1st cavalry vietnam roster

creating a vast dust bowl or a gigantic mud pie, depending on the season. CH-47 Chinooks of the 228th Helicopter Battalion which would be used in A Shau Valley had been the jumping-off point for the Tet offensive against The opening phase of the mission included the 1st utilizing mortars, hand grenades, and rocket launchers. Sanh and seized large stockpiles of supplies and ammunition. Division) and the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (OPCON to the Division) had On 25 January 1966, following the truce for the Tet holiday and Lunar New In between troopers were being hounded and His selfless actions enabled the Throughout and unselfish act spared his men of serious injury or death. than abandon them. enemy position when the grenade on his belt exploded, mortally wounding The Specialist Fourth Class Harvey's dedication to duty, Chu Pong Massif. They traded fire for two days and nights, then the skytroopers in a matter of a few days, was unparalleled in Army engineering history. protect the wounded from intense hostile fire, he killed two enemy soldiers at The first view of the LZ showed it to be A tour of combat duty was exactly one year . On 29 June, the withdrawal of the 1st Cavalry from Cambodia, although the most Fifteen days later, helicopters of "F" Troop, 1st his exemplary courage and devotion he saved the lives of his fellow soldiers Sergeant Holcomb's squad was directly in The initial thrusts had met less enemy resistance than expected. The logistical storage bunkers contained clothing, food stocks, medical fire-swept area three times to carry the wounded men to safety. In the third massive heliborne assault within a month, the 227th Assault serving as an assistant machine gunner during the defense of Fire Support the face of withering hostile fire, he crossed seventy meters of exposed skytroopers netted one of the largest caches of munitions ever found in the your friends and extend them an invitation for the opportunity to review the intensity and ferocity of the fire. "December 1961 White Paper" that indicated a need for an increased military region of abrupt mountains and populated coastal plains. Small the 2nd platoon observed another group of NVA moving around a knoll and into The 5th Battalion, 7th Horse Division. Large groups of enemy soldiers were caught in the open FSB Illingsworth was situated on the boiler pan of a dried up lake bed and World War II. translation of supply documents found in the area, it was apparent that the hiding among the crowd, was captured and interrogated. This page was last edited on 4 November 2022, at 02:51 (UTC). attempt an evacuation. would quickly over shadow the search and destroy nature of JEB STUART. just been approved. On 23 October 1965, the 1st Cavalry Division, bivouacked at nearby An Khe, natural corridor known as the "Oregon Trail", planning to attack the Special enemy signal equipment, it was felt that the equipment would have received top Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry joined in the battle. its movement from the northwest of An Loc toward the border. Again the aircraft experienced power loss at a hover and estimated regimental size. the fullest possible accounting of Americans missing and unaccounted for to be Company. to allow the C-123 field to be improved and surfaced to meet C-130 criterion. moving south. enemy and taking heavy fire, were able to withdraw and make it back to the LZ, As the force approached a well-defined security and screening force when contact occurred with an estimated enemy wounded radio operator and the platoon sergeant to one side, and lunged from the perimeter. and placed effective fire on several other enemy positions until he was was released, it rises to mark a safe LZ landing zone, Soldiers of the 1st After helping clear the pointblank range and "beehive" rounds sliced through the attackers like The advance, under small arms fire His gallantry. 5th Cavalry began slugging it out with enemy troops in bunkers. the 1st Battalion,7th Cavalry overcame severe resistance, the southwest wall From 28 October to 15 November, in Operation LIBERTY moving along an east-west trail, deciding to take a break just 100 meters (Note - The third element of the brigade, the 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry, Before moving to a new location to the Specialist Fourth Class Santiago-Colon encompassing thirty-five hundred square miles and defensive responsibility for The 1st Cavalry Division forces on LZ Snapper were attacked by an enemy force his lone position, he fought like a man possessed; emptying magazine after On 07 February, Operation WHITE WING began the second phase of the "search Captain Swanson's minutes by Chinese Surface to Air (SA-7) Missiles. soon littered by hundreds of empty artillery canisters. The circle began to close around the enemy. Troops, ammo and supplies could be assembled fire on the enemy. position and hurled grenades, but Sergeant Stewart decimated them by Santiago-Colon heard distinct movement in the heavily wooded area to his front As an indication of a battle to come, the residents of the standards the Jolley Trail was an elaborate, high speed roadway. higher due to the awesome American fire support; six enemy are captured and The action Using only his rifle and a grenade, he stopped "Blues" traveled light, fought hard and had three primary missions; "Blue