Hong Cong Mountain-Home 01 The Brave

NEWLY-ARRIVED SKYTROOPERS UPON -ENTERING THE fiRST TEAM'S BASE CAMP ARE FASCINATED BY HONG [ONG MOUNTAIN-SYMBOLIC OF CAV. Historical Car 46 Years Old Totlay Cavalrymen Still H~rd Core Troops , The helicopter and M-16 have replaced the horse, saber and breech-loaded Stringfield rifle, but the cavalryman still respondll'lo - the cry "Saddle up!" -. ' Across 101 years of recorded history the cure of the lst Air Cavab)' Division-the individual soldier-has changed little. The man who is driving the Communists out of Vielnam's Central Highlands is the same rugged, determined, and professionally qualified soldier that opened the American West in-the 1800's. It was these same Cavalry Vol. 2, No. 42 1st Air' Cavalry Division ~ Seplember 13, 1967 Regiments that settled- the Old West-the 1st, 5th. 7th, and 8th -that originally made up the Victory 1st Cavalry Division when the Cav unit was activated on Septem­ Still ber 13, 1921, making it 46 years Without old today. These units brought with them Follows a proud military history written Fighting on the battlefields of the Indian Wars. Descendants of these The 1st Air Cavalry Division mounted units are still integral won its first battle in Vietnam to the 1st Air Cavalry Division without firing a shot. . Pattern today. Two years ago this week, some 900 lst Cav advance party What elephants were to Han­ Probably the most publicized nibal, what aitJ>ower was to troops moved out from their of these regiments was the 7th temporary pup-tent city near Mitchell, wh~ ' tanks were to Cavalry. Activated in 1866 at Ft. the old An Khe airstrip to be~ Patton, so th~irmobile concept Riley, Kansas, this is the unit gin an hour-long march to the · has been to )lie 1st Air Cavalry that General George A. Custer jungle-covered area now known Division. $ immortalized when he and his as the Goll Course. The form'IJia for victory has "Gary Owen" troopers fought Carrying their weapons and changed little across the pages to the death against the Sioux whatever brush-clearing tools of military history. Success be­ (Continued on Back Page) - (Continued on Back Page) longs to the' most effective com­ bination of firepower, mobility and shock action-getting there first with the most. ... GeneralIs Address In two years in Vietnam, the First Team has not changed this pattern, Rather they have enlarged upon it, refined it, On 46th Anniversary sophisticated it. On the occasion of the forty·sixth anniversary of the Molded from the experimen· 1st Cavalry Division and the second anniversary of the tallIth Assault Division and 1st Air Cavalry Division in the Republic of Vietnam, it the 2nd Infantry D.ivision, the is with great pleasure that I extend heartiest congratula· 1st Air Cavalry assumed the colors and history of the Ko· tions to all Skytroopers" of the FIRST TEAM. rean-based lst Cavalry Division The deeds of Cavalrymen throughout the Indian in July of 1965. . Wars, the Mexican Conflict of 1916.17, World War II, Though helicopters had . been the Korean War, and in Vietnam will always be remem· used by the Army long before, bered. New Guinea, Leyte, Luzon, the Korean Offensive, the lst Air Cavalry was the and now Ia Drang, Chu Pong, Phu My, Crescent, Bong military's only all·helified divi­ Son, and An Lao' are names that are permanently etcbed sion_ Helicopters would lift Cav into the history of the FIRST TEAM in the U.S. Army. personnel into battle, provide fire support, reinforce and reo I am confident that this long and rich heritage will supply the troops and, when ne· continue, as will the great accomplishments of all mem· cessary, evacuate them. hers of the FIRST TEAM. After only 90 days' prepara· FIRST .ARRIVAlS-Skytroopen of the ht Air Cavalry Division JOHN J. TOLSON tion, the 1st Air Cavalry Divi­ get first look at Vietnam in 1965 as troopship steams toward Major General, USA (ConUnued on Back Page) Qui Nhon b.for•• mbarking to An Kh •. Commanding Clear Central Highlands Ot Enemy ,Three 6enerols (orry On (ov Trotlition By SP4 MIKE LARSON ~ - School, Fort Rucker. Alabama, Stoff Wrll.,. " : took over the 1st Air Cavalry Three major generals have helm in April of this year. commanded the lst Air Cavalry A 1937 graduate of the U.S. during Its first two years in Military Academy, Tolson had Vietnam. helped activate the 504th Para· Major General Harry William chute Infantry at Fort Benning, Osborne Kinnard headed the Georgia, following the outbreak First Team's arrival In Vietnam of World War II. during September of 1965. He was replaced by Major General Tolson carried on the 1st Cay John Norton In April, 1M6. Ma­ tradition soon after he arrived jor General John J. Tolson, the in Vietnam when he new his current commanding general, helicopter Into an area known assumed control In April of li67. for heavy fighting and rescued Kinnard commanded the 1st members of a naming helicop­ Air Cavalry and its organil.ation ter that had crash·landed. He antecedent, the 11th Air Assault and his hlgh·r a n kin g crew Division, (or 39 months. GENERAL KINNARD GENERAL NORTON GENERAL TOLSON evacuated five men, four of "He took a tactical concept," them injured. said an early CAVALAIR, quired an eye pad, Kinnard de­ lst Cav in April, 1116&. His units by the Howze Board when Nor­ Under these three command· "molded it into operational signed a black patch with the continued to !'Jarass and deci­ ton served on it as an executive ers' leadership, the 1st Cay reality, and then led it through cavalry crest squarely in the mate Viet Cong and North