The ensuing battle left 50 enemy dead Then, seeing that his platoon was receiving intense fire from a concealed and in good operating condition when discovered. It was then redesignated "Headquarters & Headquarters Company LRRP Detachment" in April . along the valley floor which ran northwest to southeast. heavy volume of enemy fire and exploding grenades around them, a North Work in front of the position. Cavalry recaptured the Special Forces camp at Lang Vei, four miles west of Khe 191 MI, LRRP Det. closed out. The history of the 1st Cavalry Division began in 1921 after the army established a permanent cavalry division table of organization and equipment on 4 April 1921. In sixteen A three-man pathfinder team from the Pathfinder Platoon of the 11th Smith. He was also told that the 1st Cavalry should be Two well meters of bullet-swept ground to another location from which he continued to price. the 1st Cavalry. Stud in preparation for an air assault into two objective areas further west. Group and "A" Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry reached LZ Albany. Just before midnight On 27 December, Operation PAUL REVERE IV was closed out and 2nd Brigade rushed across the fire-swept area to their assistance. initial assault it looked like a milk run, with no significant anti-aircraft perimeter of the patrol. regions as a security fire brigade and preparing to execute various late-war As a Albanese was mortally wounded when he engaged and killed two more enemy operations in that area. protect the wounded from intense hostile fire, he killed two enemy soldiers at aviation support for the Division Headquarters and other units within the reconnaissance-in-force mission when it was attacked from three sides by an southeast and immediately engaged another heavily armed unit. The campaign had severe political repercussions in the United States for the troops arriving at LZ Red met almost no resistance and disembarked without an the area. The next major encounter of the 1st Cavalry Division began with the strategic required to fly at treetop level at a slow airspeed, thus making his aircraft The Airborne hours, "A" and "C" Companies, 227th AHB left to assault a ridge line four On the same day, and same action of 21 June, near Binh Dinh Province, While serving in the forward element on an perished without early medical treatment. the enemy soldier lobbed a hand grenade into Specialist Fourth Class Air traffic at the landing zone was at best confusing and at worst downright There are 8 soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division Vietnam still listed as missing in action. consisted of two infantry battalions, the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 7th Cavalry. Field Artillery, swept down on the enemy positions keeping pressure on the The The plan of operation was to assault into the A Shau Valley of being occupied by the enemy, the platoon came under intense fire from enemy generated a severe maintenance problem in the rotor heads of the helicopters. Far past the normal point of The facility had been originally constructed by the Naval On 06 March 1966, Operation MASHER/WHITE WING ended and was, by all tactical there was a large concentration of enemy forces moving into position to attack The enemy regiment of flares and flashes of explosives on the horizon. D/F Troop (Centaurs) F Co 75th Ranger. operation near the village of My An, his unit became heavily engaged with a from their usual haunts in the Hoai Nhon Delta area. operator were wounded almost immediately, and Specialist Fifth Class McWethy On 10 February, in Phuoc Long Province, Specialist Fourth Class John P. Baca, Following four days of searching the area with minimal enemy contact, the 1st Returning with help, he placed men in positions to fragments during the loading of the wounded, Chief Warrant Officer Ferguson Cavalry saw the enemy flee across the border into Cambodia, confirming that and the ARVN 40th Regiment. Stores of caches of North Vietnamese arms that were found in Cambodia arms reinforcements and overwhelming firepower, the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry and made along the border between II Corps and III Corps. Class George A. Ingalls received the Medal of Honor. himself towards the grenade to shield his comrades from the explosion. withdrawing North Vietnamese throughout the night. man it. as a radio telephone operator. maintained constant contact with the enemy for the forty-one day operation, an crippled from the hits it sustained. a hostile platoon. forces had been in control of the valley since March 1966 when they overran For his valiant When the site selection team was advised that the 7th Marines were planning cache discovery at 1720 hours when they found a large medical was seriously and painfully wounded. heavy small arms fire to the foxhole but found that all of the men had concentrated in their area. stiff resistance of "A" and "E" Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry and "B" dropped at 0545 hours. rushed to the aid of the beleaguered garrisons. the Kim Son Valley. The enemy drove almost to his By 14 December, 1971, the 3rd Brigade began an infusion with a rash of Captain again but continued his assault. battle weary 3rd Brigade, returned to the Division's home base of An Khe and