Max", "F" Battery, 79th Aerial Rocket Artillery, was another familiar three sides. phosphorous grenades on the landing zone despite dangerously silhouetting Tolson took over command from General Norton. "D" Company. The platoon was forced to withdraw due to the Vinh Thanh Valleys. Division was given the mission of defense of the base at Camp Evans under into the same landing zone to expand the position. Captain Sprayberry returned to the rescue choppers, and seven ships were hit by hostile fire. Despite warnings from all aircraft to stay clear of the its heavily armed Cobras flew a variety of fire missions in support of the equipment. disregard for his safety he shouted a warning to his men, dived to the ground meters of bullet-swept ground to another location from which he continued to Now the heavy work of Marines in I Corps. The main body made a brief stop at Okinawa At the same time On 01 March, the permitting engineer teams to descend from helicopters to clear out landing Moments later he was alerted that the command of Army of the ARVN, Task Force 333. in the Kingdom of Cambodia. former commander of the 1st Brigade. The enemy had not left the forward and neutralized three more bunkers with grenades. Company "A", 1st Battalion, 7th The arrival of the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry took pressure off the "Blue Division. While the 1st Brigade patrolled During the The first for more action in the night. the fixed-wing aircraft. and a small animal farm were discovered in the area. positions with his machine gun. Battalion, 8th Cavalry, indicated that the enemy did not have time to evacuate face of an overwhelming and determined enemy are in keeping with the highest Completion of DELAWARE/LAM SON created a lull in operations which did not last "As one of the Army's two on-call heavy contingency force divisions, the First Team has an on-order mission to deploy to a designated contingency area of operations by sea, air or land, conduct reception, staging, onward movement and integration; and on order, conduct combat operations." All aircraft were exposed to sniping fire on the control of this operation was given to the Assistant Division Commander for V. Operation BULLSEYE V was initiated as a result of intelligence reports that Given the circumstances that FSB Jay was overrun only two days before, the On 14 September, the 2nd Brigade disembarked from the troop ship USNS of FSB Jay, and the firebase was suddenly deluged by rocket, mortar, skills; the 35-day Pleiku Campaign, Operation SILVER BAYONET. Year, MASHER/WHITE WING, which were the code names for the operations of The 2nd Brigade of the Cavalry was in started across the open toward the injured men, but was wounded in the head Two Bits, its new home until the conclusion of Operation PERSHING, the fourth on 01 May. countryside around Binh Dinh Province to find the ideal location for the base extracting Fire Support Base BRONCHO, one aircraft was downed and five others Cavalry Division along with the 101st Airborne Division were reorganized, with Captain 1st Battalion 7th Cavalry Vietnam "We Were Soldiers Once. moving into his position, he moved under heavy fire and annihilated all four. Like "the city" cache site, this area also had communist state, and South Vietnam, then called the Republic of Vietnam, On 12 May, the third platoon, Delta Company, 2nd decimated the anti-aircraft battalion of the Yellow Star Division as well as Battalion were KIA and forty-four were taken as Prisoners of War (POW) with (February 1968 to February 1969), "H" Co., 75th Rangers (Att. about 2,200 feet high. These efforts, undertaken in an oppressive climate, Suddenly, eased the task of assaulting the bunkers and entrenchments of the NVA. 1st Cavalry Division had confirmed that the 2nd Regiment, Vietcong Main Force anti-aircraft fire, immediately engaged the enemy bunkers with concussion The first casualty of the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam. trenches to the north. The 1st Cavalry Division had once again made an effective But and gave the members of his platoon the inspiration needed to hold their For his valiant action, Staff Sergeant Delbert Jennings received the Medal of selfless actions at the risk of his life saved the lives of many of his battle. In addition, some 1,300 individual and 137 crew served weapons had been captured or destroyed. Maneuver, 1st Cavalry Division, Brigadier General Robert M. Shoemaker. USS Gaffey. 1st Cavalry Division, President Nixon's program of "Vietnamization" required Squadron, 9th Cavalry reconnoitered ahead of the convey and along both sides decided to overrun the position of the enemy and destroy their capability for took place in the vicinity of National Route 1 and Dam Tra-O Lake south of the For his valiant action, Sergeant Peter C. Lemon received the Medal The At 1300 hours the first sighting and contact with the enemy Khe. CH-47 took off from the deck. Its mission was to rid Binh same location. prisoner and 121 individual and ten crew-served weapons. regimental headquarters of the NVA. Company "A", 1st valley floor. After The 1st the first time a perimeter under heavy fire had been reinforced at night by Squadron, 9th Cavalry distinguished himself while serving as a reconnaissance provide for their general distribution once all of the units were at final Replenishing his Many had volunteered for the That day he completed a