Viet­ member. The effectiveness of cleared territory that had been combat for its ultimate test." middle of it. namese Army units. this air assault concept has been Viet Cong dominated for 14 An inspiration to his men at Norton, a World War II air­ In Vietnam, Norton en­ proven daily by the 1.st Cav. years. The division has provid. work, Kinnard also encouraged borne veteran who had com· couraged airborne infantry bri- Tolson, who had been com· ed security for thousands of fun. He traded ad libs with Hope manded a battle group during gades In of aircraft to manding general at the U.S. Vietnamese who only want to during a usa show; and, after 19511 and 1MO with the old lst deal' blows to the Aviation Center and Comman­ live in peace to rear their fami­ he injured his left and re- Cav in Korea, returned to the dant at the Army Aviation lies and till their fields. Sky troopers To Award Win Nation's Top Medals The Congressional Medal of Citation Honor, the nation's hi g h est The Associated Press has re­ award for valor, has been won ported that President Johnson by two 1st Air Cavalry soldiers will award a Presidential Unit since the division arrived ' in Citation to the lst Air Cavalry Vietnam,. Division tomorrow In a Penta­ 1st Lieutenant Walter Joseph gon ceremony. Marm Jr., won the first Medal The award will be the first of Honor alter he killed 12 ene­ for a division-sized unit in Viet­ my and helped break an enemy nam. assault November 14, 11165. The second Medal of Honor was pre­ The Cavalry won the citation sented posthumously Aogust 24 for its performance from 23 of this year to Stan Sergeant October to 24 November 1965, Jimmy G. Stewart. who killed at during the Pleiku Campaign. least eight and possibly 23 Viet During the Campaign, the , Cong d u ri n g a fight to the Cavalrymen defeated a Viet death, protecting his wounded Cong attack on the - Plef Me comrades. Spedal Forces camp and spoiled "Ueutenant Marm," his cita­ an enemy plan to attack Pleiku. tion read, "led his men through In heavy fighting at Pleilru and withering fire unW they were in the. la Drang Valley, the forced to take cover. Realizing Cavalrymen Idlled an estimated that his platoon could not hold 3,5(!1 enemy, and captured ~5 very long, and seeing four ene­ individual and 126 ' crew-served fiRST CLASS TOUR-Vlelname.e children ••ome 100 .lrong, look over one of Ihe hi Air mies moving into his position, weapons. Cav'. chinook helicopleR 01 Camp RadcliH, the world'. large.. heliport. The children ·toured he moved quickly under heavy The Citation also emphasi:r:ed the Cov'. ba.e camp complex compllen .. of Major General John J. Tol.on, Co'" commander. fire and annihilated ail four." the civic action success of the A concealed mac h I n e gun lst Cavalry. "While engaged in then began heavy fire. Marm, combat," the White House laid, deliberately exposing hlmseU to "the lst Cavalry evacuated 3,300 draw fire, spotted the machine refugees from the battle areas; Camp Radcliff Becomes Home gun and tried to knock it out provided almost 18 tons of food­ with an anti-tank weapon. stuff. for the hungry; distribut­ "Although he innIcted casual­ ed more than two tons of ties, the weapon did not sllence clothing and medical supplies to Of World/s Largest Heliport the enemy fire,'!' Marm'. cita· tli.e needy; provided medical On the main airfield at ond Fiddle", Camp Radcliff has aircraft are found in the 11th tion continued. "Quickly, disre­ treatment to some 4~ Viet­ Ft_ Rucker, Alabama, stands a sign indeed become the home of the Aviation Group who operate the garding the fire directed at him namese civilians and immunized world's largest and most recog­ s tan d-by UH-IB and UH-lD and his platoon, he charged 30 another 2,000 against disease which once simply read, ''The World'. Largest Heliport". nized heliport in the world - "Hueys'·. The 2%8th Assault Sup­ meters across open ground, and and contributed more t han known simply as "The Golf port Helicopter Battalion is the hurled grenades into the enemy $2,600 for construction of a Since the lst Air Cavalry Divi­ sion's arrival in the Republic of Course" to Sky-troopers. Division's heavy lift battalion position, killing some of the sch~L and impro~ement of a (CH-47A Chinooks), the only eight Insurgents manning it. native dispensary." Vietnam two years ago, the The reason for having such a Stewart, father of two small words "Once Was" have been vast complex is simple. More Gnes of their kind In the All members of the lst Caval· " Republic of Vietnam. Another children and the son of Mrs. ry will be authorized to wear added preceding the former aircra!t require more landing Ethel M. Stitt, Racine, Ohio, Inscription. area. The division hal approxi­ attached unit that adds greatly the Presidential Unit Citation to the Division's airmobile capa­ made his stand neaJ;' An Khe 15 while serving with the division. With Ft. Rucker playing "sec- mately S33 more fixed and months ago to protect five men rotary-wing aircraft and 1,5~ bility is the 478th Aviation Com· pany flying crane unit. These in his slx-man squad who · had fewer surface vehicles than a are only a few of the many been wounded May 18, 11166. regular inlantry diVision. elements which comprise the 1st A citation said that alter the Besides the "Hueys," "Chi­ Air Cavalry Division. other squad me m b e r s were nooks" and "Flying Cranes," wounded, Stewart held his posl· the Cav's "GoU Course" can "Where do we put all oUr tion "for four harrowing hours a c com m'o d ate its versatile choppers?" is a common ques· and