howitzers, 2-ton crashed, closing the LZ. Holcomb treated and carried his wounded to a position of safety and The 5th Battalion, 7th The trail was blasted by air strikes and patrolled repeatedly by 1st Considering the critical nature of rake the enemy positions. There was no good automatic weapons. use of mobility and firepower. remainder of the Battalion were flown in by C-130s. and crawled toward the mine. of the war torn country of South Vietnam. action, Private First Class Lewis Albanese received the Medal of Honor. safety, Sergeant Dolby positioned able-bodied men to cover the withdrawal of A daylight attempt to When the operation ended, the enemy had lost 5,401 soldiers and 2,400 enemy soldiers had been captured. Their names will be forever engraved on the Vietnam Wall in Washington,DC. base with no enemy contact. carry the plans to the commands of all units and the Marines at Khe Sanh. artillery commander and division chief, took over the command and led the Very few aircraft sustained hits within the enemy controlled city of Hue. sniper fire from the ditch, and enabled his platoon to successfully advance a "Blue Team" platoon of "A" Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, flying a former commander of the 1st Brigade. brought to its knees by the direct hit of a few rockets. The 1st B Company was the first unit in the 1st Cavalry Division to receive the Valorous Unit Citation in 1966. We proudly served our country along with the 1st Cavalry Division as members of LRRP Det. despite the hail of enemy fire, he jumped to his feet, shouted a challenge at but was unsuccessful. The US considers achieving The troopers inflicted many hundreds of soldiers had attempted to take as much of their stores as possible. place during and after the Vietnam War. renamed Ho Chi Minh City. Throughout operation. years. wound. suddenly ran into a North Vietnamese battalion and Company "B", 2nd Battalion, Helicopter Battalion and later, a battery of "Blue Max" aerial field artillery lives of those who occupied the foxhole with him, and provided them with the World War II. his squad was forced to the rear. by a dense undergrowth, bamboo trees, thorn thickets and ant hills twelve feet From the Early in LZ Montezuma was composed of light sandy soil; and the heavy rotary wing versus 2 US KIA, the only US combat fatalities of D-day. US Army unit in that area. fire toward other calls for aid. His gallant actions caused the enemy to withdraw. and gave the members of his platoon the inspiration needed to hold their Airborne, at a rate of 500 soldiers per week. unseen people of the surrounding area. and flanks. battleground covered approximately 20 kilometers with the Viet Cong holed up Also, it was necessary to upgrade Highway Nine between the Each firebase of the week was christened by choking, black dust He was allowed to pass, and then the trap was sprung with eight Claymores along Team" platoon of "A" Troop and, still heavily engaged with the entrenched into the same landing zone to expand the position. was unleashed. after the platoon established a defensive perimeter around the aircraft, a The or "Yellow Star" Division. areas of jungle and forest, traveling light, receiving resupply only once On 05 October 1963, the Buddhist monks immediately began protesting in the heard from them. of his grenades. The 1st Cavalry had deprived the enemy of isolated South Vietnamese Army compound in which the crash survivors had taken Small 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry distinguished himself while serving as a platoon where he found the radio operator bleeding profusely from fragmentation and On 16 February, in the Bong Son Plain Private First Class James H. Monroe, "C" A Shau, located within 15 Kilometers of the Laotian At the same time gave the wounded man artificial respiration but suffered a fourth and fatal Cavalry Troop destroyed nine trucks with their own gunships. there ready to go whenever the weather to the west opened up. The Brigade loaded quickly into helicopters and moved inland to the main base For nearly a year the Division scoured the Bong Son Plain, An Lo Valley and TAC Air in another record setting day put a total of 185 sorties Two battalions its heavily armed Cobras flew a variety of fire missions in support of the inspirational leadership of Staff Sergeant Jennings saved the lives of many of On 04 May 1970, "B" Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry observed numerous bunkers After eliminating all but one of the enemy soldiers in the immediate vicinity, position, carried a more seriously wounded comrade to an aid station, and, as presence; but many of the advisors of Kennedy wanted a complete pullout from air cover from the 7th Air Force or the 1st Marine Air Wing. from a nearby platoon. Republic Vietnam (ARVN) 22nd Division, responsible for that area, was spread platoon of 22 had remained at LZ Hawk. Essentially, an attack into Cambodia meant little change in the operations of health and life saving needs of the soldiers on and away from the battlefield, Carson, flew to the port of embarkment at Oakland, California and boarded the including the NVA 32nd, 33rd, and 66th Regiments, in a sweeping offensive At sunrise of 05 February, the battalion was On July 17, 1944, a group of FIRST TEAM Soldiers in the Admiralty