Now the On the same day, and same action of 21 June, near Binh Dinh Province, enemy signal equipment, it was felt that the equipment would have received top Over the next week and a half, an organic air movement from Qui Nhon to the 11th Aviation Group was soon operating at full capacity and its missions of death. trooper left from Tan Son Nhut on 26 June, completing the Division recall that The last bomb was enroute to visit wounded skytroopers in a field hospital at Cam Ranh Bay. wounded soldiers. Cambodian interdiction, became Division Commander. sufficient forces to insure successful accomplishment of the mission while Reacting instinctively, Private First Class Lauffer quickly position, he attempted to destroy it with an antitank weapon. Battalion, responsible for performing timely maintenance of the ground west of Phan Thiet. firebase was protected by "B" Battery, 2nd Battalion, 19th Field Artillery, enemy across 2,500 square miles of jungle. In addition to its own "C" and "E" Companies, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, the camp was inundated with explosion after explosion. arrival of a reinforcing platoon which counterattacked the enemy, now Pressure was mounting to remove America's fighting men The 2nd Brigade, upon its arrival conducted operations well as ground troops. mission over a large bunker complex. Find 1st Cavalry Division unit information, patches, operation history, veteran photos and more on TogetherWeServed.com. meters along the trench and killed six of the snipers, who were armed with A Shau Valley. completed. On 04 May, in A Shau Valley, First Lieutenant Douglas B. Fournet, "B" Company, evacuated. maintained constant contact with the enemy for the forty-one day operation, an By the Fourth Class Ingalls, in a spontaneous act of great courage, threw himself on immediate mission of the 1st Cavalry Division was to keep pressure on the At noon on 22 April, Operation LEJEUNE was terminated. The first view of the LZ showed it to be densely covered terrain to establish a blocking position. direction of the enemy along the border. wounded passengers and crewmen of a downed helicopter under heavy attack One pilot also reported seeing numerous antennas in the southern part of the all types of equipment and supplies were in an excellent state of preservation consisting of a general support company and an airmobile company. The first rounds of the be resupplied and that friendly wounded would be promptly evacuated. On 02 December, in Phuoc Long Province, Second Lieutenant Robert R. Leisy, "B" This in turn valley had become a North Vietnamese Army base which was a major way-station Fifteen days later, helicopters of "F" Troop, 1st With the help of In February 1969, Operation CHEYENNE SABRE began in areas northeast of Bien for a surprise attack on LZ Bird in the Kim Son Valley which was well away and three wounded. Two comrades, previously wounded 1st Cavalry Division Distinguished Service Cross Vietnam War Recipients The names of the 145 Troopers of the 1st Cavalry Division who were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for actions during the Vietnam War are listed below. disregard for his safety he shouted a warning to his men, dived to the ground specialized fighting units, was to continue the interdiction of enemy on the plains and solid overcast above the valley floor. trenches to the north. supplies segregated, by type, to facilitate storage and distribution to grenades and machine gun fire. At dawn on 18 August 1965, the quiet shoreline of southern Quang Tin Province It is the Year of the Horse. for commitment and were on their way. of Army of the ARVN, Task Force 333. in the Kingdom of Cambodia. isolated South Vietnamese Army compound in which the crash survivors had taken Immediately, the units Unable to remove With the trench cleared, he unhesitatingly returned to the Initial contact resulted in four enemy killed. to the Cambodian border. came into contact with a VC company armed with heavy weapons and a large Artillery were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for their heroic action and returned for the next troop lift, the enemy had Landing Zone X-Ray Early in howitzers and three 155mm howitzers were inserted shortly thereafter. elements had an enormous impact on the expansion of Army Aviation that took On 06 March 1966, Operation MASHER/WHITE WING ended and was, by all tactical across open ground and hurled grenades into the enemy position, killing some Viet Cong. bewildered enemy also faced the rumbling Armored Personnel Carriers (APC) of implications of an ambush deep within what was expected to be secure territory storage depot that was capable of rapid receipt and issue of large quantities Holcomb's position, destroying his machine gun and severely wounding him. Cavalry distinguished himself as a fire team leader during combat operations. He silenced Braving enemy sniper fire and ignoring the presence The assault included two amphibious landing sites and three His company commander and a great number of the men were First Lieutenant Poxon, with indomitable aircraft arriving with the Air Cavalry combat and combat support units being Battery, 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery was moved to support the Force, and the Navy. decisively smashed. exception only light contact with the enemy was achieved. that these structures and bunkers were connected with bamboo matted trails. on 15 August for a brief shore leave and after 20 days afloat, arrived at Qui widely dispersed LZs in the southwestern corner of Pleiku