Posted on 02/09/2007 2:26:06 PM PST by art_rocks
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Feb. 9, 2007) - The White House announced today that President Bush will present the Medal of Honor to Bruce P. Crandall in recognition of his actions at Landing Zone X-Ray during the Battle of Ia Drang, Vietnam, in November 1965.
Whoa!
I was going to ping you, but no need.
Ping
...how could this possibly have taken so long?
Yep.
Thanks, I was just looking up his address. Could be outdated. I was just starting Pre-Flight at Ft. Wolters when this battle took place. Fifteen months later I was with the 4th ID flying in and out of the same LZ's. It was still Indian country but there was no institutional memory of what had happened there.
It's about time! Well deserved!
Thank you for your service!
Reading the article, it was apparently McCain that finally got him the medal.
He also pinged Ronnie, which I was about to do ...
On 14 November 1965, he commanded the helicopters involved in supporting the 1/7th Cavalry's assault into LZ X-Ray in the IaDrang Valley campaign. This battle was the first meeting of an American battalion-sized unit against a far larger force of Vietnamese Regular Army troops. It was arguably the fiercest battle of the whole war and resulted in the most casualties suffered by units on both sides. Crandall's contributions can best be described by Lt General Harold G. Moore (the LTC and Battlefield Commander of the Infantry units in X-Ray) when he wrote in his book "We Were Soldiers Once and Young".
Then Major, Crandall and his wingman, then Captain, Ed W. Freeman (who later received the Medal of Honor for his actions) flew a total of 22 missions into X-Ray, 14 of which were voluntary ammunition, medical resupply and medical evacuation flights. Twelve of these fourteen were made after the Med Evac unit responsible for evacuating casualties refused to enter the intensely hot landing zone. Crandall's helicopters evacuated more than 75 casualties during a flight day that started at 0600 hours and ended at 2230 hours, more than 16 hours later.
On 31 January 1966, Crandall had just finished a flight day supporting the 1/1 2th Infantry Battalion who was heavily engaged on the Bong Son Plain along the central coast of Vietnam At dusk, en route to refuel and to shut down for the night, he was informed that "X' Company of the 1/7th, a unit he frequently supported, was in heavy contact and had a number of wounded that prevented them from breaking contact and maneuvering to a more secure area. Crandall refueled and decided to fly to the area and see if he could help By now it was pitch dark with an overcast sky which made flight difficult. He found the area because of the heavy explosions and tracer fire. He contacted the Infantry Commander Captain Tony Nadal, his friend and a fellow veteran of X-Ray and learned he had 12 seriously wounded that needed evacuation and that he had a very limited pick-up zone surrounded by trees on three sides. He also learned that Mod Evac had refused the flight during daylight hours and that the Infantry now held only a very small perimeter. The wounded were located in the center of the area where the helicopter would have to WW. Crandall's Battalion Commander, LTC Robert Kellar, was overhead in his Command Helicopter with the Infantry Brigade Commander, Colonel Harold G. Moore. They broke in on the radio to warn Crandall not to attempt the rescue if he wasn't real confident he could do so safely. They warned they did not want a helicopter downed to add to their problems that night. Crandall decided to attempt the rescue himself; in two flights, evacuating six each time. He also decided to do so without the use of search or landing lights in order to give the enemy less of a target for his aircraft but more importantly, so as not to backlight the troopers defending the perimeter and spot fighting the wounded where he was landing. He decided to land to a flashlight that he asked the Infantry Commander to put in the center of the touchdown area. He intended to approach straight down on to the flashlight in order to minimize his chances of striking the unseen trees. He had to abort his first approach when the light was turned off due to enemy fire. Captain Nadal took control of the flashlight and the next landing under intense enemy fire was successful. Crandall made a second lift under the same conditions as the first and successfully rescued 12 wounded.
Semper Fi,
TS
Way too late........and WAAAAAAAAY deserved.
Now Kerry will want one!! Bet his paperwork of the Congressional Medal of Honor just got lost.
Fyi..
Aloha Ron?
Is that how you spell his screenname?
"Having only been awarded a Good Conduct Medal . . ."
Not "only." You did your job and ya did good.
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