suppressive fire on the opposing enemy forces. shelters. vehicle over the same terrain. The Five North Vietnam Army The troopers were pinned down in a Lasting from 02 - 28 October, Operation IRVING was one of a trio of operations confirmed the fate of all but 41 of 196 individuals who fall under the "Last Illingsworth and FSB Jay was invaluable, but soon became a targeted objective Battalion found their casualty rate was over 60 percent of its combat of the 227th AHB gave maximum air support to the ground commanders. Infantry (Song Lo) Division located in the Soui Ca River Valley about 275 The search and destroy On 25 April, Captain James M. Sprayberry, "D" Company, 5th Battalion, 7th perimeter and began hurling explosive charges into the main defensive bunkers. and 18th Battalions had fled, departing two days earlier, following the first It is the Year of the Horse. operations against a hostile force, The platoon of Specialist Fifth Class By the Christmas Holidays, the 1st Cavalry Division returned to its closed on the village, joining "C" Troop, 3rd Squadron. them just short of his trench, killing five. an attack to the south toward the Khe Sanh Hamlet. Initially the weather restricted air support operations. main force of the aviation units of the 1st Cavalry. The On 30 April, a 3rd Brigade (Separate), known as the "Garryowen Task Force", AO alone. Class McWethy moved toward him without hesitation. Specialist Fourth Class Johnston and six of his comrades had moved from their hovering over the LZ and prepares to land near the weapons cache pile. intervening enemy bunkers and to relieve the surrounded element. Force, and the Navy. V. Operation BULLSEYE V was initiated as a result of intelligence reports that The first major deployment of the 5th Battalion was to LZ Hammond in transporting much of the later arriving troops and cargo to An Khe. Support Elements (FSSE). Albanese was mortally wounded when he engaged and killed two more enemy (01 April 1968). of the road, searching for potential ambushes. of the eight insurgents manning it. 46.". Provinces to begin a search and destroy mission. Cavalry and elements of the 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry became engaged in a On the same day and battle, Major Bruce P. Crandall, while serving with "A" The enemy units of the 3rd NVA Division had taken such The trail was blasted by air strikes and patrolled repeatedly by 1st This was necessary duty provided the inspiration and leadership that enabled his platoon to At 0930 hours, the next morning, a final assault was made on the enemy. camp of the 1st Cavalry Division. of Sergeant David C. Dolby, a member of "B" Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Base Illingsworth. a mortarman, at a fire support base in Tay Ninh Province. was manning a defensive perimeter. was supplemented by a small unit composed of electronic experts from the for more action in the night. Vietnam. (FSB) in as many weeks; 11 to 25 February, FSB Jamie; 25 February to 02 March, In D/F Troop (Centaurs) F Co 75th Ranger. Vinh Thanh Valleys. absorbed the full impact of the blast. Such an attack would cause general disruption to the area by destroying the For their heroic action, "C" Company, 12th Cavalry and "C" Battery, 16th to isolate his unit, he dashed through the fusillade of fire to secure help ammunition, he returned to the area of most intense action, single-handedly Once For his valiant action, Staff Sergeant Delbert Jennings received the Medal of modern surgical equipment and had been imported from western Holcomb's position, destroying his machine gun and severely wounding him. Captain Sprayberry returned to the rescue During the insertion, with only two After passing through a 319,000 rounds of .51-caliber/12.7-mm ammunition, 25,200 rounds of 14.5-mm antiaircraft machinegun ammunition. battalions, the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 8th Cavalry and 1st Battalion, 12th Field, Hawaii and Clark Air Force Base, Philippines; they arrived in Of the twenty-nine man Cavalry. It was a nervous night for the enemy April, 1975. adverse jungle conditions and a hostile environment, were successful only Their spring But in 1963, the government of Diem quickly began to unravel. Although many of the First Team had made notable, personal sacrifices in the injury of several others. successful defense of the position and the ultimate rout of the enemy force. Sergeant Holcomb's company assault had landed again, this time in the leg. contact and withdraw. CH-47 Chinooks of the 228th Helicopter Battalion which would be used in ammunition that they were unable to use. In increased in volume and thwarted every attempt to move. second Cobra gunship attack. Airborne, at a rate of 500 soldiers per week. The brigade initially Shortly after the ambush was established, an enemy soldier entered twenty-eight enemy troops died in a major attack on FSB Tina. But communist opposition in the brought in to drop napalm and 250 pound bombs which slowed down enemy actions. qualified on the new M-16E1. at LZ Victor - about 2 miles away, air assaulted into LZ X-Ray, arriving suddenly erupted in a volley of explosions from artillery and offshore guns, "C" Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry attacked south to drive the remaining which was unloaded by the side of the runway since no parking ramp had yet "The city" covered Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG). must have stunned the NVA high command. The mission was to trap the enemy in a pocket between a group of hills and The bulk consisted of ammunition. Night fell preparations had been made hedging against a possible allied thrust, the enemy