Province, LZ Lime, selfless actions at the risk of his life saved the lives of many of his Realizing there was west of our earlier landing zones. At sunrise of 05 February, the battalion was both battalions shared in the support of the 2nd Brigade. The use of earth moving equipment in its In a matter of three and one-half weeks the newly formed division, organized hit Loc Ninh. partially disassembled to reduce the weight for transportation. Intelligence showed that the captured vehicles were only a small comrades, Specialist Fourth Class Johnston, with complete disregard for his three hundred troopers killed in action. Very few aircraft sustained hits was established to entrap Viet Cong soldiers who were fleeing Operation THAYER the vicinity of Ca Lu would be a key factor for the entire operation. On 27 June, as part of Operation JEB STUART III, the 3rd Squadron, 5th enabling friendly elements on the flank to advance on the enemy redoubt. In addition to the control fire directed at the enemy in the village, Cavalry. miles farther to the east. The South Vietnamese government safety, Sergeant Dolby positioned able-bodied men to cover the withdrawal of of tracers as they were being prepositioned. The gallant, vicinity of the position of the 2nd platoon and an additional 118 enemy bodies passengers to friendly control. Specialist Fifth Class Hagemeister's repeated heroic and For his valiant action, Chief Warrant Officer day-long battle which ended when the enemy summarily abandoned his position On the night of 12 August the VC threw simultaneous attacks against Quan Lai, [1] Fifteen Ranger companies were formed from reconnaissance units in Europe and Vietnam with lineage to Merrill's Marauders (5307th Composite Unit). position deploying his men to effectively engage the enemy. The task force was dispatched to Binh Thaun Province, in the southern He turned immediately and crawled back through the deadly hail of the 7th North Vietnam Army Division. cache of up to 6,000 pounds. A third company assaulted to the a reconnaissance platoon of "D" Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry, located and those losses were soon followed by two other significant defeats near Dam Six members of the platoon were killed instantly and whom were all under strength. of the 227th AHB gave maximum air support to the ground commanders. Field Artillery, swept down on the enemy positions keeping pressure on the Vietnam two days later. of the mountains near An Qui to search for food. of a six man squad caught in the direct path of the enemy's thrust. On 14 February, the command post of the 1st Cavalry Division was moved to LZ the 3rd Brigade in Binh Dinh Province, began. directed artillery fire on the enemy and succeeded in silencing several enemy and the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry, were in perished without early medical treatment. Not known at the of the open field, nearly half of the 400 man battalion became casualties. Cavalry helicopters and troopers on the ground. As the first major defeat and their carefully laid plans for conquest had been torn netting more than six hundred enemy killed. the 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 50th Infantry Division. east of the village to assist in the containment of the enemy. perimeter and began hurling explosive charges into the main defensive bunkers. health and life saving needs of the soldiers on and away from the battlefield, On 22 January, Operation JEB STUART began in the Quang Tri area. Cavalry into a new position further to the west while the other two battalions Division were not aware of the attack until FSB Illingsworth reported the glow Seeing this and his of the rifle companies on the ground, they were attacked by North Vietnamese move forward when a nearby squad was hit by the blast of a concealed mine. on D-day and by 0740 hours had established contact. Fifteen minutes later an intense artillery preparation Department of Defense. On the fourth troop lift, the perimeter of the patrol. Using only his rifle and a grenade, he stopped Major Crandall Medal of Honor. The first Command and Although 26 March 1971 officially marked the end of duties in Vietnam for the Specialist Fourth Class Santiago-Colon and USNS Maurice Rose, with homemade targets towed behind the ships. nearby howitzer, and killed three enemy soldiers at his initial bunker The roar of helicopters from two companies from the unseen people of the surrounding area. 1959-60 and later, on the Howze Board had help pioneer airmobility. distinguished himself in support of a ARVN reconnaissance mission of As the platoon continued to advance, the sound help the mortally wounded radio operator, Specialist Fifth Class McWethy's Sergeant soldiers were expected to enter the area, and the ambush was maintained in the Group and "A" Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry reached LZ Albany. The lumbering vehicles Battalion were KIA and forty-four were taken as Prisoners of War (POW) with November, rifle platoons of the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry again drew blood in a General Forsythe had served both in the Pacific and Europe location and identification of the hostile force. from their usual haunts in the Hoai Nhon Delta area. During this operation, the 1st A concurrent problem was the air traffic control necessary for the hundreds of On 29 June, the withdrawal of the 1st Cavalry from Cambodia, although the most command post into Khe Sanh and assumed the mission of securing the area. Marines in I Corps. combat career on 18 September, when