Henry toro herrick, second lieutenant, united states army. The battle of ia drang was the first major battle between the united states army and the peoples army of vietnam pavn, also referred to as the north vietnamese army nva, and was part of the pleiku campaign conducted early in the vietnam war. John blackstone reports on how that battle shaped the lives of the survivors, and how some of them. Listen a veteran of the lost platoon remembers vietnam galen bungum, 72, was a soldier in the vietnam war and fought in the first major battle of the war, the battle of ia drang, on november 14. The 33d north vietnamese army regiment, originally a 2,200man fighting force, had lost 890 killed, 100 missing, and 500 wounded during the plei me debacle. In 2016, he joined a panel of ia drang survivors at the maneuver center of. It comprised two main engagements, centered on two previously scouted helicopter landing zones lzs, known as lz xray and lz albany. Rescuing the lost platoon ia drang the battle that. Fifty years after a vietnam war battle, the survivors look back at the friends they lost and the lives theyve shaped since. Although the men of my battalion wanted to be the ones who did the job of bringing their comrades back into the perimeter, common sense dictated that lieutenant colonel bob tullys newly arrived 2nd battalion, 5th cavalry, guided by captain john. Hal moores battalion at the start of the battle of ia drang on nov.
It now began reorganizing its meager ranks into a single composite battalion in the valley between the ia drang river and hill 542, the most prominent peak of chu pang in this area. They were platoon leaders together in the 2nd battalion, 7th cavalry regiment, 3rd. One defining element of ia drang was the separation and attempted rescues of lieutenant henry herricks platoon. The battle of ia drang was the first major battle between the united states army and the. After a north vietnamese strike against the special forces camp at plei me, american forces deployed in an effort to destroy the attackers. The north vietnamese army units withdrawing from plei me had traveled all the way to the cambodian border. The fight that developed there is remembered today as the battle of ia drang valley, the first large unit engagement of the vietnam war and the firstever large scale helicopter air assault. Listen a veteran of the lost platoon remembers vietnam galen bungum, 72, was a soldier in the vietnam war and fought in the first major battle of. It was now approaching noon on monday, november 15, and the time had come to push out again, this time with three companies, and rescue the lost platoon. By now, according to moore in his book, the snaps and cracks of the rounds. The battle of ia drang, where both sides claimed victory, gave americans a sense of. Rescuing the lost platoon ia drang the battle that changed the. Although many notable decorations have been awarded to veterans of the battle of ia drang, in his book we were soldiers once.
A defining element of ia drang was the separation and attempted rescues of lieutenant henry herricks platoon. By this point, eight men of 2nd platoon had been killed and wounded. He has written a book about his experiences and has spoken more than 20. The significance of the battle of ia drang vietnam war books. Rescuing the lost platoon xray we were soldiers once. Ia drang the battle that changed the war in vietnam by harold g. The leaders and soldiers who fought in the battle of ia drang valley, the. By this point, eight men of the platoon had been killed and wounded. It was a book that a north vietnamese soldier had dropped.
The battle of ia drang was fought november 1418, 1965, during the vietnam war 19551975 and was the first major engagement between the us army and the peoples army of vietnam pavn. Ia drang valley veterans attend ranger reunion article the. A veteran of the lost platoon remembers vietnam mpr news. Battle of ia drang military wiki fandom military wikia.