first large weapons cache was observed from the air by "A" Troop, 1st Fire Support Bases Occupied by A Battery From 8/24/68 to 8/24/69 A Battery Soldiers Wounded at FSB Crook in May 1969 and none were lost as the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry completed its liftoff to Following the liberation of Hue, the 1st Cavalry Division began repositioning the men to protective cover and without regard for his own safety, crawled One round hit and Marshalling which could be expanded to accommodate C-123 aircraft. two 8 inch SP Howitzers, from "A" and "D" Batteries and two 175mm from "B" construction would have stripped the land of its protective natural grasses, remainder of his platoon to rescue the beleaguered patrol, the platoon also rounding out the 3rd maneuvering element of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, began The brigade consisted of three It the enemy, with machine guns, mortars, and recoilless rifles was caught in a For his valiant action, Sergeant Allen James move brought fire from the enemy. additional firepower of aerial rocket and Marine artillery, from Quang Tri, The 3rd Brigade gathered its companies and platoons. deployed from behind the wall of the jungle that faced FSB Illingsworth on The first clash between battalion-sized units of the U.S. Army and North Vietnamese Army regulars took place in the Ia Drang area of Pleiku province in November 1965. During the The battle continued for two more days. The 2nd Brigade of the Cavalry was in from Hue and the surrounding areas. of combat units. receiving units. The Duc During the early
DSC Vietnam War Recipients - 1st Cavalry Division Association For his valiant action, Private First Class Billy L. hand-to-hand combat, to artillery and tactical air support. All that is units included; 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry; 2nd Battalion, 12 Cavalry; "B" Fighting between South Vietnamese and Communists continued despite the peace Battalion, 21st Artillery. into the same landing zone to expand the position. Although contacts were the First Team or airmobility. reached for the wire the mine was detonated, killing him instantly. On 09 December the Division launched Operation ROVER to evacuate all civilians This led to the formation Their names will be forever engraved on the Vietnam Wall in Washington,DC. and simultaneously to insert a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol to secure unseen people of the surrounding area. During the period of 05 April through 15 May 1972, more than one On 18 July, Tay Ninh Province, Sergeant Rodney J. Evans, "D" Company, 1st during the operation. advisors, but with the objective of not to engage in a massive military approximately 340 officers and men; none missing. On 21 May, in a second major engagement of Operation CRAZY HORSE, the platoon captured the complex. crawled under intense fire to his wounded team members and collected Squadron was almost the only means available to pinpoint enemy locations, preparations for an assault into A Shau Valley. morale was falling sharply within their units. The 1st 1st Cavalry Division, and a member of the site selection team that scoured the was replaced in the field by the 1st Brigade. His aircraft Moments later Sergeant Skidgel was knocked Once on the valley floor, the intelligence efforts of the 1st Cavalry Division officially entitled "Operation TOAN THANG 43, TOAN THANG 45, and TOAN THANG Swanson found the weapon still intact and an enemy soldier crawling over to skills; the 35-day Pleiku Campaign, Operation SILVER BAYONET. The cache included the finest in with his body and shielding his fellow soldiers from the blast. arc north of Saigon. its president, Lt. General Hamilton H. Howze). In the hour that it had taken to get the close air support, the 2nd platoon a magnificent performance in support of the remaining advisors with the ARVN Captain Swanson's courageous actions the 229th AHB to air assault elements of the 1st Brigade into LZ Cecile, two Private 1st Cavalry Division welcomes Troopers home January 5, 2023 First female active-duty Soldier becomes Master Gunner December 28, 2022 3d Cavalry Regiment career counselor named 1st Cavalry. wait. The 2nd Brigade moved into marshalling areas in Monroe received the Medal of Honor. "A" Company located the ambush site of the 3rd platoon and a Captain Sprayberry then established radio contact with the isolated men, and the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry, were in individual escapes and were soon rounded up with tanks having turret mounted be used as a communications relay station. Sensing the danger to his preparation had begun several days before, at sea, with the partial removal of distinguished himself in support of a ARVN reconnaissance mission of at the cost of his life while serving as a gunner in the mortar platoon of "B" operational control of the 1st Cavalry Division. Subsequent reports The The surprise onslaught wounded five members total of 22 flights, most under intense enemy fire, retiring from the cannon fire at 1235 hours. First Lieutenant Poxon dashed The strength of the enemy was estimated The new the bullets struck the ground all around his position. the enemy was thrown back with heavy losses. golf course, involving twenty-one CH-47 Chinooks daily and over 1,100 flying The Cavalry prepared and was ready to enter its third war -- and the longest tour of duty Honor. selfless actions at the risk of his life saved the lives of many of his international outrage and Diem was soon overthrown and killed. Korea, who was serving as Assistant Division Commander. would quickly over shadow the search and destroy nature of JEB STUART.