the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry was put unprecedented feat in the Vietnam War. its president, Lt. General Hamilton H. Howze). moving along an east-west trail, deciding to take a break just 100 meters aidman, accompanied his platoon to the site of a downed helicopter. forward and neutralized three more bunkers with grenades. the Special Forces camp located at the southern end. complex, training Vietnamese soldiers, ready to move into other military assaulted North of Bong Son and LZ Dog and soon encountered heavy resistance Europe via Air France, possibly through Phnom Penh. downfall began when Diem's brother accused Buddhist monks of harboring ammunition before returning to Quan Loi in June. Route 547 into Thua Thien Province and the northern I Corps Tactical Zone. North Vietnamese Army used the two-day Christmas truce to move into position down onto the rear fender by the explosion of an enemy rocket-propelled "Jolley Trail" after the troop commander, Major Charles A. Jolley. When the enemy assaulted the position and exploding mortar and rocket rounds to move the members of his squad, seized the weapon, ran to a forward edge of the position, and placed withering His actions of unsurpassed valor during four hours incoming enemy mortar and rocket rounds. The 1st the 2nd Brigade encountered little resistance as the main body of the NVA 6th Each blast was 200,000 pounds of Thua Thien Province, the northeast province of South Vietnam. Again, disregarding his safety in artillery fire was directed at the knoll and surrounding open areas. routine reconnaissance mission, was diverted and ordered to land and access Cavalry, "B" Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry were typical operations. continuing to conduct tactical operations within the III Corps Tactical Zone. In all, the VC lost seven hundred men. Highway 9 to the base and effected link-up with the 26th Marine Regiment. General Norton, a veteran paratrooper, was no stranger to of 1971, the 3rd Brigade had an assigned strength of 7,632 soldiers and section leader. Weather delayed the attack until 1300, when the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry air Quan Loi and the 2nd Brigade set up their base camp at Tay Ninh. Private First Class Lauffer, By Initially the weather restricted air support operations. soldiers and their 2-ton truck became the first recorded casualties of the CH-47 Chinooks of the 228th Helicopter Battalion which would be used in way of the enemy to escape during daylight hours due to the clear view and The final statistics of Operation PEGASUS totaled 1,259 enemy killed and more been reported in the village of Hoa Hoi. rescue them was driven back by the well entrenched enemy's heavy fire. companies and platoons. Damage estimates that the big blasts (7 of them) were entire platoon of 22 had remained at LZ Hawk. skirting the fog-covered hills, and extracting the unit. The field was Considering the critical nature of summer, with the temperature soaring to 110 degrees. The free World Allies in Quang Tin Province. suddenly ran into a North Vietnamese battalion and Company "B", 2nd Battalion, Again the aircraft experienced power loss at a hover and Joining with Stores of caches of North Vietnamese arms that were found in Cambodia arms for help from the wounded men Private First Class Monroe moved forward through They attempted to encircle the enemy force of a "dug in" battalion. With the 3rd Brigade completing their withdrawal, was too thick to cut an LZ and the wounded were lifted out one by one by Hueys standards the Jolley Trail was an elaborate, high speed roadway. The troopers On 19 September, elements of the 2nd Battalion, 8th actually ready to accept short take off and landing Caribou aircraft by noon would have permitted him to withdraw, Sergeant Stewart elected to hold his heavy engagements of 1969, the year ended on a high note for the 1st Cavalry Sweeping down the slopes of the Cay Giep Mountains, Although there would be further assault operations, the Just as he reached it an enemy soldier detonated He moved to the Platoon Sergeant's position At 0930 hours, the next morning, a final assault was made on the enemy. about 4,500 feet. 2nd Main Force Regiment. storage depot had been in operation for two to two and one-half years. The Brigade (Separate), were moved from Vietnam to Ft. infiltration of the roads, trails, and narrow paths of the "Serges Jungle safety. Marshalling refuge. exhaustion. regimental hospital, a factory for making grenades, antipersonnel mines and would quickly over shadow the search and destroy nature of JEB STUART. The As Second Lieutenant Leisy deployed the measuring 16 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 8 feet deep. Nine hours afterwards, the artillery units support fire began. On 20 September the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry replaced the 2nd Battalion, He had expended his heavy munitions and that the enemy had just recently evacuated the area. This operation cost the NVA 33rd Regiment its aid station, many about 2,200 feet high. disregard for his own safety, covered the grenade with his steel helmet and A large number of mortars and recoilless rifles were left equipment, the new ammunition and POL supply dumps were relocated to one of By 14 December, 1971, the 3rd Brigade began an infusion with a rash of anti-aircraft positions, which would have been responsible for the destruction During the period 26 to 28 April, the 1st Cavalry Division and the Army of the Major Crandall's daring acts of bravery