through three assaults, an­ "Mobawk" fixed-wing aircraft, tion among new arrivals of the nihilating the enemy as they and the giant Air Force planes "First Team". Oh ••. out on the approached and before they that land and take orr intermit­ "Golf Course", is the customary could get a foothold. tently. answer from "short timers." "Eight en e m y dead were The division's lst Squadron, Specialist Four Harvey L. found around his immediate TIM CA. ...,.,LAIR Is published wet'kly UOICIor h ~lsIon '" hint_ion 11th Cavalry is authorized many Kammlngo, 11, of the 1st Air position,wlth evidence that 15 011,«, lsI CcrYoIry OI~ls1on tAlrmobIl1I) and 1$ .... """""'"Iud NrrrI publlcollon. n.. aircra1t far assisting the U.S. Cavalry Division's An Khe Air­ others had been dragged ~~Ion~~~$ c,rlnt!:' ~... ~~ !"":""n!.:I~1 T:r.;kI~ and nol Army's only Air Cav Squadron. field Command (AKAAC) works away," the citation went on. ...c:.uarUy ITIoH 01 11M 0--1 01 11M Armv. Where other divisions have a in the "Golf Course" tower. The In addition t.o two Congres­ CommaDdin&: GeDeral ...... MG Job J, ToisOIl medium artillery battalion, the Demotte, Indiana, "Sky trooper" sional Medals 01 Honor, 28 Dis­ Chief of I.rorm.t1oa. . .MaJor William S. Witten 1st Cav division artillery has said, "The landing strip is ap­ tinguished Service Crosses and OCOcer-I.-Ckar,e...... 1LT Jolil. Root the 2nd Battalion, 20th Artillery proximately 3,200 by 60 feet and 4111 S II v e r Stars have been Editor . .' ...... PFC BOler L. AlIlara.I ARA (Air Rocket Artillery), the we have 420 helipads to accom­ awarded members of the lst Air only one of its kind in the world. modate about everything com­ Cavalry for combat valor in 2 CAVALAIR The bulk of the division's ing or going." Vietnam. Gold, Black Unit Patch 'Most Striking In .Army "The First Cay-that's where miUar in the Army service or the Cav's progress, Sky troopers you sew the jacket onto the wound stripe, patch." but further sym· have bestowed upon Mrs. Dorey bolized the leaning ladder used the title So quipped a no doubt of Honorary Mother of jealous in days of yore to scale, castle the 1st Air Cavalry Divlslon. Army sergeant from another wall •. It evoked the unit. ancient bat· ·She has relularly visited 1st tie cry of "On to victory I " Cav veterans of the Vietnam The remark was prompted by For her creative the site of efforts and conlUct at Walter Reed Army the 1st AIr Cavalry the interest she has sbown in Hospital. Division's gold and black unit patch, the largest and most striking in the United Sta~es Army. Mrs. Ben H. Dorcy and her Major's Bravery lale husband Colonel Dorcy, then commanding the 7th Cav­ alry Regiment, designed the now famous patch in IIlZl in Results response to a request lor sug­ In Honors gestions by the Quartermaster A major whose General. quick thinkilli to land the ship and evacuate and brave actions saved several wounded. The Doreys had at first toyed He leaped from thc lives during a flrefight in Febru· helicopter, loaded two men on with the idea of differently col­ ary has received the ' Silver ored patches lor board, and was attempting to each regiment Star Medal with, first oak leal pull the -the original had been made commander Into the cluster. helicopter when a burst 01 auto- from the gold and light blue of Major one of the Victor T _ Bullock of matic weapons fire hit the shlp_ colonel's old capes Lawton, Okla., of -but that meant too many col­ Head. The burst killed one man and quarters, 5th Battalion, 7th wounded two, and ·the battalion on. Cavalry; received Finally they the nation's commander slipped to the decided upon third highest award for heroism gold, as the most precious met· ground as the ship took off, The In a ceremOIlY. Lieutenant chopper took off, but the ai, for the shield, which was to Colonel enemy be formed John A, Wickham, Jr., bullets had damaled It and It like the Norman Major Bullock's battalion com. shield to fit the shoulders. Black crashed some 300 meters away_ mander, also pre se n ted the A medical evacuation helicopter was chosen because II tradition· departing aUy represented operations officer two p!omptly landed at the crash headquarters, Army Commendation "which makes every man tops, Me d a I s Qt slle. with "V" device and 16 awards But ~e battalion whether he's a private or a gen· of the Air Medal. comman~er eral," said Mrs. Dorcy. was sbll on the ground. Major Bullock crossed 250 meters Colonel Dorcy selected the Major Bullock won his Silver of patch's most open rice paddy under' heavy distinctive feature, Stars when he and his battalion fire to obtain a horsehead, as the natural commander new another helicopter into an area at the infantry command post. symbol for a cavalry division. where a company was under Colonel Alain airborne, he located the Dorcy had long stud· heavy enemy lire. commander ied heraldry as and summoned an a hobby, and The battalion commander dis· evacuation ship U.s. ARMY PHOTO Mrs. Dorcy shared to remove him MOTHER her hus· embarked while the chopper and the other wounded men. The Of CAV-Mrs: len Dor.... , honorarv mother of the band's went to ~, " Interest. Their special refuel and ' he and evacuation was successful, and lst Air Cavalry Division, designed knowledge proved< useful. The several other· men ,were Cav patch along with her shield's diagonal stripe, called wound· the major stayed behind to live ~"''--'w.band, CoL Dorc:)' ~ ed by the intense enemy fire. luidance ..-_ ..... __ .... --'-._ a ... :,.'