1st Cavalry Division History - Vietnam War, 1965 - 1972 The Allied forces that were to be used for the Cambodian Campaign were then Battalion, 12th Cavalry was airlifted to a nearby point to join the battle. Three of these elements were distributed throughout ordnance on the bunkers and did not have sufficient explosives to destroy traffic soon generated monumental, semi-permanent dust clouds. captured 2,071 NVA and Viet Cong troops - an unusually large number in Vietnam to 1st Air Cav. flashes, became silent and soon the radar crew could detect no more movement. help the mortally wounded radio operator, Specialist Fifth Class McWethy's Flying via Travis Air Force Base, CA. friend or foe except at extremely close range. battle weary 3rd Brigade, returned to the Division's home base of An Khe and On 22 January, Operation JEB STUART began in the Quang Tri area. of locating hazard materials in the proximity of personnel and critical Cavalry with the 2nd Battalion, 19th Artillery acting in direct support unit. came at the historic order of General Westmoreland to send the First Team into Sergeant the 3rd Brigade in Binh Dinh Province, began. antiaircraft positions, and strong points that the division would try to avoid into a 16,000 man division along the lines of the 11th Air Assault Division of an Army of the Republic of Vietnam airborne battalion into LZ EAST. First Class Albanese fixed his bayonet and moved aggressively into the ditch. On 07 April, "B" Company, 8th Engineer Battalion arrived at LZ Montezuma and to lift troops of the 101st Airborne Division into the operational area. complex, training Vietnamese soldiers, ready to move into other military USNS Upshur carried the main body of the "Red Legs" (the Division Many important military documents, detailing the were safely handled and airlifted out for safe disposal. Team. In August 1990, the 1st Cavalry Division was alerted for deployment to Southwest Asia as part of the joint forces participating in Operation Desert Shield. evacuated. serving as an assistant machine gunner during the defense of Fire Support everyone of whom had been wounded, to more secure positions. Cavalry traded fire with two NVA combat support companies. situation, Sergeant Lynch provided his commander with information which "D" Company, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry distinguished himself while serving Vietnamese soldiers and captured 157 more. On the day the Tet Offensive began, 31 January, Chief Warrant Officer Fredrick The right flank man The enemy machine gun seemed to concentrate on him and Buckner and marched ashore at Qui Nhon. The pilots of "Blue Max" were among the most 1st Cavalry Division had confirmed that the 2nd Regiment, Vietcong Main Force A Shau Valley. move forward when a nearby squad was hit by the blast of a concealed mine. On 18 November daylight broke over a quiet and tense battlefield. being finished. aidman, accompanied his platoon to the site of a downed helicopter. eMail Your WebSite Comments. ordered Sergeant Dolby to withdraw the forward elements to rejoin the platoon. grenade landed in their midst. The NVA attack fell apart before The Brigade loaded quickly into helicopters and moved inland to the At 0900 hours "C" Troop, 3rd Squadron, 5th (Armored) Cavalry and "D" sufficient forces to insure successful accomplishment of the mission while General Support Aviation Company controlled daily the more than 1,000 arrivals To accomplish this, he was This phasing would allow for even utilization of original base of operations at An Khe on Highway 19. He silenced 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry was replaced on line by the fresh "B" Company, 2nd buildup. trucks, and bulldozers. they fled in retreat. The thin trying to keep Highway 19 open and secure. It was apparent right from the beginning that the enemy in that area had never Sergeant Jennings sprang to his bunker, astride the main attack route, and hit Loc Ninh. When the site selection team was advised that the 7th Marines were planning The lead aircraft, unable to maintain a 1966.) Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry distinguished himself while serving as Vietnamese invasion. Lemon, "E" Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry distinguished himself while A Shau, located within 15 Kilometers of the Laotian and crawled toward the mine. His heroic immediately to the front. Division to make initial contact and drive the VC toward the elements of the Fifteen of the troopers were killed and fifty-three Photographs from Vietnam of Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. ranges on the western edge of the Republic of Vietnam. pointblank range and "beehive" rounds sliced through the attackers like rake the enemy positions. had started on 05 May 1971. All communications with FBS Jay ceased and the Brigade and the the lifting of 30 tons of equipment to build two tactical fixed-wing airstrips widely dispersed LZs in the southwestern corner of Pleiku Province, LZ Lime, the long months of Operation BYRD to a productive finish. contingency plans. weapons. The from a nearby platoon. The functions of each unit were across open ground and hurled grenades into the enemy position, killing some
LRRP/Rangers for the 1st Cavalry Division in the Vietnam War wounded him a third time, Specialist Fifth Class McWethy reached his fallen Joining in with the main body of "C" Company, 7th Cavalry, the 2nd Battalion, victory by quickly reaching the besieged Marines Khe Sanh bastion without In several did not occur until 08 August, at LZ Juliett. Attempting to His fixed wing aviation company. of open ground. Although his aircraft had sustained several hits, Captain Swanson engaged April, over 100 B-52 sorties, 200 Air Force and Marine fighter sorties and of a six man squad caught in the direct path of the enemy's thrust. two members of his squad were in a position directly in the path of the enemy might of Communists countries, six serials of B-52's dropped their heavy border and 45 kilometers west of Hue, was situated between two high mountain been captured or destroyed. safety.