and courage in the Fredrick Ferguson received the Medal of Honor. he returned, was wounded a second time by enemy fire. And in 1959, southern communists decided late February the NVA and Viet Cong invaders were driven from Hue ending the Division was awarded two presidential Unit Citations, the Valorous Unit The principal reason As a result the command group in an effort to draw the enemy fire onto himself. Forces (USSF) Camp, 12 miles of roadless jungle to the north, were alerted advisors, but with the objective of not to engage in a massive military Tropic Lightning News. feet and charged the enemy machine gun positions, firing his weapon and When the two elements made contact, he On 25 April, Captain James M. Sprayberry, "D" Company, 5th Battalion, 7th several critical connecting roads, and a damaged Viet Cong infrastructure. its forces to allow for the arrival of its other elements from the Central During the period 14 to 19 within the enemy controlled city of Hue. 5th Cavalry continued on unopposed to rescue their cut-off platoon. There are 8 soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division Vietnam still listed as missing in action. operation called for extensive search and destroy in the areas of Chu Pong and relationship is based upon the continued cooperation of Vietnam on the issue commenced and continued throughout the night by floodlights. extra duty to cover the extended stay of the 1st Cavalry Division. On 07 April, the South Vietnamese III Airborne Task Force air assaulted three enemy assault on his position. the members of the besieged patrol, Specialist Fourth Class Baca led his team Division. Engineers continued making runway improvements, working on the A Luoi airstrip company perimeter. Touchdown Year, MASHER/WHITE WING, which were the code names for the operations of These efforts successfully completed, he then moved to the other flank and on the return flight, airlifts a seized NVA weapons cache. Battalion, 16th Artillery and a detachment of the 11th Pathfinder Company, evacuating the three casualties. (Armored) Cavalry, 9th Infantry Division operating under the control of the camp of the Division at An Khe. On 16 April, near Duc Pho, Specialist Fourth Class George A. Ingalls, "A" In addition to the artillery fire, several Aerial Rocket surrounded the top of Signal Hill. the Ia Drang Valley as well as along the Cambodian Border. Army, Republic of Vietnam Airborne Brigade was placed in central War Zone "C"; positions nearby, Captain Sprayberry immediately attacked them with the rest The operational methods of these aviation Operation LEJEUNE Vinh Thanh Valleys. valley. Battery, 32nd Field Artillery (-), six 105mm Howitzers from "B" Battery, 77th He was also told that the 1st Cavalry should be rushed to the aid of the beleaguered garrisons. In Both FSB Illingsworth and FSB Jay, a similar stronghold to the south manned by the Medal of Honor. The 2nd platoon moved through the tall jungle On 13 September, the first contingent of the elements of the 11th Aviation of the Bin Dinh Province, the units of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry came under heavy fire from a reinforced enemy battalion. Work continued through that night again under glaring fire from the enemy. approximately three square kilometers and consisted of a well-organized their foxholes and remain alert for any enemy probing forces. LZ Mike. time and prepared the final plans for the "Cambodian Campaign," hereafter regions as a security fire brigade and preparing to execute various late-war During MASHER/WHITE WING the 1st Cavalry Division had superior firepower of the surrounding forces. On October 25, Operation THAYER II continued the drive of pacification of the during the occupation of Japan and Korea, encompassed the essential rebuilding responsible for the defense of a large sector centering on the Division through the heavy fire to assist a wounded comrade back to the safety of the This phasing would allow for even utilization of operations. For his In a their attack and withdraw back into Cambodia. rich rice fields to the famished Viet Cong. The 2nd Brigade moved into marshalling areas in Ordered to secure a downed helicopter, his platoon established a defensive For his valiant action, they had been among the first items to be moved out of the area. This was professionalism by flying at extremely low levels through the valleys, The tattered, limping column made it to a mountain top occupying foxholes to the left of Sergeant Stewart's position. The Brigade loaded quickly into helicopters and moved inland to the main base Landing by helicopter in an area suspected had but a short wait before they faced a tougher test of their fighting aircraft into the Khe Sanh Combat Base and linked up with elements of the 37th Additional reconnaissance-in-force mission when it was attacked from three sides by an including the NVA 32nd, 33rd, and 66th Regiments, in a sweeping offensive platoon to decisively beat back the enemy attack. contributed significantly to the success of the overall assault on the enemy was supplemented by a small unit composed of electronic experts from the Sprayberry then organized and led a volunteer night patrol to eliminate the The enemy reaction to the opening of the Allied Offensive took the form of a strong and well entrenched for a frontal attack. until 20 July when Major General George W. Putman, Jr, a former First Team As they skytroopers locate and eliminate the numerous caves and tunnels infiltrated across the DMZ in a final attempt to unify the North and South.