~Dd" in heraldry, wat (a· and encouragement to Major Bullock ordered the pUot the men on the ground. Tactics Change Atta'CK$ VC Infra~tructure )0 :.) ...... :. ....:: ~. ~- - . Cavalrymen Keep 'Charlie' On The Several times Move during its first lorces. The enemy troops year in Vietnam, Two or three times a day, the formed the function the lst Air moved eastward, and the Cav· Cavalry s of govern· enemy's main force units. By Cavalry Division struck east would air assault into ment, propagandized for the airy pursued them In Operation an area, usually before dawn, separating these units lrom the lrom its base camp at An Khe. Irving. Irving, conducted spread of Communism, had In the along and surround a vlllage, cutUng never had political infrastructure the y Bong: Son Campaign of the coast of the province, east to bear the weight early 1116e, and in off possible escape routes. of the war before, once protected, the Cavalry operations 01 Highway I, led to 1,300 ene­ Meanwhile, called Clean House, Davey NPFF men Now ' the war leaves the Wrastructure open my killed or captured, against combed the villale was b eing Crockett, Bee Bee, and others, only 20 Free . Sometimes brought home to them as for attack. the World soldiers they lound VIet Coni soldiers it Cav moved Inlo the heavily. killed. ' never had been before. In the The third stage, and perhaps populated eastern areas hiding In the rafters of homes, lint 01 Binh Operation Thayer II or in months of NPFF opera· the most dUficult, is now begin. Dinh Province - areas consid­ was tunnels. Sometime. their .tIons, 1,1i3 c1vUlan lought principally around the qUClltlonln1 of villagers members of ning: the attempt to supplant ered Communist strongholds. led to the Infrastructure were arrest. the Infras.tructure Each Bonl Son area. It lasted nearly the arrest of men and women with a gov· time the Cav moved three months ed by the National Police. ernment, and a Revolutionary east, enemy units were engaged and resulted in accused of being members of By denyinl 765 enemy killed. the VC infrastructure. the enemy hls Development program, run by and deleated. In the Bong Son supply trails, IUs long.standing the ' Government of Vietnam. Campaign alone, the dlvlsion In mld·Febr:uary, OperaUon stronlhold Pershln& areas, and his food . Some 30 58-man Revolutionary accounted lor 1,000 enemy killed brought even beavier supply, the 1st Cavalry hopes to Development pressure to bear on the teams now oper· In action. North destroy the eflectiveness 01 the ate in Blnh Dinh Province. But, with lew American Vietnamese units. For the first troops operaUng in the Central time, all 01 the Cavalry's three IUghland5, the Cavalrymen had brigades were concentrated In to keep on the move. They were the same area 01 operations. unable to remain and consoli· When Operation Pershing .ent date the successes they won in troops into 'the An Lao Valley, Blnh Dinb, South Vietnam's a Communist stronlhold north· most populous province. west 01 Bong Son, the Cavalry A year ago, on September 13, undertook a unique operation IM8, the division chanled its designed to protect the civilian tactics. In a series of opera· population of the valley from tlon. which the Cav called "The being harmed by the war. BatUe of Binh Dinh," the dlvl· Belore .hellinl and bombing slon set out not only to drive of enemy troops began, the Cav· _ main lorce enemy units out of aIry evacuated more than 7,500 Binh Dlnh, but to stay in the civilians from An Lao to rc­ area and to destroy the poliU· fUlee camps. Once the popula. cal structure which the Commu· tion was evacuated, An Lao nlsts have worked lor years to was declared a "Free Fire erect 'in Binh Dinh. Subsequent· Zone," giving U.S. troops the ly, the government of Vietnam right to engage any tarlet in would belm Revolutionary De­ the area. velopment operations in the While the military operations area, continued, the Cavalry was de­ The first step, however, had veloping a new type of opera· to be driving the enemy main tlon, the "cordon and search," lorces out of, the area, and this designed Photo By PI"<: DAVID FAANK to attack the VC In· DETAIN SUSPECT_Vietnamese National Combat the Cavalry is continuing to do. frastructure. For the first Police que,tlon a man suspected of being a time, Viet Congo The police and lst Air Operation Thayer I, in Septem' the division put to work the Cavalry Dlvl.ion' , 545th Military Police Company are work.. '. ber, 1i6&, led to the evacuation unique abilities of the Vleinam­ Ing logether 10 rid hamleh near long Son. 01 the "Crow's Foot" valley ese National Police Field Force south of Bong Son by enemY (NPFF). CAYALA'. 3 Two Yeots With The 1st Covol,,

~ I . ~ , 'n Central Higb/~ SOMETIMES A SHOWER • • •

SOMETIMES DIGGING ... ',/Je 1VISlon e e •••

OIVietnllm

