MOH Recipient: Bruce Crandall

The image above is of John Podlaski with Bruce Crandall in 2011 at the 25th anniversary of the Chicago Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Parade

“HE COMPLETED A TOTAL OF 22 FLIGHTS”: RESCUING WOUNDED IN THE IA DRANG VALLEY,he-spent-14-hours-in-the-air-rescuing-wounded-in-the-Ia-Drang-Valley.

After being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1953, Col. Bruce Crandall became the commander of the 1st Cavalry Division’s Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion and held the position on November 14, 1965.

<img class=”size-medium wp-image-4062 aligncenter” src=”https://vvmf.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/bio_large.jpg?w=225&h=300″ alt=”

Col. Bruce Crandall during the Vietnam War, 1965

The day marked the start of the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley. It was the first major engagement during the Vietnam War, that took place between members of the U.S. Army and the People’s Army of North Vietnam. The two-part battle took place between November 14 and November 18, 1965 west of Plei Me, in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. Lt. Col. Hal Moore’s 1st Battalion, 7th Calvary was ordered to take on an air assault in the Ia Drang Valley. Their mission was to find and kill the enemy. At approximately noon, the North Vietnamese 33rd Regiment attacked. The fighting continued all day and into the night.

During the intense battle, in the midst of enemy fire, airstrike and artillery support, Crandall’s unit was transporting a battalion of soldiers to a remote spot in the Ia Drang Valley. The landing zone was called X-Ray. After several routine lifts into the area, the men on the ground came under attack from the North Vietnamese Army.  On his next flight, three soldiers on his helicopter were killed and three were wounded. Crandall kept his helicopter on the ground – in the line of enemy fire, so that four wounded soldiers could be loaded aboard.

After he flew the men back to base, he knew the soldiers on the ground were running short of ammunition, so he decided to fly back in. He asked for a volunteer to go with him and Captain Ed Freeman agreed to pursue it with him, displaying extraordinary heroism (Ed Freeman [Too Tall] also received the MOH for his actions during this battle).

Together, they flew in supplies, water, and ammunition needed for the troops.  His helicopter came under intense enemy fire, but they continued to carry out the wounded, even though that wasn’t their mission. It was during one of these flights that Bruce transported a civilian reporter, Joe Galloway, into the fight.

Combat operations at Ia Drang Valley, Vietnam, November 1965. Major Bruce P. Crandall’s UH-1D helicopter climbs skyward after discharging a load of infantrymen on a search and destroy mission.

Crandall continued to fly into and out of the landing zone throughout the day and into the evening. Throughout the day, he changed helicopters after some were so badly damaged to stay in the air. He spent more than 14 hours in the air and completed a total of 22 flights, most under intense enemy fire. He retired from the battlefield only after all possible service had been rendered to the Infantry battalion. Crandall and Freeman successfully rescued some 70 wounded men.

Col. Crandall is awarded the Medal of Honor by President Bush. February, 2007.

“It was the longest day I ever experienced in any aircraft,” Crandall recalled. “The Huey was the best helicopter ever made. We saved so many more people because of that helicopter.”

By the end of the Vietnam War, he had flown over 900 combat missions.

Crandall retired from the Army in 1977. On February 26, 2007, President George W. Bush presented Crandall with the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Ia Drang Valley.

This story originally appeared on Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund website on November 7, 2015.

Here’s another article regarding that day in 1965: https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/we-were-soldiers-22-trips-in-out-of-lz-x-ray-choppers-got-shot-up-so-bad-he-had-to-use-3-different-ones.html?D3c=1

---

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Should you have a question or comment about this article, then scroll down to the comment section below to leave your response.

If you want to learn more about the Vietnam War and its Warriors, then subscribe to this blog and get notified by email or your feed reader every time a new story, picture, video or change occurs on this website – the button is located at the top right of this page.

I’ve also created a poll to help identify my website audience – before leaving, can you please click HERE and choose the one item that best describes you. Thank you in advance!