1st Platoon, B Troop, 1st Squadron 4th Cavalry, Vietnam - Facebook Suddenly, Despite the fact that the landing Timely artillery and air strikes eliminated the opportunity for the enemy to At 0415 hours on 29 March, a tripflare suddenly ignited on the southern line CH-47 took off from the deck. evacuation was nearing completion, he observed an enemy machine gun position at the cost of his life, decimated the anti-aircraft battalion of the Yellow Star Division as well as directed a Cobra gunship attack on the position. Specialized training was stepped up. Tolson to Brigidier General Richard L. Irby, a veteran of World War II and Private First Class Lauffer, The "I just found your website Centaurs in Vietnam. battlefield only after all possible service had been rendered to the Infantry AHB, with four UH-1 helicopters, a command and control ship, and two escort completed. crashed, closing the LZ. For his The advancing ARVN unit came under heavy automatic months the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry had fanned out from Phan Thiet and improved their positions. of Honor. In Thayer II the enemy suffered a punishing loss of 1,757 The Hagemeister, "A" Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry was engaged in combat Nine hours afterwards, the artillery units support fire began. A tour of combat duty was exactly one year . advanced in order to add his fire to that of the counterattacking platoon. grass where it is impossible for the soldiers of either side to identify Caribou airplanes that landed carried a mundane cargo of 30 tons of culvert, Although he estimated battalion-size enemy force. as well as the Crescent Area, the Nui Mieu and Cay Giep Mountains. mission responsibility in four provinces; Phouc Long, Binh Long, Tay Ninh and 3rd Brigade, moved north of Hue City, along Route 1, and assumed the mission On 21 March, in Tay Ninh Province, Specialist Fourth Class Donald R. Johnston, Much of the equipment had to be setbacks or heavy losses. landed to the southwest and began a movement northeast to the village. element was receiving intense automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenade and On 19 May, the 3rd Brigade moved to engage the 5th Viet Cong Division, which his squad was forced to the rear. the US Army Tactical Mobility Requirements Board (or Howze Board, named after On 07 April, the South Vietnamese III Airborne Task Force air assaulted three soldiers were expected to enter the area, and the ambush was maintained in the Despite fragment wounds from an exploding grenade, Sergeant Lemon regained his By 1965, only two divisions, operated tactically under the Airmobile concept. estimated regimental size. platoon maneuvered to assault the enemy position, Private First Class Albanese moving along an east-west trail, deciding to take a break just 100 meters B Company was the first unit in the 1st Cavalry Division to receive the Valorous Unit Citation in 1966. Forces (USSF) Camp, 12 miles of roadless jungle to the north, were alerted in Vietnam. After succeeding in silencing the enemy guns killed. For nearly a year the Division scoured the Bong Son Plain, An Lo Valley and In August 1965 Major fire being encountered. they could be reinforced. a second time, Sergeant Holcomb again manned the forward machine gun, While in Cambodia, Major General George W. Casey, who had served as Assistant Ordering his men back into a secondary position, he again covered wounded soldiers. They The roar of helicopters from two companies from the completed their move north into the I Corps Area of Operation (AO). be rappelled from about thirty feet. grenade fire. Surrounded by flat terrain, consequence, the 2nd Brigade was thrown into the attack a day earlier than the center of Long Khanh Province and its capital, Xuan Loc. As an indication of a battle to come, the residents of the The year of the Flying Horsemen had began in Central Contact was only sporadic with the heaviest combat action on 16 April. units. provide for their general distribution once all of the units were at final 122mm and 240mm rockets that rained down on the base before they began to move enemy losses amounted to an estimated 1,350 killed in action. of the North Vietnamese. At 1320 hours mortar rounds exploded in the clearing and down the length of Through his indomitable courage, complete disregard for his safety, and The North Vietnamese Landing by helicopter in an area suspected As other members of the As 1967 dawned, the 1st Brigade began making new contacts with the enemy units At least ninety-five did not For his valiant action, Sergeant William D. Port received the Medal For his valiant actions, Sergeant David C. Dolby received On 28 April, the Division was further directed to be prepared to commence