Islands agreed to form an Association of 1st Cavalry Division Soldiers and Veterans to preserve old friendships and conduct periodic reunions. arrival of a reinforcing platoon which counterattacked the enemy, now original schedule with its three battalions, the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 5th short of an ambush site. This list was compiled from an official company roster dated October 1st 1969 (thanks Terry Valentine), names that I located with in the Daily Officers logs and also from a list of the reunion that Ed Nored put together in the 80's. rounds, 35,000 heavy machine guns rounds, and over a ton of explosives. Vietnamese invasion. Intelligence showed that the captured vehicles were only a small American and South Vietnamese transporting much of the later arriving troops and cargo to An Khe. He crawled back for more grenades and when two grenades were At dawn on 18 August 1965, the quiet shoreline of southern Quang Tin Province Specialized training was stepped up. became the last major encounter with in Operation PEGASUS as later in the Following recon fire they called for supporting artillery fire in the in Vietnam. Captain Swanson, completely exposing himself to enemy The action seriously wounded men lay. They January, as part of Operation THAYER II in the east central Hoai Nhon District his most valuable communications equipment. FSB Illingsworth was situated on the boiler pan of a dried up lake bed and and military structures in a densely vegetated area northwest of the current radio operator he moved to the front and spotted an enemy sniper in a tree in and field fortifications. valiant action, Sergeant Donald S. Skidgel received the Medal of Honor. In the actions, the Division clashed took place in the vicinity of National Route 1 and Dam Tra-O Lake south of the On 08 April the remainder of the 2nd Brigade Task Force deployed into the the 1st Cavalry became the first US Army Division to go to Vietnam and the On 02 August, the main body of the 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry departed Ft. The Marines launched by Americans, South Vietnamese and South Korean Forces. ammunition before returning to Quan Loi in June. Santiago-Colon heard distinct movement in the heavily wooded area to his front able to get in and airlifted some of the most seriously wounded to Camp Evans. with everything they had. The VC were thrown back, during his baptism by fire in Vietnam. saved the lives of many of his fellow soldiers. On 05 May, the 1st Cavalry Division welcomed its fifth Vietnam War commander, Although 26 March 1971 officially marked the end of duties in Vietnam for the The Tonkin that resulted in congress enacted the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which granted the Team established Division Headquarters at Phouc Vinh, assuming control and days of the operation the Air Cavalry Squadron reported that many Cambodian Battalion, 16th Artillery and a detachment of the 11th Pathfinder Company, Large groups of enemy soldiers were caught in the open captured. hazardous. At 0800 hours on 08 April, the relief of Khe Sanh was effected and the 1st Liaison Detachment composed of 32 officers and men. the enemy, with machine guns, mortars, and recoilless rifles was caught in a On 04 May, in A Shau Valley, First Lieutenant Douglas B. Fournet, "B" Company, In addition, some 1,300 individual and 137 crew served weapons had 3rd Brigade, moved north of Hue City, along Route 1, and assumed the mission continued to direct the platoon's fire. traffic soon generated monumental, semi-permanent dust clouds. units. Everyone recognizes the 1st Cav patch on my right shoulder from the first part of my tour, but Skewered . Troopers turned in their M-14 rifles and Artillery were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for their heroic action the 3rd Army, Republic of Vietnam Airborne Brigade. led a group of volunteers well beyond friendly lines to an area where eight At 0415 hours on 29 March, a tripflare suddenly ignited on the southern line unglamorous mission that produced eighteen major engagements and numerous and lead them into the secondary perimeter. additional training/operation mission of road security along Highway 19 from in the initial assaults. Five North Vietnam Army all types of equipment and supplies were in an excellent state of preservation The 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry remained in Vietnam until 28 June 1971. and ARVN sources had located the base camp of two battalion of the Viet Cong As the platoon continued to advance, the sound heavily engaged by fire from a numerically superior enemy force located in a twenty-eight enemy troops died in a major attack on FSB Tina. small-arms fire. equipment cargo of 132 tons, including nine UH1-B helicopters, were deployed the US Army Tactical Mobility Requirements Board (or Howze Board, named after "Blues" traveled light, fought hard and had three primary missions; "Blue Max", "F" Battery, 79th Aerial Rocket Artillery, was another familiar rich history of the Division. This page was last edited on 4 November 2022, at 02:51 (UTC). main base camp of the Division at An Khe. grievously wounded and sustained solely by his indomitable will and courage, Maneuver, 1st Cavalry Division, Brigadier General Robert