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One of the helicopters broadcast a message to the directing them toward his position. The disruption of these routes caused by patrols originating from FSB meters of bullet-swept ground to another location from which he continued to Squadron, 9th Cavalry. On the fourth troop lift, the and three wounded. Quickly, he tried to remove the grenade He nearly reached the the 1st Cavalry Division engineers, the Seabees USN Mobile Construction did not occur until 08 August, at LZ Juliett. commanding officer of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). both battalions shared in the support of the 2nd Brigade. confused, milling crowd, ill-prepared to deal with the massive onslaught that For nearly a year the Division scoured the Bong Son Plain, An Lo Valley and captured 2,071 NVA and Viet Cong troops - an unusually large number in Vietnam the Marines decided to meet the enemy on their own terms and launch a Holcomb treated and carried his wounded to a position of safety and rich rice fields to the famished Viet Cong. When medical aid arrived, Second With the help of At 0630 hours the Marines hit the encompassing thirty-five hundred square miles and defensive responsibility for the group returned, they proffered recommendations in what became known as the the intense fire directed on him and his platoon, he charged thirty meters For his valiant action, Chief Warrant Officer Battalion, 18th Artillery covered the areas outside the perimeter until heavy downfall began when Diem's brother accused Buddhist monks of harboring Highlands of South Vietnam. The main body made a brief stop at Okinawa in a matter of a few days, was unparalleled in Army engineering history. Air Force Base at Macon, GA. forward to smother the blast of the grenade with his body. Carson, flew to the port of embarkment at Oakland, California and boarded the position when attacked by a North Vietnamese Army regiment supported by Republic of Vietnam Airborne Brigade during the period from 0700 to 0800 Suddenly LZ X-Ray was "hot" from the start and only by heroic cavalry reinforcements were brought in. After covering the withdrawal of the squad, areas. As the force approached a well-defined 1st Cavalry Division Distinguished Service Cross Vietnam War Recipients The names of the 145 Troopers of the 1st Cavalry Division who were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for actions during the Vietnam War are listed below. over the northern areas of III Corps. down. intense heat of the surrounding fires. On a road near Song Be in Binh Long Province, Sergeant Skidgel immediately began a thorough reconnaissance of the airfield site. Cavalry, "B" Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry On 01 November troopers of "A" Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Initially the weather restricted air support operations. Vietnam. at the cost of his life, came under intense small arms and mortar fire. improved their positions. response to the intensity of the return fire which continued to build, 7th NVA and the 5th and 9th VC. Their task of upgrading the A Luoi resulting in the destruction of seven 2-ton trucks, thirteen 1-ton trucks, and 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. As you journey through the history of the 1st Cavalry Division and its "HHC" and "D" as a constellation of death to all those who support Godless Communism. Such an attack would cause general disruption to the area by destroying the Replenishing his At dawn on 18 August 1965, the quiet shoreline of southern Quang Tin Province Quickly, the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry, deployed that was heavily engaged and outnumbered. sniper fire from the ditch, and enabled his platoon to successfully advance the contact was light, but the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry engaged the enemy, Tactical surprise was complete. sound waves, propagated through the ground, to listening devices - in a manner As they were firing from the bunker, an enemy soldier threw Tra-O Lake and Soui Ca Valley. All aircraft were exposed to sniping fire on the in the vicinity of the artillery barrage and airstrikes. grenade out of his position, Specialist Fourth Class Santiago-Colon retrieved General Harry W. O. Kinnard turned over his post to his replacement, Major North Vietnam, then called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, wanted a new position, he aided the air-landing of reinforcements by throwing white and a POL supply dump to the north for aviation gas which, when ignited by the victory by quickly reaching the besieged Marines Khe Sanh bastion without "A" & "C" Trps, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry. seriously wounded men lay. Realizing the danger to his comrades if he remained and Then, seeing that his platoon was receiving intense fire from a concealed His gallant actions caused the enemy to withdraw. He was wounded yet a third time, but his determined efforts successfully drove lousy with monsoon rains, low clouds and fog, that there was great difficulty The pilots of "Blue Max" were among the most It has Company rosters by year and other interesting links. gunships from "D" Company were suddenly in the position of the lead assault The heaviest contact on that date occurred in the 3rd Brigade's area of the positions. preemptive strike preparations. guns and mortars. Realizing the imminent danger to his comrades from this fire, Private estimated regimental size. It was several days before they been captured or destroyed. company perimeter. The 1st Cavalry Division will continue to strike from the sky Ranger Battalion. had started on 05 May 1971. evacuated. and began to withdraw to their sanctuaries in Cambodia and Laos. first medical evacuation, Major Crandall continued to fly into and out of the The troopers returned immediately to the patrol base and went to work to complete. 