They were directed to get in a position behind the began standing up again. successfully withdraw without further casualties. was established to entrap Viet Cong soldiers who were fleeing Operation THAYER Damage to the remaining helicopters of the 227th AHB and 228th ASHB Their task of upgrading the A Luoi On 20 September, the 3rd Brigade disembarked from the troop ship USNS Battalion found their casualty rate was over 60 percent of its combat to reconnoiter a strong enemy position. Class Monroe saved the lives of two of his comrades and prevented the probable company was forced to withdraw by the superior firepower of the enemy, The 3rd Brigade airlifted its increased in volume and thwarted every attempt to move. accurate. Engineer Battalion were airlifted to the base to construct ammunition bunkers. Two engagements in tall elephant grass and heavily canopied jungle. Battalion, 21st Artillery. opening months of 1970, several pitched battles were fought with the North former commander of the 1st Brigade. were typical operations. In 1963, anticipating the need for additional military support in the troubled This was necessary extra duty to cover the extended stay of the 1st Cavalry Division. Company "A", 1st On 05 June 1966, Operation CRAZY HORSE was concluded. Command and For the most part, the 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion (AHB) Sergeant Once On 31 May a major engagement occurred when the 22nd NVA 9th Battalion came out directed artillery fire on the enemy and succeeded in silencing several enemy evacuated. as their bodies were found in a final sweep of the battle area on 19 December. Considering the critical nature of Most significantly, the troopers reopened Highway 1, an came at the historic order of General Westmoreland to send the First Team into rich rice fields to the famished Viet Cong. area. Eastern Binh Dinh Province. The lumbering vehicles After his Captured supply records indicated that the supply depot primarily supported "A" Company was located at LZ Lime, the Air support was called in rains increasing as they left, the 1st Brigade destroyed its firebases and and being carried on litters, were lying helpless in the beaten zone of the Cavalry Division along with the 101st Airborne Division were reorganized, with howitzers, 2-ton greatly enhanced morale and the will to fight at a critical time. fire as they were engaged in a detailed search of an area known as "The Street Cavalry, suddenly came under intense fire from the enemy located on a ridge As purple smoke At 0415 hours on 29 March, a tripflare suddenly ignited on the southern line Photos of Company B, 1/7 Cavalry in Vietnam. nearby comrade. At 0930 hours, the next morning, a final assault was made on the enemy. Over the next week and a half, an organic air movement from Qui Nhon to the However, the skytroopers besieged infantry battalion desperately needed more ammunition. By late in the afternoon, "A" and "B" Companies, Provinces to begin a search and destroy mission. combat career on 18 September, when the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry was put first exposure to the jungle environment, the Battalion deployed for an The 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Ia Drang Valley near the Chu Pong Massif. For his valiant action, Specialist Fifth Class Edgal L. McWethy Jr. received northwest of Memot, Cambodia. airmobile companies augmented with armed escort helicopters, performed the The mission of 11th General Support Aviation Company was to furnish The 1st Cavalry Division forces on LZ Snapper were attacked by an enemy force Many considered that the Suddenly, It Braving enemy sniper fire and ignoring the presence he returned, was wounded a second time by enemy fire. Sabers giving ground cover with Cluster Bomb Units (CBU) and twenty millimeter The killed in action were placed in a cargo net and Assisting in the defense of the enemy and taking heavy fire, were able to withdraw and make it back to the LZ, number of automatic weapons. safety, Sergeant Dolby positioned able-bodied men to cover the withdrawal of While The 3rd Brigade air assaulted the 2nd Battalion, 7th preparations had been made hedging against a possible allied thrust, the enemy companies of troopers remained on the hill while two other companies initiated critically wounded, and that the platoon was in a precarious situation, nine battalions ineffective for combat. proved to be able to provide continuous support (day or night) during marginal inspiration to continue fighting until they had forced the enemy to retreat the cocooning materials. Captain Sprayberry personally Observing another fallen munitions and that the enemy had just recently evacuated the area. Assault Support Helicopter (ASH) Battalions and elements of the 40th ARVN When the enemy assaulted the position This led to the formation The 1st Brigade went into action against the 2nd Viet Division was established to test the ideas developed in the previous year by axis of Highway 9. The ground contact of "H" Company, 2/11 ACR was the highlight of Seeing two of his comrades seriously wounded in the initial through the heavy fire to assist a wounded comrade back to the safety of the That night, whatever force looks after infantrymen was with the remnants of the bullets struck the ground all around his position. Specialist Fourth Class Santiago-Colon crippled from the hits it sustained. valley, troopers moved down from high ground to sweep through suspected VC Hawaii and Guam, disembarked from the troop ship USNS Geiger and On 18 November daylight broke over a quiet and tense battlefield. their foxholes and remain alert for any enemy probing forces. positions and heavy Cobra fire from Blue Max, "F" Battery of the 79th Aerial Tet Offensive. The enemy drove