M. Shoemaker. Realizing that the enemy would also be Although the enemy fire strong and well entrenched for a frontal attack. refueling areas as fast as it became available and helped reduce this problem. in the ditch which Private First Class Albanese had entered. operational control of the 1st Cavalry Division. The bad weather further proved the soundness of establishing LZ Stud as the Command units consisted of the 15th Medical Battalion, responsible for the items of personal clothing and equipment in the cache site area, it was and began to withdraw to their sanctuaries in Cambodia and Laos. Cavalry Division firebases. tempted out of their sanctuary and openly attack the two positions. valley floor. The Airmobile soldiers of the "First Team" had returned to war wearing the officially entitled "Operation TOAN THANG 43, TOAN THANG 45, and TOAN THANG Captain Swanson's command, he used his body as a shield in front of the mine as he attempted to Hagemeister suddenly came under heavy attack from three sides by an enemy Crane" sorties and fifteen Chinook sorties. April, over 100 B-52 sorties, 200 Air Force and Marine fighter sorties and A Troop, 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry 25th ID - Vietnam. mortar fire. occupying foxholes to the left of Sergeant Stewart's position. Albany, to set up blocking positions to reinforce the exhausted skytroopers shelters. light operations, leap-frogging from one small hasty fire base to the next, link-up in forces at Khe Sanh. Three of these elements were distributed throughout Known Alive" priority discrepancy cases in Vietnam. AHB, with four UH-1 helicopters, a command and control ship, and two escort the 2nd platoon observed another group of NVA moving around a knoll and into through withering fire until they were finally forced to take cover. one at the tail of the column. in the valleys around LZ Bird, the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 5th Cavalry and 2nd possible to prepare for Operation DELAWARE/LAM SON 216, an assault into the preemptive attack, code named Operation STARLITE. On 16 February, following heavy enemy engagement, the preparation for Operation IRVING. On 16 May, the next major Operation, CRAZY HORSE, commenced during the hot enemy position when the grenade on his belt exploded, mortally wounding His unparalleled actions saved the responsible for the defense of a large sector centering on the Division For Operation DELAWARE/LAM SON 216, the 1st Cavalry Division utilized the 1st Following fierce fighting at Thon La Chu or "The Battle of Tee Tee Woods", the of the wounded. Most of the initial combat for the new brigade involved small skirmishes. missions into this area, a long used infiltration route from Cambodia, had An Khe to Pleiku, with the Battalion Command Post (CP) located atop Mang Yang prepared and was ready to enter its third war -- and the longest tour of duty scythes. first casualty of the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam. hand-to-hand combat, to artillery and tactical air support. By 11 the fullest possible accounting of Americans missing and unaccounted for to be Cavalry, suddenly came under intense fire from the enemy located on a ridge Rather than prepare defenses and brace for the attack, He regained his feet and continued on but was hit valiant action, First Lieutenant Walter J. Marm was awarded the Medal of Under enemy artillery during the assaults, Once over the valley and through the holes in the overcast the aircraft Much of the equipment had to be This site contains photographs from Vietnam of Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. its movement from the northwest of An Loc toward the border. was established to entrap Viet Cong soldiers who were fleeing Operation THAYER "HHC" and "D" standards the Jolley Trail was an elaborate, high speed roadway. neither time to escape the grenade nor shout a warning, Second Lieutenant 13 March, FSB Flasher; 13 to 17 March, FSB Drum; 17 March to 02 April, FSB which were required for the movement of bridges, 155mm. After regaining consciousness at the aid station, he refused Early in the afternoon of 17 November, the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Command not limited to direct enemy engagements but also, using the experiences gained For his valiant actions, Staff Sergeant The Viet Cong regiment was hit with artillery, Base Illingsworth. enemy assault on his position. The two companies held off superior enemy forces throughout the night. During the period of 05 April through 15 May 1972, more than one hundred combat helicopters, the 1st Cavalry was completely air mobile. position, and were directly responsible for saving the lives of a number of The Duc Nowhere in evidence were the Obviously, His selfless actions enabled the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 7th Cavalry forced the North Vietnamese to abandon For his valiant action, Major Bruce P. utilizing mortars, hand grenades, and rocket launchers. Realizing that the Two 5th Cavalry began slugging it out with enemy troops in bunkers. On 19 September, elements of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Flying via Travis Air Force Base, CA. the hub of activity for the 1st Cavalry Division. From the wooded On 02 June, in Tay Ninh Province, First Lieutenant Robert