SOMETIMES GETTING INTO CHOPPERS • • . SOMEtiMES THINKING •.• Civic Action Program Solves Many Problems 01 Viet People Everything from gencrals to in the Cavalry's area of opera· A major part of the Cavalry's garbage has played a part in lions. In an average week, 300 pro g ram is concerned with the Civic Action program of thc students attend English classes refugees. The population of the 1st Air Cavalry Division during given by men of the division. An Khe area has doubled under the division's first two years in The division also serves as a an influx of refugees, some of Vietnam. funnel for gifts to the people of whom were driven from their Garbage? Vietnam from the people of homcs by the war, while others Late last year, two co·opera· America. In the last year, 174" fled from Viet Cong controlled tive pigsties were sct up in vil· 000 pounds of food and quanti· a reas. lages near An Khe. When vil· ties of clothing; cement, and The Government of Vietnam lagers expressed an interest in other goods have been distribut· and the 1st Air Cavalr)' Division operating the sties, the Cavalr)' ed by the division. offer the refugees a place to agreed to buy pigs and explain Some of these goods have been live, materials to build a house their care and feeding. made available by the US agen· with, land to farm, clothing, and cy for International Develop- enough food for six months­ But feeding was a problem. ment. Others are the gifts of time for the family to become The soil around An Khe is not individual Americans. A group self·sufficient once again. particularly fertile, and corn to in Columbia, S.C. has donated Thc GVN also makes a cash feed the pigs was not readily three cement mixers and an X· payment to each family, to al~ available. ray machine to the- civic action low the family to buy whatever So the division hit upon an program. The X·ray machine, they need on the local economy. answer-the pigs could eat the the first in the An Khe area, Is Within this broad framework, huge loads of garbage generat· particularly crucial in an area units within the· Cavalry work ed daily by the division's mess where tuberculosis is endemic, out their own civic action pro· halls. since the early stages of TB grams. Almost every unit i~ in· The pigs flouriShed-and the can be detected only by X·rays. volved. G·5 pro g ram continues to flourish as well, thanks to the impetus provided by ingenious civic action workers at all levels. How do generals come 'into it? A continuouS command em· phasis on civic action has re­ sulted in an active program throughout the division, and a program that gets support when it needs it. For example, more than . 200 WATCHJ;S 'PROGRESS-Father Sui Duc, Calholic Montagnards, suffering fro m . Refugee Center at Bong Son, views piogreSi of a construction severe ' malnutrition after' Viet project handled by refugees of the center. Cong soldiers had taken their crops, came into division for· ward posts during August. The people were suffering, New First Team Book and the lst Cavalry gave a high p rIo r i ty to helping them. Surgeons from the division and doctors of the New Zealand Added·To Association Armed Forces at the Bong Son The First Cavalry Division years which lie ahead. . Dispensary treated the Montag· nards. r ~ Association has added a book Members of the', Association The division supplied \ them have a ' -common I bond: they to the Items given new lifetime with food and clothing and im· members of-the Association. served together in the 1st C~val­ mediately began planning to The book Is a ","page account ry Division. They are proud of send them to a refugee camp of the First Cavalry Division in that and they have a right to where they could gradually be- . Vietnam from July, 1965, to be. Pirst, they were veterans of come self·sufficient once again. December,- 1966. It was written World War II, then Korea, and The staples of the civic action by former 'division historian, now Vietnam. AU _are a part of program are medical ca r e, Captain Charles S. Sykes Jr., the First Team. education, and the distribution and contains descriptions in of American goods 10 the needy, words and photographs depict· South Vietnam needs doctors ing the arrival of the First Vet PilotTQkes badly, ' and the Cavalry's doc· Team In the Republic of Viet­ tors and medics try to help fill NEW CLOTHING--Oang Dong Khoa, pa510r of the Hoc Trost nam and the operations conduct· Huey Command the gap, holding sick call in vii· church in Bong Son, and a friend open packages for di5tribu­ ed by Sky troopers t h r 0 ugh A veteran pilot from Beaver, lages that might ' never have tion to needy pari,hioner5. Clothe, and food were provided by December. 196ft Pa. has taken command of the seen a doctor. In addition, the The book, -in addition to a aerial reconnaissance helicop­ division has helped build two individual5 in New York and California, decal and lapel insignia of the­ ters of the lSt Air Cavalry Divi· dispensaries for Vietnamese pa· lst Cavalry Division patch, and sion's 1st Brigade. tients, one in An Khe and one lifetime subscription to the As­ Major John W. Peters leads in Bong Son. " sociation newspaper, the Saber the platoon of small bubble· In the last year, the division's 2/17th Artillery Hits News, is sent to all new life topped scout ships which scour medical personnel have treated members. Associate members the mountains of northern Binh more than 139,000 patients on can receive the book by con· Dinh Province for' signs of the sick calls and MEDCAP mis· verting to life membership. elusive enemy. sions. Others have been treated Solid Rock BoHom The 1958 graduate of West at the dispensaries and at the The First Cavalry Division "We thought it would be real· Everything blew away when the Association was originally Point is not a new arrival to 616th Medical Clearing Com. Vietnam's Central Highlands. pany Hospital. ly nice to be at the Ghia Vuc helicopters came in to refuel." formed in Ii« dUring the c1os· Special Forces camp,." said 1st Bravo Battery overcame its Ing campaigns of World War II Major Peters piloted the com­ The program also places a mand helicopter for his .brigade high priority on educational pro­ Lieutenant Donald Campbell, difficulties and fired more than in the PacUic. Its objectives are Fire Direction Officer for B 2700 rounds in preparation lor threefold: commander before