Bruce Crandall's long overdue Medal of Honor will be awarded by President Bush Feb. 26, more than 40 years after one of the Vietnam War's most heroic and bloody battles.... the Ia Drang Valley.
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Famed war correspondent Joe Galloway--the only reporter to witness the first major battle of the war between major U.S. and North Vietnamese Army units-- Don Pettigrew confirmed to three days ago that LTC Crandall, a retired Army master aviator, 
will receive the nation's highest award for valor from President Bush in Washington, D.C., in three weeks.
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Crandall (shown above right as a major), and present day-left, commanded A Company, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) at An Khe, Vietnam. He led the insertion of three battalions of Air Cav troops into LZ X-Ray near the Ia Drang River on Nov. 14, 1965.
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Five hundred Air Cav troops under the command of then LTC Hal Moore immediately came under fire so intense that the medical evacuation company pilots refused to fly into the landing zone. "Custer's Hard Luck Seventh" had once again found itself surrounded and outnumbered.
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Moore, (right) awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for Ia Drang, and Galloway co-authored the best-selling “We Were Soldiers Once and Young” on which the motion picture, “We Were Soldiers” is based.
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Crandall and his wingman, then CPT Ed Freeman, (below) immediately volunteered to fly the medevac missions, eventually saving dozens of soldiers who would have died over the two-day battle. For his heroism he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
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A year later, Crandall flew two more night rescue missions in which he evacuated 12 wounded from a unit in heavy contact with the enemy. For this he received the 1966 Aviation and Space Writers Helicopter Heroism Award for this daring rescue.
Later in that tour he and his crew were fortunate to survive a friendly fire accident in which he was forced to crash land his Huey.
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As he flew at tree top level in support of an infantry unit, high altitude Air Force bombers released their munitions danger close to the lone Huey. The resultant explosions jerked the chopper out of control and slammed in to the ground.
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All crew-members were seriously injured and Crandall required months of treatment and rehabilitation.
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Largely due to Crandall’s efforts, Freeman, dubbed “Too Tall” because at 6-foot-4 he was initially turned down for flight training, was awarded his belated Medal of Honor on July 16, 2001.
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In all, Crandall flew 750 combat operations in Southeast Asia including the Ia Drang action, in which he saved more than 70 wounded soldiers and resupplied ammo critical to the survival of engaged troops.
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A long ago friend of mine told of lying in a hole, slowly bleeding out, for the better of a day, his arm and shoulder shattered by AK-47 rounds, as his comrades and the enemy ran past in furious combat. It was either Crandall or Freeman who saved his life.
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The resurrection and ugrading of Crandall’s belated Medal of Honor is the result of long and hard work by his 7th Air Cav comrades, including Freeman, LTG Moore, and Galloway who, although a civilian, was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat “V” Device by the Army for his heroism during the battle.
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The third award of the Medal of Honor in the Ia Drang Valley was to Walter “Joe” Marm, (shown far left with fellow Recipient James Taylor); now a retired colonel, as a young lieutenant he lead Alpha Company’s second platoon during the battle.
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In country only two months, the young platoon commander's first time under fire was the Ia Drang.
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Trying to move his unit to reinforce the remanents of a desciminated platoon, Marm was held back by an NVA gun emplacement. Attacking over 100 feet of open ground with only grenades and his rifle, Marm silenced the position, killing 12-18 of the enemy.
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Marm's action was effective, saving his men from a deadly torrent of fire, but it was also costly; less than an hour into his combat experience, he was shot in the face. Medevaced stateside, his jaw 
was reconstructed, and a year later he recieved the Medal of Honor.
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In 1969 Marm returned to Vietnam at his request; "I felt like I should pull my share of the hardship tours," he said. "I was really there just to lead them and set the example and do the best I could," Marm says now. "I always say I wear the medal for all those brave men who were in that battle whose actions went unsung. My actions happened to be observed."
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The Ia Drang Valley fight was a two-part battle consisting of Moore's LZ X-Ray and nearby LZ Albany where over a period of four days-- Nov. 14-18-- Americans and North Vietnamese slugged it out with bayonets, e-tools and bare hands.
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When the communist forces of the 33rd, 66th, and 320th Regiments of the NVA, and the Viet Cong H15 Battalion withdrew, they left behind 837 dead and suffered and estimated 1,365 wounded.
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American losses totaled 234 KIA and 242 wounded--by far the heaviest losses in the Vietnam War to that point.
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For a full overview of the go to Moore's and Galloway's official website on LZ X-Ray.
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Galloway, (above, middle) and right (then reporting for UPI), has tentatively agreed to be the Medal of Honor Host City Program’s 2008 banquet keynote speaker here in Gainesville, schedule permitting. We're also making a special effort have Gen. Moore and all three Ia Drang Recipients as special guests.
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Crandall's Medal of Honor brings to 112 the number of living Recipients.
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In a wonderful tribute to their father, Candall's children operate a website dedicated to his life and career.
...and, schedule permitting, I'll be there.
(Didn't I say that *last year?)
Posted by: Ninja R | February 07, 2007 at 01:16 PM