Fort Benning commemorates Battle of Ia Drang

By Anna PedronDecember 2, 2015

Fort Benning commemorates Battle of Ia Drang
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT BENNING, Ga., (Dec. 2, 2015) -- The Maneuver Center of Excellence, or MCoE hosted nine Vietnam veterans recalling their parts in the Battle of Ia Drang, which marks its 50th anniversary this year, Nov. 24.

The veterans were retired Col. Ramon "Tony" Nadal; retired Command. Sgt. Maj. Southern "Buddy" Hewitt; retired Sgt. 1st Class Clyde "Ernie" Savage; retired Col. Joe Marm; retired Lt. Col. Bill Franklin; retired Maj. Joel Sugdinis; Bud Alley Jr.; Jim Lawrence and Larry Gwin.

The Battle of Ia Drang was the first major battle between the U.S. Army and the People's Army of (North) Vietnam during the Vietnam War, and derives its name from the Drang River, which runs through the valley west of Plei Me, where the engagement took place.

The two-part battle happened between Nov. 14-18, 1965, at two landing zones west of Plei Me in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam as part of the U.S. air-mobile offensive code-named Operation Silver Bayonet I.

In its operational context, the Battle of Ia Drang occurred during the second phase of the three-phase Pleime campaign, and was carried out by the U.S. 1st Air Cavalry Division, with elements of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division: the 1/7 AC Battalion, 2/7 AC Battalion and the 2/5 AC Battalion of the 2nd Air Cavalry Brigade. The battle involved close air support by U.S. Army helicopter gunships and U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy tactical jet aircraft, and a bombing attack by U.S. Air Force B-52s.

The presentation, which was part of the ongoing MCoE Leader Development Program, was broken into two parts, with the morning session focused on Landing Zone X-Ray and the afternoon session focused on Landing Zone Albany. Each Ia Drang veteran was asked to share their part in the battle, and use their experience to teach Soldiers about being prepared for the unexpected.

Nadal, the only commander with previous experience in Vietnam to be a part of the heavy infantry combat in the Ia Drang Valley, began the discussion by giving an overview of the battle. He served as commanding officer of A Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, and the S-3 of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment during the battle at Landing Zone X-Ray.

On the morning of Nov. 14, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, conducted a heliborne assault into LZ X-Ray near the Chu Pong hills. Around noon, the North Vietnamese 33rd Regiment attacked the U.S. troopers. The fight continued all day and into the night, and Soldiers received support from nearby artillery units and tactical air strikes. The next morning, the North Vietnamese 66th Regiment joined the attack against the U.S. unit. The fighting was harsh, but the tactical air strikes and artillery support took their toll on the enemy and enabled the 1st Cavalry troopers to hold on against repeated assaults, he said.

At around noon, two reinforcing companies arrived and began assisting the Soldiers. By the third day of the battle, the United States had gained the upper hand.

In a related action during the same battle, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, was ambushed by North Vietnamese forces as it moved overland to LZ Albany. Of the 500 men in the original column, 150 were killed and only 84 were able to return to immediate duty; Company C suffered 93 percent casualties, half of them deaths.

"The role of a leader in the battle of this intensity is essential [because] a battle is not lost until a leader thinks it's lost," Nadal said. "And there was no way in hell that we would have lost because there was no way in hell Hal Moore would have ever thought that we were going to lose."

Hewitt, who was a staff sergeant and squad leader of 1st Platoon, A Co., 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, came under heavy fire at LZ X-Ray just as he and his men departed their transport helicopters. He told the audience how his platoon moved quickly to a nearby riverbed and continued to fight for days after.

"So many of the boys who came to Vietnam with us were supposed to be home for Thanksgiving," Hewitt said. "And they didn't make it. So every day you have life, fight for it. Because you never know how long you'll have."

Marm, who was serving as a second lieutenant in A Co, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) during the battle, briefly told the students about his single-handed attack on an enemy position. Though he was wounded severely, he survived and was promoted to first lieutenant after the battle.

"My Ranger training was my best preparation for Vietnam," Marm said. "We took the long hours and hard terrain more seriously when we found out where we would be going, and that prepared me in ways I might not have been ready for otherwise."

Marm was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions, Dec. 19, 1966.

Savage, who was a squad leader with 2nd Platoon, B Co., 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, told the students how he had gone from a squad leader to leading the platoon during the battle.

The 2nd platoon's leader, along with most of the platoon, were killed early on in the battle. Savage and the rest of his men were surrounded by the enemy and cut off from the rest of the battalion. Though they were heavily outnumbered, Savage successfully led what would later be known as the "Lost Platoon" through the battle location.

Franklin, the platoon leader of the 3rd Platoon, C Co, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, was attacked and wounded while leading a reconnaissance party forward. He was injured and deemed unlikely to live, but through the effort of a fellow Soldier, he was evacuated with his company commander and survived.

"I hope we learn from our mistakes as well as the things we do well," he said. "And that's part of the reason you are here - training and learning from our mistakes so you don't make the same ones."

Sugdinis, a captain with A Co., 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, echoed Franklin in saying that, "We must include what went wrong, as well as what went right, if we are to become better leaders."

"Whether as an officer or NCO [noncommissioned officer], always seek out all the information about the mission, what is expected, before you give an order," he said.

Sugdinis led 2nd Battalion from LZ X-Ray to LZ Albany. They provided security for battalion command when the rest of the unit was cut off by North Vietnamese troops.

Alley, the platoon leader for the communications platoon, told the story of leading his men under fire from North Vietnamese troops at LZ Albany.

"I always start to shake when I talk about this, and sometimes I get choked up," Alley told the students. "It is hard for me. But it's important that you hear this, because you need to learn - you need to be ready for what is coming."

After being separated from friendly forces during the battle at LZ Albany, Alley found other separated Soldiers - who were all wounded - and led them safely through enemy fire to the artillery position at LZ Columbus. They had to spend the night in the open, and Alley said it was the longest hours of his life.

"When you are a leader, the best thing you can focus on is training. Repetitious training, so movements are automatic in your head and you react quickly," Lawrence told the Soldiers. "You might not always know why you're doing it, but the repetition of the training kicks in and you go through the steps of the process and it can make a difference between life and death."

Lawrence, who served as the executive officer for D Co, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, was wounded during intense fighting at LZ Albany.

"I was afraid that day in battle," he said. "And yes I was injured, but the first time a gun was pointed at me, the training kicked in and saved my life. So train. Train as much and as often as you can."

Gwin, who served as the executive officer of A Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, told the students about arriving at LZ Albany, where he personally repelled a number of attacks to the A Company command group. He was awarded the Silver Star for his valor during the battle. He chronicled his experiences in "Baptism: A Vietnam Memoir."

Other events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Ia Drang included a wreath-laying ceremony at the National Infantry Museum, or NIM, Vietnam memorial, a UH-1 Huey flyover and a dinner at the NIM featuring Joe Galloway, author of "We Were Soldiers Once... and Young."

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