taking com· jects to help the Vietnamese. mand of the scout ships. Seven elementary schools have Battery, 2nd Battalion, 17th the massive First Team air·as· (1) To preserve and strength­ Artillery, "but then we started sault. Our 13 choppers fly an aver· been opened in the An Khe area "We accomplished all of our en the friendships made during age of 950 hours a month," the in co-operative projects involv­ to dig bunkers." _ . service with the 1st Cavalry The battery was air-lifted into lire missions from Gia Vue,': major says. And the scout flyers ing Cavalry civic action men continued Campbell, "but the Division; are called on to light too. and Vietnamese villagers. the CIDG camp at the mouth (2) To provide a suitable of the Song Re Valley to sup­ hardest thing we did was filling "Since February we have A high school now being con· in -the bunkers when we left." memorial honoring fallen com· recorded more than ISO Viet structed will be the first high port Sky troopers of the 1st Air rades and their gallant accom· Cong killed." school in the An Khe area. Cavalry Divis~on as they pene­ plishments; Peters holds the Distinguished . A continuing project has been trated the VC stronghold. Posi· (3) To help one another in the Flying Cross. teaching English to Vietnamese tioned on the southwest corner SPS Fashions of the Gia Vuc air strip, the artillerymen thought that the Power Mower During Operation Pershing lush valley would be a pleasant Specialist Five Bob Young change from the desolate land· had compassion for the men Ing zones they were used to oc· who worked under him keeping cupying. the lawn trimmed with Cav Compiles Impressive Stats The illusion passed quickly machetes. when they started to build pro- Young decided to do some­ First Air Cavalry Division February II, a total of 3,039 out. And 181 Chieu Hoi have • tective bunkers. thing about it. He fished around Sky troopers and Vietnamese enemy soldiers have been killed changed loyalties to the South "The whole valleY floor is for some spare parts, went to National Police Field For~ through August. . Vietnamese government. solid rock," said Campbell who work with an acetyline torch units have compiled an impres· In addition, 1,7SO Viet Cong Finally, a total of 49.730 Bong is from Midland Park, New and in a few days had fashioned sive statistical record during and 95 'North Vietnamese Army Son Plains inhabitants have Jersey. "The runway we were himself a power mower-he-, Operation Pershing. regulars have been captured. been Interrogated during the digging Into was a natural30r­ lieved to be the only·one In the SlnCi! the operation began on Some 1,193 Civilian Defendants, operation, providing information mation - nothing but rock. And lst Air Cavalry Division. members of the VC invisible that has led to the successful to top it off, they moved the Young is with Headquarters government - the Infrastruc· pacification of Bin h Dinh refueling point to within a cou· Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th 6 CAVAI.AII - ture - have also been rooted Province. pie hundred meters of us. Cavalry. Pershing E,nthusiastic Sky troopers Passes Beouty Queens Tour (ov Boses 200Days August lIst marked the 200th . Perform day of Operation Pershing, a 1st Air Cavalry Division opera· tion designed to clear northern Blnh Dinh Province of enemy troops. Swinging More than 3,000 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army soldiers have been killed dUring Pershing, and more than I,SOO Songfest captured. During Pershing, the Cavalry Miss America and nve former has exploited its unique airmo­ beauty queens toured 1st Air bile capabilities in new· ways C a val r y Division bases and designed to combat the "In­ mingled with enthusiastic Sky­ frastructure" - the local offi· . troopers in a whirlwind visll. cials, terrorists, and propagan­ Though they were drenched dists who have served the Viet by the first of the monsoon Cong for years, rains, the girls' spirits were not Pershing began on February dampened as they put on a 12th with Cavalry units driving swinging songfest fOr soldiers at into the heavily populated Bong Landing Zone English near Bong Son Plain. Later, the major scene of fighting was the An ""'.The 'high point of the day, Lao River Valley. northwest of however, for Miss Connecticut Bong Son. of 1966, Carole Ann Gellsh, 22, Civilians were e v ae u ate d and 1st Lieutenant James W. from the An Lao, long an ene· Zanevich, 24, a 1st Brigade heli· my ~ stronghold, and facilities of copter pilot, was their reunion value to the enemy were de· just befOre the show. stroyed. Cavalrymen found ene­ Miss Gelish and Zanevich my regimental headquarters were sweethearts dUring their hospitals, and supply areas in days at the University of ·Con· the An Lao. necticut. Both are from Water· In early August, the Cavalry bury, Conn. expanded the Pershing area of Photo B~ SPS ARCHIE BUNYON . Miss America, Jayne Anne operations to include the valley BEAUTY GRACES CAV-Skylroopers of the lst Cavalry Division greet members of the Miss JaYroe, 22, of Laverne, Okla.; of the Re River, northwest of Miss Alabama, 1966, Angeline the An Lao. No Free World units America USO show at the Cav's landing Zone English. Center of attraction, of coune, is Grooms, 22, of Birmingham; had penetrated the valley since Barbara Anne Harris, Miss South Carolina 1966, of Greenville. Miss South Carolina, Barbara the war in Vietnam began. Anne Harris, 22, of Greenville; Meanwhile, elements of the Miss Wisconsin of 1965, Sharon division worked with the Viet­ Mae Singstock, 22, or Oshkosh; namese National Police Field Miss Maine of 1964, Ellen J Force (NPFF) in a series of An Khe Scheduled For Hookup Warren, 22, of Kennebunk; and "cordon-and·search" raids on Miss Gellsh landed at English villages. The NPFF interrogat- I S In a Caribou transport In pour­ ...... jll.