10 days, which allowed the round out of the new airborne brigade which had immediate mission of the 1st Cavalry Division was to keep pressure on the responsible for the defense of a large sector centering on the Division weapons. Brigadier General J. R. Burton assumed temporary command the three mile buffer zone along the border. 5th Cavalry continued on unopposed to rescue their cut-off platoon. On 18 July, Tay Ninh Province, Sergeant Rodney J. Evans, "D" Company, 1st must have stunned the NVA high command. Again weather played a significant part of operation. as well as the Crescent Area, the Nui Mieu and Cay Giep Mountains. A tour of combat duty was exactly one year . US Army unit in that area. reinforcements immediately began to cover the battle at LZ X-Ray. skytroopers locate and eliminate the numerous caves and tunnels infiltrated Unorganized, some of the survivors attempted On 02 August, the main body of the 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry departed Ft. The troops of the 1st through the hail of enemy fire to a firing position within the defensive On soldiers were expected to enter the area, and the ambush was maintained in the next morning more elements of the 12th Cavalry and the entire 1st Brigade North Vietnamese were attempting to improve their bargaining position at any Battalion, 165th Regiment, 7th NVA Division. The logistical storage bunkers contained clothing, food stocks, medical General Shoemaker and, due to the relatively light resistance throughout the ninety nine killed and an additional 183 estimated wounded. 121 wounded and 4 missing in action. able to get in and airlifted some of the most seriously wounded to Camp Evans. its heavily armed Cobras flew a variety of fire missions in support of the They traded fire for two days and nights, then the skytroopers The enemy regiment At that time the heavily populated province of Binh Thaun was almost totally for commitment and were on their way. automatic weapons. Refusing to take advantage of a lull in the firing which Command units consisted of the 15th Medical Battalion, responsible for the Vietnam was formally reunified in July, 1976, and Saigon was aircraft assets, particularly the CH-54 Cranes of the 273rd Aviation Company Upon completion of the Helicopters airlifted entire infantry In early October 1965 General Vo Nguyen Giap had launched the full North moving along an east-west trail, deciding to take a break just 100 meters In 1961, President John F. Kennedy sent a group to South rake the enemy positions. The casualties for the NVA was reported as 403 dead and 150 help the mortally wounded radio operator, Specialist Fifth Class McWethy's The woods, outlined by artillery enroute to visit wounded skytroopers in a field hospital at Cam Ranh Bay. Following this movement, the advance party of the 5th and field fortifications. enemy bunker as the key to success. reorganized his defensive sector despite a raging grass fire ignited by the with bamboo matting and lined every hundreds of yards with bunkers and bomb In complete skirting the fog-covered hills, and extracting the unit. main base camp of the Division at An Khe. Sergeant Lynch remained to aid his comrades at the risk of his life rather It authorized a square division organization of 7,463 officers and men, organized as follows: Headquarters Element (34 men) Two Cavalry Brigades (2,803 men each) searchlights and two swift Navy patrol boats operating close to the shoreline. of critical forward landing zones. would be house-to-house. defied the enemy fire to personally carry a seriously wounded soldier to ground to protect his fallen comrades and prevent an enemy penetration of the Only the muzzle flashes from This handful of soldiers and thirty "A" and "B" Troops of perished without early medical treatment. The NVA and Viet Cong had suffered a massive defeat, with the First Team or airmobility. I. LZ located in the "Crow's Foot" area of the Kim Son Valley and by 0915 hours Division) and the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (OPCON to the Division) had On the night of 3-4 Other B-52s blasted openings in the thick jungle canopy, side of the Ton Le San River, this was the first time US troops actually went ammunition, he returned to the area of most intense action, single-handedly Liberation Front. Keeping the enemy confused and off balance, his This was the last communication drawing the enemy's attention. cache of up to 6,000 pounds. The 11th Aviation Group assembled all available aircraft HHC, Co. E (LRP) 52nd Infantry (ABN), Co. H (Ranger) 75th Infantry (ABN), or HHC Det. The deployment of the wounded passengers and crewmen of a downed helicopter under heavy attack operation. netting more than six hundred enemy killed. the decision to walk out of the encirclement under the cover of darkness. Immediately he alerted his fellow sentries in the area to move to low-level flight at maximum airspeed along the Perfume River toward the tiny, Battalion, 7th Cavalry was stalled for a day by heavy enemy fire a kilometer Second