43 years ago today, about this time of day, in the former Republic of Viet Nam, at the base of the Chu Pong Massif in the Ia Drang Valley, a few kilometers southwest of LZ X-Ray, a location made famous by Mel Gibson in his movie “We Were Soldiers,” less then 30 Troopers of A Troop, 1st. Squadron 9th Cavalry Regiment engaged the thousand man 33rd PAVN (People’s Army of [North] Viet Nam) Regiment. This was the mission of the 1/9th, the “eyes and ears” of the First Cavalry Division; locate, engage and destroy the enemy, or maintain contact until relieved.
However, this area of engagement was out of range of supporting artillery, and the First Brigade of the First Cavalry Division, who exercised “operational control” of A Troop, had no reserve forces ready to commit to the 1/9th’s support. It was therefore decided that A Troop would break contact with the enemy and the Troopers fought their way back to the LZ (landing zone) for extraction. A Troop’s lift ships (UH-1D - Huey’s) went in and got some of the Troopers out, at the cost of one pilot killed and all others wounded. As a result, all of A Troop’s lift aircraft were too damaged by ground fire to continue flying and B Troop’s lift section was ordered into the air to complete the extraction of what Troopers remained alive in the LZ.
At that time I was a young Cavalry Officer with just a few weeks “in country,” and was assigned as a pilot in B Troop’s lift section. I flew the third aircraft of the three ship formation that went into that LZ. The first ship was shot down trying to take off from the LZ; the pilots, a crewmember and the Troopers that managed to get on board all died from enemy fire. All of the surviving Troopers in the LZ had gotten into the second aircraft which managed to fly out despite heavy damage from ground fire. That crew was unhurt although one of the pilots was KIA 2 months later. My crew and I went into the LZ twice. The second time, before I could touch down, my aircraft started burning from the weapons fire it was taking and we crashed about a hundred meters west of the LZ.
Some time later, A Company of the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry was landed in another LZ and swept toward the original LZ picking my crew and me up along the way. By this time North Vietnamese soldiers had almost reached our position and a battle that lasted until the next morning ensued. Had it not been for the sacrifice of all those fine young men I am sure I would not be here to write this.
That wasn’t my only battle, but it was my first. There were many more that year, and more still the second year I spent in that country. During that second tour I commanded my own Air Cavalry Troop and was the “old man” at age 25. Throughout that time, when one of my Troopers died, a piece of me died also.
I have come to grips with my survivor’s guilt over the last 4 decades, and part of that has been the evolution of this day into a symbol to me, a day of mourning and remembrance. I will never forget the fine young men I served with. Long ago they answered their country’s call, did their duty, and far too many made the ultimate sacrifice. But now we have more of the very best of our young men and women fighting on foreign soil. I see their young, eager faces every day and they are melding into the faces I knew so long ago. And I know that soon many of these bright countenances will take on the look of innocence lost, or the light in those eyes will go out forever.
So please, join me today in just a moment of prayer. Not for those who have gone before, those brave souls await me in Fiddler’s Green, but for the men and women now in our Country’s service. May God keep them safe and whole and return them to us.