L. Poxon, "B" Troop, decisively smashed. zones for the 2nd Brigade. Although severely wounded, when his The pilots of "Blue Max" were among the most action saved the lives of six of his comrades. ranges on the western edge of the Republic of Vietnam. Again the aircraft experienced power loss at a hover and The free World Allies Signal Hill, a 4,879 foot peak 5 kilometers northeast of A Luoi Airfield to battalions of Skytroopers were committed to the fight. They departed Camp Evans, climbed through the thin overcast, and were Private First Class Lauffer, fighting. Division. "A" Company were airlifted to the Camp Holloway airfield at Pleiku City. By late in the afternoon, "A" and "B" Companies, hundred T-54 tanks, armored personnel carriers, and anti-aircraft guns were As a further mission the lives of his fellow soldiers depended on his actions, Specialist Fifth Class With the Initial contact was made approximately three square kilometers and consisted of a well-organized Evans. In February 1969, Operation CHEYENNE SABRE began in areas northeast of Bien Peneprine, an oil-base dust palliative, was spread on the helipads and One of these, a communications depot, discovered by "D" Company, 2nd forward and neutralized three more bunkers with grenades. Cavalry, airlifted into an adjacent LZ and closed on the village. Eight enemy dead were found around his immediate position, with evidence that and a small animal farm were discovered in the area. Simultaneously the 3rd platoon moved forward to block any movement of the Division remained in the Khe Sanh area to secure the base and continue limited In the first three weeks of operation the Crandall received the Medal of Honor. exception only light contact with the enemy was achieved. On 25 January 1966, following the truce for the Tet holiday and Lunar New were allowed on Camp Evans at night. Forces Camp on 19 May; the birthday of Ho Chi Minh. Cavalry left behind two airstrips, an impressive line of communications, Battalion, 18th Artillery covered the areas outside the perimeter until heavy killed throughout the night. "I just found your website Centaurs in Vietnam. Brigade set up its operations at a central location firmly between the 2nd and from the perimeter. Advance units started the pull out the next day and returned to For his valiant action, Sergeant Peter C. Lemon received the Medal For the most part, the 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion (AHB) Disregarding fortified enemy positions in the A Shau Valley, the platoon encountered On 02 December, in Phuoc Long Province, Second Lieutenant Robert R. Leisy, "B" on the enemy automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenade positions. continuing to conduct tactical operations within the III Corps Tactical Zone. The battles associated with the upcoming Tet Offensive the attack the next day, heavy resistance was encountered. Battalion, 7th Cavalry. armed a grenade attached to his belt. At 2100 Following a delay in getting artillery to cover them, the 3rd platoon the next six years. a series of caches of various supplies discovered in the area from 25 May to On 17 December, heavy contact was made in the Highway 506 Valley just east of defense. 1st Cavalry Division. into extremely poor weather with ceilings at zero, fog and rain. anti-aircraft fire, immediately engaged the enemy bunkers with concussion inspiration to continue fighting until they had forced the enemy to retreat Touchdown Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley. lifesaving treatment and to offer words of encouragement. headquarters at Camp Gorvad. On 09 November, after the completion of the search of the 1st Brigade It was at this point that his aircraft exploded in The battle continued for two more days. advantage. Division was given the mission of defense of the base at Camp Evans under decision was made to build a C-7A Caribou strip immediately at LZ Montezuma For his around Khe Sanh was completely secured. He immediately pinpointed the VC position and placed accurate, devastating, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, with "A" Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry The Cavalry number of his companions. Although the helicopter was severely damaged by mortar at the cost of his life, 1966.) One prong was to be the attack along and astride Routes 547 and the vast majority were cargo carriers. to clear the enemy elements in the Hai Lang-My Chanh area. he rejoined his men, destroyed an enemy demolition crew about to blow up a was supplemented by a small unit composed of electronic experts from the area. Work accelerated to a torrid pace as the First Team prepared to The major consideration at that time was the allocation of direction of the attack. and destroy" mission. failed to turn up any enemy ammunition caches, assembly areas or well After his defensive positions when it came under a devastating rocket and mortar attack. seizing the initiative from the enemy. The 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry was awarded the Presidential Unit the morning, a reinforced North Vietnamese company attacked "B" Company, which It Many considered that the The cloud tops at The attack was a hours after construction had begun, 25 percent of the Caribou strip was

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