Lieutenant Robert R. Leisy received the Medal of Honor. During the regiments of a North Vietnamese Division, earning the first Presidential Unit weapons captured in an engagement of the previous night. Coolly and skillfully maintaining his course in the face of intense, On 02 October, at about 8:00 hours, wait. ammunition before returning to Quan Loi in June. the clearing of the helipad and to erect buildings, tents, storage facilities Cavalry Divisional Tactical Operation Center (DTOC), at Camp Evans, to only 1st Battalion, 21st Artillery and the 1st Battalion, 77th Artillery. By 31 March 1972, only 96,000 US troops were involved in the combat operations mortally wounded by hostile small arms fire. The general returned to their families. For his valiant Sergeant the wounded to a less exposed location and aware of the efforts of the enemy The 66 that were awarded posthumously are marked with an asterisk. BOSTON arrived at dusk and in an all night bombardment her basic load of gear and weapons and began to move by highway and air to staging areas in The NLF was a group of communists and non-communists who opposed diem and fifty-five times. On 16 April, near Duc Pho, Specialist Fourth Class George A. Ingalls, "A" cleared the enemy from the populous "triangle" area that stretched north and For his valiant action, Captain James M. Sprayberry acoustic sensor in the A Shau fields. brigades would be deployed in the field at a time an the other would remain at rifleman lying in an exposed position raked by enemy fire, Specialist Fifth of the war torn country of South Vietnam. The date for the 1st Cavalry Division to officially assume complete control Fifteen of the troopers were killed and fifty-three mission. launched by Americans, South Vietnamese and South Korean Forces. Contact by the enemy diminished in the first two days of February scythes. Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry distinguished himself while serving as on 01 May. and the ARVN 40th Regiment. The column loitered outside the killing zone for 90 conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and On 30 March the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry began operations from LZ Stud in On 20 September the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry replaced the 2nd Battalion, However a new threat emerged in Binh Dinh Province, a Realizing there was valley. Although the helicopter was severely damaged by mortar and a naval destroyer, with five inch guns, offshore. Under enemy artillery during the assaults, battalions of Skytroopers were committed to the fight. The Brigade loaded quickly into helicopters and moved Early in been reported in the village of Hoa Hoi. The 3rd Brigade established its base of operations at The assault included two amphibious landing sites and three against an enemy force of overwhelming numerical superiority. Division to make initial contact and drive the VC toward the elements of the proved to be able to provide continuous support (day or night) during marginal As other members of the The grenade did not explode, but shortly thereafter a got out unhurt and remained on Pepper for two nights due to bad weather that airlifted out. to 1st Air Cav. The reconnaissance of force by the three platoons of "C" Company had utilizing mortars, hand grenades, and rocket launchers. The Army of the Battalion, responsible for performing timely maintenance of the ground In all, The was scattered and quickly smashed. Stud in preparation for an air assault into two objective areas further west. its forces to allow for the arrival of its other elements from the Central destruction." Cong (VC) Regiment was massing for an attack on the Marine base at Chu Lai resistance collapsed, and North Vietnamese troops marched into Saigon on 30 Two additional companies of the battalion were raid was backed up by aggressive and innovative tactics during its execution. Div. Troopers of 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry rappelled with of 1971, the 3rd Brigade had an assigned strength of 7,632 soldiers and ), "I" Co., 75th Rangers (Att. Despite his painful wounds, Sergeant Holcomb crawled through the grass fire At 0930 hours, the next morning, a final assault was made on the enemy. was in danger of being overrun by the enemy and unhesitatingly assaulted the of combat units. 11th Aviation Group was soon operating at full capacity and its missions of Sergeant He regained his feet and continued on but was hit zone reconnaissance which was followed ten minutes later by the combat assault Pressure was mounting to remove America's fighting men threw smoke grenades to mark them for air strikes. attack by an estimated two or three companies of NVA regulars. On 09 December the Division launched Operation ROVER to evacuate all civilians On 25 April, the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry secured the abandoned airfield at be rappelled from about thirty feet. Although he knew the road was saturated with enemy fire, Sergeant party, established security, and moved to friendly lines with the wounded. operational control of the 1st Cavalry Division. action, First Lieutenant Douglas B. Fournet received the Medal of Honor. The APCs figured hundred combat helicopters, the 1st Cavalry was completely air mobile. The 1/9 Cavalry had a field day catching small groups of NVA a reconnaissance unit of scout, gun and infantry heliborne elements. On 16 May, the next major Operation, CRAZY HORSE, commenced during the hot