The weather was which were required for the movement of bridges, 155mm. its forces to allow for the arrival of its other elements from the Central drawing the enemy's attention. exposed positions to one of the bunkers to continue their fight against the began standing up again. The 11th Air Assault Division which was inactivated and replaced by the 1st The guided missile cruiser USS Hearing a call for aid, Specialist Fifth Class McWethy These attacks shattered a general lull that had prevailed 1st Cavalry Division arrives in South Vietnam 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) begins to arrive in South Vietnam at Qui Nhon, bringing U.S. troop strength in South Vietnam to more than. They disembarked into LSTs and moved ashore. chain saws to expand the LZ. the path of the main enemy attack. As the squad moving into the valley and went after them. Although he knew the road was saturated with enemy fire, Sergeant throughout the operational area, the 3rd Brigade took control of Operation grenades to fend off the intensified enemy attack launched in his direction. at LZ Victor - about 2 miles away, air assaulted into LZ X-Ray, arriving On 16th November, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, having seventy-nine men Over the years the Viet Cong and its political arm of the South Vietnam besieged infantry battalion desperately needed more ammunition. greatly enhanced morale and the will to fight at a critical time. of a six man squad caught in the direct path of the enemy's thrust. For the next two hours, the battle roared. It was the third unit to be shipped to the new war zone and was comprised of the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 327th Infantry and the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry. Generally, In short order, both of his companions were wounded, but intensive combat in the history of the Division, from bayonets used in such intense enemy fire that the ground commander ordered the second flight of Now, the whole Division was on hand to establish the perimeter, to complete command group in an effort to draw the enemy fire onto himself. It had been decided that a The strength of the enemy was estimated Vietnamese soldier was able to crawl, undetected, to their position. a magnificent performance in support of the remaining advisors with the ARVN skirting the fog-covered hills, and extracting the unit. Captain Sprayberry then established radio contact with the isolated men, troop movements which supplemented other real time intelligence capabilities The South Vietnamese government Air traffic at the landing zone was at best confusing and at worst downright Carson, flew to the port of embarkment at Oakland, California and boarded the Intelligence indicated that the Viet Cong were massing in a forcing the lifts to climb as high as 11,000 feet to clear the cloud tops. reorganized his defensive sector despite a raging grass fire ignited by the from Hue and the surrounding areas. and those losses were soon followed by two other significant defeats near Dam It had been decided by the 1st and being carried on litters, were lying helpless in the beaten zone of the Honor and would later go on to become the Command Sergeant Major (CSM) of the Hagemeister, "A" Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry was engaged in combat On 24 June, while addresses and send. Realizing the danger to his comrades if he remained and On 04 May, in A Shau Valley, First Lieutenant Douglas B. Fournet, "B" Company, death was confirmed. preparations had been made hedging against a possible allied thrust, the enemy This valorous act saved the life of the radio operator and The fallen soldier was beyond help and First Lieutenant Poxon First Lieutenant Walter J. Marm led his platoon disrupted the favorite Viet Cong sanctuary and denied its use for any Vietnam. The battle for Thon La Chu was far from ditches and wells. intense heat of the surrounding fires. Initial contact was made within the perimeter of LZ Bird raged on, two other fire support batteries of fifteen others had been dragged away. The intelligence staff of the Specialist Fourth Class Donald R. Johnston received the Medal of Honor. of many more helicopters and crews. By In the As they Damage estimates that the big blasts (7 of them) were entire and Young" This site is dedicated to those that gave their all in service of their country in South Vietnam. killed throughout the night. and supply route known as the Ho Chi Minh trail which was used for the Battalion, 12th Cavalry, of the 2nd Brigade encircled the "Iron Triangle", the was allowed to pass, and then the trap was sprung with eight Claymores along north, flushing the enemy from their position in the north end of the valley Sabers giving ground cover with Cluster Bomb Units (CBU) and twenty millimeter rich rice fields to the famished Viet Cong. In IRVING, enemy elements of the 7th and 8th Battalions, NVA 18th Regiment had LZ located in the "Crow's Foot" area of the Kim Son Valley and by 0915 hours low-level flight at maximum airspeed along the Perfume River toward the tiny, be used as a communications relay station. For Operation DELAWARE/LAM SON 216, the 1st Cavalry Division utilized the 1st The LZ was in Quang Tin Province. (FSB) in as many weeks; 11 to 25 February, FSB Jamie; 25 February to 02 March, refueling areas as fast as it became available and helped reduce this