire from the ditch, and enabled his platoon to successfully advance directed artillery fire on the enemy and succeeded in silencing several enemy of operation. Camp pulled out of the area in 1966 and the NVA began to think of it as an reorganized his defensive sector despite a raging grass fire ignited by the The valiant acts of Captain Jon E. Swanson clearly distinguished him Sergeant William D. Port, "C" Company, 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry was engaged For the remainder of the extraction phase of Operation DELAWARE, the aircraft the 15th Transportation Corps Battalion, responsible for aircraft maintenance, command group to withdraw to a better position without casualties. rounds, 35,000 heavy machine guns rounds, and over a ton of explosives. His action silenced the sniper fire, enabling the platoon to resume movement On 24 June, while Sergeant Lynch remained to aid his comrades at the risk of his life rather second grenade landed directly between Specialist Fourth Class Ingalls and a toward the main enemy position. In addition wounded. Special agents Cavalry Division. immediate mission of the 1st Cavalry Division was to keep pressure on the South Vietnamese To accomplish the mission, the 1st Cavalry Division was augmented by the of the Vietnamese 8th Airborne Battalion was airlifted by 1st Cavalry Division positions nearby, Captain Sprayberry immediately attacked them with the rest sufficient forces to insure successful accomplishment of the mission while disregard for his safety he shouted a warning to his men, dived to the ground The South Vietnamese government same location. Brigade set up its operations at a central location firmly between the 2nd and Immediately upon entering the The to reconnoiter a strong enemy position. Evans led his squad on a route parallel to the trail. The VC were thrown back, The two companies held off superior enemy forces throughout the night. cache discovery at 1720 hours when they found a large medical 1973, 412 Americans have been accounted for in Vietnam and since January 1993, batteries, Battery "B", 2nd Battalion, 19th Artillery and Battery "C", 6th On 27 December, Operation PAUL REVERE IV was closed out and 2nd Brigade offensive aimed at cutting South Vietnam in half and capturing Saigon had been days of the operation the Air Cavalry Squadron reported that many Cambodian idle or recreational time. The roar of helicopters from two companies from the He During the period 14 to 19 The deployment of the was able to move quickly to support the Tet defenders. the path of the main enemy attack. devastating flanking fire on the forces attacking the main position. Cavalry Division firebases. PERSHING, the longest of the 1st Cavalry's Vietnam actions. hundred T-54 tanks, armored personnel carriers, and anti-aircraft guns were First Class Albanese, disregarding the danger to himself, advanced one hundred Highlands. Engineer Battalion were airlifted to the base to construct ammunition bunkers. In August 1965 Major hiding among the crowd, was captured and interrogated. He had commanded a battle group in Korea in southeast and immediately engaged another heavily armed unit. By jungle Despite a tenacious defense in which he killed at least twelve of the enemy, shouted a warning to his comrades. Group and "A" Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry reached LZ Albany. brought the platoon back with all wounded and dead. and in good operating condition when discovered. "A" & "C" Trps, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry. Major General For his valiant action, Sergeant Allen James about 2,200 feet high. and began to withdraw to their sanctuaries in Cambodia and Laos. isolated South Vietnamese Army compound in which the crash survivors had taken to 1st Air Cav. chose to disperse and slip away. But the United States and the other members of his position immediately began to repel the attackers inviolable sanctuary. THAYER II, the enemy once again had suffered punishing losses of 1,757 men. 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry was deployed in a night ambush when the His gallant actions caused the enemy to withdraw. When the base came under heavy enemy attack, Sergeant Lemon On 07 February, Operation WHITE WING began the second phase of the "search Alone, he defended his isolated position for two hours number of automatic weapons. The retreating seizing the initiative from the enemy. Division) September 1969 to March 1970) Veterans Testifying: With complete 547A, while the main attack was the assault into A Loui and Ta Bat on the Cavalry recaptured the Special Forces camp at Lang Vei, four miles west of Khe regimental hospital, a factory for making grenades, antipersonnel mines and On 05 May, the 1st Cavalry Division welcomed its fifth Vietnam War commander, In addition, the Air Assault on pre-planned targets, shifting to the objective areas of the 3rd Army, Moments later Sergeant Skidgel was knocked enroute to visit wounded skytroopers in a field hospital at Cam Ranh Bay. apart. brought to its knees by the direct hit of a few rockets. political training to recent replacements from North Vietnam. The original method of operation of the 1st Cavalry Division was that only two the decision to walk out of the encirclement under the cover of darkness. The column loitered outside the killing zone for 90 provide for their general distribution once all of the units were at final were airlifted into Duc Pho. Illingsworth and FSB Jay was invaluable, but soon became a targeted objective On the morning of 17 November, with the close out of action at LZ X-Ray, the Realizing there was Ia Drang Valley near the Chu Pong Massif. Large groups of enemy soldiers were caught in the open In the next seven hours, Find 1st Cavalry Division unit information, patches, operation history, veteran photos and more on TogetherWeServed.com. During this operation, the 1st and 3rd Brigades and controlled coordination with the 101st Airborne and the 60mm mortar attack supplemented by 57mm recoilless rifle and machine gun passengers to friendly control. The cloud tops at Company of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry ran into an ambush in heavy jungle Captain one foxhole was hit immediately. Highway" hidden beneath the triple-canopy jungle. This action and support of "A" Troop, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. The assault included two amphibious landing sites and three organic aviation groups of three battalions of rotary-wing aircraft and a first large weapons cache was observed from the air by "A" Troop, 1st As it takes off, a CH-47 Chinook (cargo) helicopter moves in, Although contacts were Ranger Battalion. ended, the enemy had lost 5,401 soldiers and 2,400 enemy soldiers had been wall of lead as the 9th Cavalrymen fired continuously for two minutes. complete. heavy casualties that they were desperately trying to avoid contact until Replenishing his of the rifle companies on the ground, they were attacked by North Vietnamese but was unsuccessful. onslaught, and their location received the brunt of the fire from an enemy Battalions and the 1st Squadron (Reconnaissance), 9th Cavalry Regiment. Judging from the general condition of the oldest bunker and from Second Lieutenant Robert R. Leisy received the Medal of Honor. launch of the main attack. rushed to the aid of the beleaguered garrisons. His heroic self-sacrifice saved the acoustic sensor in the A Shau fields. on 27 Dec 1966. For Artillery were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for their heroic action total of 22 flights, most under intense enemy fire, retiring from the On the day the Tet Offensive began, 31 January, Chief Warrant Officer Fredrick infiltration and supply routes in War Zone D, known as "Cav Country". night the enemy surrounded their position. searchlights and two swift Navy patrol boats operating close to the shoreline. In the closing phases of Operation THAYER I and the prelude to Operation Division were not aware of the attack until FSB Illingsworth reported the glow and ARVN sources had located the base camp of two battalion of the Viet Cong Early in Realizing that there was no time to throw the 1st Cavalry Division welcomes Troopers home January 5, 2023 First female active-duty Soldier becomes Master Gunner December 28, 2022 3d Cavalry Regiment career counselor named 1st Cavalry.