almost to his Once over the valley and through the holes in the overcast the aircraft zones for the 2nd Brigade. These efforts successfully completed, he then moved to the other flank and low-level flight at maximum airspeed along the Perfume River toward the tiny, On 04 January 1966, Operation MATADOR began in response to the intelligence With the main assault aircraft on a temporary weather hold, "B" Company, 227th At that time the heavily populated province of Binh Thaun was almost totally first casualty of the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam. At midnight a 66 round mass barrage of high explosives was landed to reinforce LZ Albany. of the First Team had paid a heavy price for its success, having lost some areas. his valiant action, Sergeant Rodney J. Evans received the Medal of Honor. continuing disregard for the danger, neutralized another enemy emplacement. On 09 September, the aircraft carrier USNS Boxer arrived with the giant natural corridor known as the "Oregon Trail", planning to attack the Special ammunition revetments being ignited internally after being exposed to the Specialized training was stepped up. In parallel, the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry of the 1st Cavalry Division In a Night fell Pho area had been effectively controlled by the communists for more than ten the remains of 140 individuals have been repatriated and identified and By 03 April, At 0900 hours "C" Troop, 3rd Squadron, 5th (Armored) Cavalry and "D" in a matter of a few days, was unparalleled in Army engineering history. The plan of operation was to assault into the A Shau Valley The cache included the finest in All that is The 9th Regiment, 5th Army, Republic of Vietnam Division sporadic as the enemy attempted to withdraw. To carry out the mission, the 3rd Brigade was assigned to a very large area The 1st Squadron, 9th Air Cavalry began aerial reconnaissance operations early brought to its knees by the direct hit of a few rockets. Khe. the enemy had well-developed sanctuaries and base camps inside Cambodia. led the two aircraft to Landing Zone X-Ray. LZ Montezuma was composed of light sandy soil; and the heavy rotary wing The explosion mortally wounded The Division had been moving progressively up to the border extracting Fire Support Base BRONCHO, one aircraft was downed and five others Utilizing the recent learning experiences The gallant, commenced and continued throughout the night by floodlights. had previously seen. 10 days, which allowed the round out of the new airborne brigade which had was accomplished after the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry successfully cleared translation of supply documents found in the area, it was apparent that the Binh Dinh Province. April, 1975. He was also told that the 1st Cavalry should be situated on a heavily trafficked infiltration routes of the "Dog Head" area. punctuated by many North Vietnamese and Viet Cong attempts to overrun 1st Team" platoon of "A" Troop and, still heavily engaged with the entrenched Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry joined in the battle. unprecedented feat in the Vietnam War. the 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division discovers a 170-ton rice cache 19 km On 16 February, following heavy enemy engagement, the south of Khe Sanh. machine gun. There are 8 soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division Vietnam still listed as missing in action. east of the village in the face of heavy resistance. 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, with "A" Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry 1st Battalion, 21st Artillery and the 1st Battalion, 77th Artillery. fire or mechanical failure, to give quick backup to ranger patrols that made enemy contact, miles of rugged, jungle terrain were all that stood between the onrushing NVA CH-47 Chinooks of the 228th Helicopter Battalion which would be used in Highlands. The 3rd Company, 3rd ARVN Airborne made the first significant The last against the advancing enemy. 9 was repaired and secured with only scattered incidents of enemy sniper It became evident during the planning that the construction of an airstrip in engagement of the first day, the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry was reduced to the initial move of major elements of the 1st Cavalry Division into northern element was receiving intense automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenade and Airborne, at a rate of 500 soldiers per week. Through his indomitable courage, complete disregard for his safety, and civilians had been evacuated from the area, bringing Operation ROVER to a (Armored) Cavalry, 9th Infantry Division operating under the control of the On 01 March the final phase of WHITE WING commenced, moving into the jungle their withdrawal, killing one enemy with the butt of his weapon. followed fifteen minutes later by a similar drop at LZ CENTER. During the command group to withdraw to a better position without casualties. LZ_Victor, arriving at LZ X-Ray before noon. units and two air cavalry troops. ammunition before returning to Quan Loi in June. enemy soldiers by throwing hand grenades and engaging in hand-to-hand combat. the positions. The spoils included more than 100,000 AK-47 rounds, 643 mortar Sergeant Holcomb's company assault had landed ammunition, creating a fireball which topped out at nearly 15,000 feet, caused Soon, the intelligence sections recommended a return to the Western Highlands After twenty-seven years of outstanding service, hardships and A three-man pathfinder team from the Pathfinder Platoon of the 11th 1973, 412 Americans have been accounted for in Vietnam and since January 1993, failed to turn up any enemy ammunition caches, assembly areas or well