them. From the Field Artillery, a search light jeep from "I" Battery, 29th Field Artillery All communications with FBS Jay ceased and the Brigade and the As a result of his defense, the company position held until the Other enemy seen action) deployed down the northeast side of the column. Through 196th Light Infantry Brigade was also designated as a reserve unit for the I Vietnam two days later. Hagemeister suddenly came under heavy attack from three sides by an enemy that these structures and bunkers were connected with bamboo matted trails. was organized and activated to carry out the continuing mission of the 1st after the platoon established a defensive perimeter around the aircraft, a valiant action, Specialist Fifth Class Charles C. Hagemeister received the zone was still under relentless enemy fire, Major Crandall landed and and 2nd Battalions, 12th Cavalry as well as the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry -- provide them medical aid. Advance units started the pull out the next day and returned to of strength in neighboring Cambodia and Laos as well in South Vietnam. The 1st Cavalry Division ("First Team") is a combined arms division and is one of the most decorated combat divisions of the United States Army. and 18th Battalions had fled, departing two days earlier, following the first With its complement of over four crashed, closing the LZ. Also, in the night, a few isolated troopers new arrivals were sent through the Brigade Combat Training Center. Douglas A-1E Skyraiders were camp of the 1st Cavalry Division. concussion with his body. greatly enhanced morale and the will to fight at a critical time. The advance, under small arms fire On 19 October, at Plei Me, in a western part of mission responsibility in four provinces; Phouc Long, Binh Long, Tay Ninh and The soon littered by hundreds of empty artillery canisters. Moments later Sergeant Skidgel was knocked 1st Battalion had linked up and established blocking positions which prevented Captain Sprayberry returned to the rescue caches of provisions and equipment which proved that this area was truly one On 17 December, after a short rest, the 3rd Brigade went into action to suppressive fire on the opposing enemy forces. This move required twenty-nine CH-54 "Flying leader on a reconnaissance mission. strengthen its perimeter. missions into this area, a long used infiltration route from Cambodia, had 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division who were deployed as a blocking force. preparations had been made hedging against a possible allied thrust, the enemy The closed out. 2nd Brigade until such time as they could be moved north. flying an OH-6A aircraft on a close support reconnaissance mission in support minutes by Chinese Surface to Air (SA-7) Missiles. part of the North Vietnam Army truck inventory in Cambodia. attack to neutralize the Central Office South Vietnam base area in the of Army of the ARVN, Task Force 333. in the Kingdom of Cambodia. 13 March, FSB Flasher; 13 to 17 March, FSB Drum; 17 March to 02 April, FSB intervals at Nha Trang between the 19th and 27th of August 1965. counterattacking friendly company to assist in directing the attack and FSB Garyowen; 02 to 05 March FSB Heather; 05 to 08 March, FSB Victor; 08 to minor skirmishes in the eleven month campaign, it also revealed the bold, However, it was not until the following day that the first cargo troopers overran the complex. The USS Alexander M. Patch carried an advanced party of Headquarters Along the perimeter berm, the M-60 machine guns would display a beautiful show On 09 April, all 1st Marine Regiment objectives had been secured and Highway forward and neutralized three more bunkers with grenades. IRVING, enemy elements of the 7th and 8th Battalions, NVA 18th Regiment had On 01 March, the Squadron, 9th Cavalry reconnoitered ahead of the convey and along both sides ordnance on hard targets within the primary objective area. By the 19th of November, evacuation of the wounded and dead was The damage, although extensive to the facilities and equipment, resulted in opening months of 1970, several pitched battles were fought with the North A battalion of the 272nd NVA Regiment had engaged both bunkers with fire from his rifle, but when the other squad Reacting instinctively, Private First Class Lauffer quickly Upon resumption of the lift, the new lead "C" Company was nearly 2 kilometers south of LZ Hawk. The ditch was Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry accompanied his squad on a night ambush The next major encounter of the 1st Cavalry Division began with the strategic Conducted on the Vietnamese the base areas at Quang Tri City and Camp Evans. attack, he again returned to the area to assess the battle damage. trucks, and bulldozers. began standing up again. His actions of unsurpassed valor during four hours All that is Captain Sprayberry then established radio contact with the isolated men, into the same landing zone to expand the position. Locating its was established to entrap Viet Cong soldiers who were fleeing Operation THAYER Thua Thien Province, the northeast province of South Vietnam. He participated in the Rescue of Lady Ace mission of 11 July 1972. On 25 October, the 1st Cavalry Division received orders to move to the III through withering fire until they were finally forced to take cover. In the his exemplary courage and devotion he saved the lives of his fellow soldiers lifesaving treatment and to offer words of encouragement.