~~ BOd ac",t"'~."'~ c. ing rain and quickly whisked off petted members of tM' tnrra· nto uper Modern Network to Landing Zone Uplift by heli· structure while Cavalry troops copter. -surrounded the villages, culling The lst Air Cavalry Division's ton, and will be operated by the channels, in the world using At Uplift Miss America dined off routes of escape. base in An Khe is scheduled Army's 1st Signal Brigade. "FM tropospheric scatter radio with the 2nd Brigade's Head· In the first 200 days of Per· September 15 to be hooked into More than 20 sites of the more wave propagation" - a relative qua r t e r s and Headquarters shing, US and allied lorces lost a vast, super modern radio· than 80 scheduled fOr comple· newcomer to r a d i o-telephone Company troops and the otherS more. than 400 men killed and telephone network now being tion by January are now op·era· transmission. dined at difrerent com pan y I,BOO wounded. Communist loss- built fOr the Army throughout tional. ne "Tropo" method, unlike mess halls. es were mOre than 3,000 killed, Soulh Vietnam and other parts Ct' Ed i C Cogan 31 the line-or-slght mi~rowave com· Then they returned to English plus 750 individual weapons and 'of Southeast Asia. or s~rp;!':r R;;k P~. who ~om: munication used nearly every· and put on a swinging show be­ mOre than 60 crew·.served weap- . . . .' ' Kh ons captured More than 1 800 A $5 million three·bUlldmg mands the stahon in An e, where else in the world, can fOre mOre than 1,000 cavalry· enemy were captu;ed complex at Camp Radcliff and commented, "the system has span 3S far as 600 miles with· men as the soldiers shouted soldie~s out much atmospheric interfer· the i r enthusiastic approval. along with 324 tons of rice, 35 other !lew ~ites will be capable the advantage ?f being al".'05t tons of salt and more than 133 . of bemg Imked to telephones 100 per cent reliable and ehml· ence by us i n g high·powered After the. show the girls shook transmitters and SUper·sensitive hands with every man there and 000 rounds' of small.arms am- t~roughout ~hc: world by satel· nates the need to build staUons receivers. spOke with him briefly. munition. Some 9,000 persons . hte tranS~IlISSlOn. Alr~ady the in ru~~ed, remote enemy held were detained lor questioning. netw~rk IS h~ked lI~tO two areas. Pershing Is the fourth stage satellite trackmg stabons at The site at Camp Radcliff has of "The Battle of Binh Dinh," N~a Trang and Tan Son Nhut two powerful radios. two large a continuing series of 1st Air AIr Base. dish·antennae and a four genera­ Duds Make Charlie Cavalry Division operations de· The network centralizes the tor, dlesel·fueled power plant signed to clear South Vietnam's current hodge-podge of elec· with a total output of 6,000 most populous province or the tronic communications in the watts. Atop Hong Cong moun· Communist 'enemy. Republic of Vietnam and will tain is a bill·board like reflectOr Three-Time Loser enable a caller to be connected used to relay signals Into the anywhere in the country swiftly valley. Three dud hand grenades have grenade in each hand. Lieutenant Cited and easily. made Charlie a three-time ioser. Running past lst Lieutenant The station is complete, but The incident happened when Horst Glate, Hartford, Conn., Conventional combat communi· for finishing touches and final Company B. lst Battalion. 12th the fugitive tossed another gre For Heroic Action cation links. will feed into the tests of equipment. The American platoon was Cavalry, elements of the 545th nade, hitting Glatte in the foot. system. The station in An Kbe Page will hand over operation Military Police Company, and Again no detonation. The Viet pinned down almost immediate· will be able to handle more than Iy after air assaulting into a to the Army, as it has done on the National Police Field Force Cong had forgotten to remove a 240 telephone. channels which other completed sites, but will (NPFF) joined in a cordon·and· thick rubber band wrapped mountain landing zone north of can be linked to telephone, tele· Bong Son. maintain it and train incoming search mission about 12 miles around the handle for safety. As he fought and maneuvered type machines and data prO­ Army technicians for a year. north of Landing Zone English Glatte then fired his MI6 at his men out of the trap, 1st cessing systems. Twenty-eight soldiers will man on the Bong Son Plains. the bewildered VC, hitting him Lieutenant Jtalph L. Hagler Jr., The network is being built by the complex. After the 1st Air Cavalry Divi· in the arm. But he still man· of Metropolis, III., earned the slon Infantry cordoned off the aged to continue his escape. silver star, his nation's third P age Communications Engi· The station at Pleiku is the village, the MP's and the Na· neers, Inc., based in Washing· largest, in terms of numbers of The Viet Cong threw his last highest award fOr .valor. tional Police split into teams 10 grenade at Private First Class search the village. As they ap· Michael D. Bartle, Ortonville, p.roached the end of the village, Mich. For the third time in as a national policeman reported many tries, the escapee threw Charlie's Pitching Days Over spotting a VC hiding in the roof a dud. This time the VC ran out of a hut. of luck and was