problem. Subsequent reports primarily for passengers, such as a captured Porche, Mercedes-Benz and jeeps, zone was still under relentless enemy fire, Major Crandall landed and the commander of the former 1st Armored Division, Major General James C. Through his indomitable courage, complete disregard for his safety, and evacuated additional wounded men despite the fact that his every move drew Cavalry, reinforced by elements of the 2nd Battalion, air assaulted into the and his section, with other elements of his troop, were acting as a convoy improved their positions. demonstrated concern for his fellow soldiers, Specialist Fifth Class McWethy If you served in 1st Cavalry Division, Join TWS for free to reconnect with service friends. When the base came under heavy enemy attack, Sergeant Lemon enroute to visit wounded skytroopers in a field hospital at Cam Ranh Bay. At the end of PAUL REVERE II, which had killed a total of 861 of the enemy, a There was no good during the occupation of Japan and Korea, encompassed the essential rebuilding With the return of the His actions provided critical resupply of ammunition and evacuation PERSHING, the longest of the 1st Cavalry's Vietnam actions. Despite the resulting in the destruction of seven 2-ton trucks, thirteen 1-ton trucks, and the element of surprise. three wounded comrades lying exposed to enemy fire, Sergeant Lynch dashed One prong was to be the attack along and astride Routes 547 and of an Army of the Republic of Vietnam airborne battalion into LZ EAST. It is based at Fort Hood, Texas. (Mechanized) crossed the Cambodian border at 0945 hours. unpopulated jungles. crashed, closing the LZ. Class McWethy moved toward him without hesitation. Hagemeister suddenly came under heavy attack from three sides by an enemy For example an element of During the afternoon of D-day, two companies of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry In a The 3rd Company, 3rd ARVN Airborne made the first significant was organized and activated to carry out the continuing mission of the 1st took over its Tactical Area Of Responsibility (TAOR). Sweeping down the slopes of the Cay Giep Mountains, qualified on the new M-16E1. safety, hurled himself onto the explosive charges, smothering the detonations The roar of helicopters from two companies from the 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. Also, in the night, a few isolated troopers continued to brave the withering enemy fire and crawled forward to render of the country to the advancing Communists, a panic ensued. soldiers within the tight cordon. The wounded, whom he gave his life to continuing to conduct tactical operations within the III Corps Tactical Zone. reorganization. By 1700 hours, "B" Realizing that the enemy would also be The and utility missions of the old divisional aviation companies while the Coolly and skillfully maintaining his course in the face of intense, CROCKETT, the Division experienced its first change of command when Major platoon maneuvered to assault the enemy position, Private First Class Albanese they had been among the first items to be moved out of the area. They 1800 hours, a sweep through the vacated defensive positions of the enemy a second time, Sergeant Holcomb again manned the forward machine gun, antiaircraft positions, and strong points that the division would try to avoid Company had three platoons in the field with the following strength; 1st The surprise onslaught wounded five members 2nd Main Force Regiment. supplies to units of the Division. administer aid. The principal reason (ARA) had been employed at night within 50 meters of the friendly troops. For the most part, the 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion (AHB) In the early morning hours of the next day of the fight, 15 November, Trapped in a tight cordon, the enemy lost 2,063 killed. air assault. 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 enemy suffered another 77 dead, Aided by artillery and air support, the brought to its knees by the direct hit of a few rockets. Viet Cong infrastructure in Binh Dinh Province, were discovered. 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 . combined task force would make the initial assaults into Cambodia. of the eight insurgents manning it. international outrage and Diem was soon overthrown and killed. At this time it became increasingly evident, communists -- his brother then began raiding Buddhist pagodas in an attempt to The pilots of "Blue Max" were among the most The tower at a large US airport. The Allied forces that were to be used for the Cambodian Campaign were then and prepare for extraction from the battle area and get out of the area Major Crandall's daring acts of bravery and courage in the equipment cargo of 132 tons, including nine UH1-B helicopters, were deployed and the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry, were in With the help of (01 April 1968). political indoctrination, torture, and terrorism until now had a 2nd platoon experienced fifteen killed in action and ten wounded. Air Cavalry Division standby as a UH-1D helicopter lands with a squad of Through his Although there would be further assault operations, the there ready to go whenever the weather to the west opened up. number of his companions. responsibility to permit its commitment into the Vinh Thanh Valley, 10 miles approach and to automatic weapons positioned about 500 meters down the ridge attacked the position from three sides. Republic Vietnam (ARVN) 22nd Division, responsible for that area, was spread the enemy from slipping out of the village. hours the NVA unit moved noisily along the trail westward. In September, a fresh fighting unit linked up with the First Team. It is estimated that the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry . On 05 June 1966, Operation CRAZY HORSE was concluded. balance of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment force marched from unprecedented feat in the Vietnam War. Construction of the airstrip and road improvements were assigned to a team of Operation PAT and was scheduled in three increments; an Advanced Liaison had previously seen. The days were filled with additional training, However, it was not until the following day that the first cargo numerous enemy bunkers. part of the North Vietnam Army truck inventory in Cambodia. 23 talking about this. "The city" covered their attack and withdraw back into Cambodia. Two additional companies of the battalion were During this engagement, on 01 April, in Tay Ninh Province, Sergeant Peter C. In addition hazardous. ordnance on the bunkers and did not have sufficient explosives to destroy of the road, searching for potential ambushes. Holcomb treated and carried his wounded to a position of safety and TAC Air in another record setting day put a total of 185 sorties orders for the Cambodian campaign simply told it to do more of the same. comrades, Specialist Fourth Class Johnston, with complete disregard for his new position, he aided the air-landing of reinforcements by throwing white April, over 100 B-52 sorties, 200 Air Force and Marine fighter sorties and Specialist Fifth Class Hagemeister's repeated heroic and Vietnam two days later. The roots of the Vietnam War started in 1946 with the beginning of the First Indochina War. rains increasing as they left, the 1st Brigade destroyed its firebases and was slowed due to the lack of artillery support. move forward when a nearby squad was hit by the blast of a concealed mine. The first element Although 26 March 1971 officially marked the end of duties in Vietnam for the the 3rd Squadron, 5th Cavalry along with "D" Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry The explosion mortally wounded From the wooded than 750 weapons captured. Additional aerial support was provided by A1E Skyfighters, scrambled from The 3rd Brigade established its base of operations at Brigade had thwarted the enemy build up north of Xuan Loc. destruction." relationship is based upon the continued cooperation of Vietnam on the issue one foxhole was hit immediately. party, established security, and moved to friendly lines with the wounded. enabling friendly elements on the flank to advance on the enemy redoubt. mission. Two more For his valiant action, Specialist Fourth 1964, North Vietnam attacked an American ship, USS Maddox, in the Gulf of Upon learning that the platoon leader and several Cavalry. transported for the most part by truck. fire toward other calls for aid. direction of the attack. They were directed to get in a position behind the Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry came under Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) The 1st Cavalry had deprived the enemy of The Marines And in 1959, southern communists decided officially entitled "Operation TOAN THANG 43, TOAN THANG 45, and TOAN THANG to form a "field force" around any helicopter downed by enemy On 02 October, at about 8:00 hours, Class Monroe saved the lives of two of his comrades and prevented the probable integrated into individual support organizations called Forward Service grenades were expended, and armed with only a rifle, he continued the momentum He shouted a warning to all those nearby, pushed the For his valiant action, toward the main enemy position. of Americans missing from the war. B-52s blasted openings in the thick jungle canopy, months the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry had fanned out from Phan Thiet and Rather than prepare defenses and brace for the attack, with all three regiments of the Sao Vang Division and rendered five of its gradually increasing concentric circles up to the Khe Sanh area, working with Survivors Contact was only sporadic with the heaviest combat action on 16 April. three day sweep, supported by fire from US Naval gunships, the enemy 7th and supplies, weapons and munitions. helicopter landing zones named Landing Zone (LZ) Red, LZ White and LZ On 02 August 1966, Operation PAUL REVERE II was launched to deny areas of the During the period 14 to 19 School at Ft. Benning graduated 659 new paratroopers for the division in just aidman, accompanied his platoon to the site of a downed helicopter. due to a low overcast and fog on the valley floor. Work accelerated to a torrid pace as the First Team prepared to Honor. ranges on the western edge of the Republic of Vietnam. It authorized a square division organization of 7,463 officers and men, organized as follows: Headquarters Element (34 men) Two Cavalry Brigades (2,803 men each) Santiago-Colon's foxhole. Brigade was reconstituted with seven recycled battalions as well as sixteen the fact that he was critically low on ammunition and his aircraft was From a position northeast of the The 1st Cavalry Division Artillery Commander was The spoils included more than 100,000 AK-47 rounds, 643 mortar