shot down, his A Viet Cong's bid for a spot Johns, of Baltimore, Md., no· The pitch was wide, and the After the hut was surrounded hope for survival terminated. In the big leagues has been ticed the man scurrying across grenade blew up harmlessly. by the allied forces the com· blocked by the 1st Air Cavalry rough terrain, rifle in hand. The count 1 and 0, the would· manding oUiccr of the NPFF One of the national policeman Division helicopter scout team. He dropped down for a closer be chucker attempted to evade went up to the hut. In attempt· noticed the VC hesitated, glanc· look, bringing his helicopter to ing to talk the VC into SUrren· ing at a spot in the bushes be· Warrant Ofticer Jeffrey F. the scouts by seeking refuge in fore he was shot. Checking It Johns, Company B. 1st Battal­ within 10 feet of the suspect. an old building. But John's dOOr dering. That·s when Charlie went Into oul, they found two NVA sol­ ion, 12th 'Cavalry was on a iow gunner, Specialist Five Gary He was grected with an old, diers hiding with a sniper's action. Kraatz had other ideas. rusty. American grenade 'which level scout mission on the Bong weapon. clothing, medicine and The VC turned, pulled a The Corpus Christi, Texas, hit him in the side, but failed important documents. Son Plains when a VC made an grenade off his belt and using soldier sent the VC to the to detonate. impromptu tryout of his pitching a full windup, attempted to showers with a quick burst on The VC jumped oU the roof in CAVALAIR 7 abilities. throw a strike at the helicopter. his M·60 machine gun. attempt to escape, holding a 1st Cay Still Follows

PatternM . Of Old Cay. (Cort'lnned From Page 1) lions. His attempt to rule the slon was in Vietnam. It was the Central Highlands had been first full division committed to foiled. the Vietnam effort. The division's s u ~esses be.­ Actually the division arrived came k now n to the world In late August when a I.GOG·man through operational code names advance party hacked awa)' .:.... Lincoln, Bee Bee, Davey dense jungle outside the city of Crockett, Crazy Horse, Haw· An Khe, 240 miles north of Sal· thorne, Nathan Hale, Henr), gon, preparing a base camp for Clay and Paul Revere. the Cav's 23,000 men and 465 And the division beume well helicopters. known to the enemy. His hav· The division's miSSion was a ens for nearly a decad~the An big one: Stop the communist Lao Valley, the Cay Giep Moun· take-over of the Central High. talns, the Crow's Foot and the lands. Bong Son Plain-bccame battle· Its first combat engagement fields Instead of rest and train­ started on September 18 when ing areas. Nowhere in the Cav's the division's 2nd Battalion, 12th operational area was he safe. Cavalry (%/12) was placed un· Cavalrymen's weapons der the operational control of claimed more Communists than the 101st Airborne Division. The those of any other unit In Viet· assignment was to secure the nam. It was a statistical fact Vlnh Thanh Valley, 15 miles that would be maintained northeast of An Khe. The op. throughout 1966 and Into 1967. eration, called Gibralter, was Clearing the Central High. successful. The Cav began to lands of most main force Viet show the merits of the airmo· Cong and North Vietnamese bile concept. Army forces in its first year of ' Then came the Cav's first operation, the division spent Its u.s. ARMY PHOTO real: test. . sec 0 n d year driving enemy WEtCOME, SIR-A pretty Vielnamese girl presents Major General Han), .Kinnard with a It started when Communist lalion centers oC Binh Dinh wreath welcoming the ht Air Cavalry Division to the Republic of Vietnam In September 'of forces attacked Plel Me near Province. It coordinated these 1965, General Kinnard was the fint of three general. to cornmond the First Team. the ·Cambodlan border. The ene· military operations with the es· my's plan was obvious . . After tabllshment of revolutionary de· PIc! Me it would hit Plelku and velopment programs aimed at 46th Anniversary Today control of PleJku is synonymous returning the Vietnamese to the with control of the Central High· control of the Government of lands. the Republic of Vietnam. The righting culminated in the Wh en the results are finaUy Cavalrymen Still ISaddle' Upl famous battle of the Ia Drang analyzed it will probably show Valley where the Cav used night that the BattJe for Blnh Dinh (Continued From Page 1) By 1941 the division had been of the city and freed, the Santo time air assaults, airmobile ar· was the lst Air Cavalry Divl· In the Battle of the Little Big buill back up to an aulhorized Tomas prisoners. The remain· tillery batteries and hard·hlttlng sion's greatest accomplishment Horn. strength of 10,110. It was ready der of the division followed In ambush tactics to score the first to date. Also in 1866 the 8th Cavalry to go when the J a pan e s e the wake of the task force and major victory of the Vietnam and 9th C a val r y Regiments bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. Manila was under Allied con· conflict. . --- were formed and elements of 7th of that year, but the Army troi. , When it was over, 1,519 ene· those fighting units are still had other plans. The price of . defeat for the my (by actual body count) were Victory with the division today. Finally It came. Japanese. was high, as 14,114 dead. Military estima te s The 8th Cav Regiment was In February of 1943 the divi. Sons of Nippon died in the bat- drained the Communists' .rank. organized to fill the need for a sion received alert orders and tie. , of another 2,042. mounted fighting force to repel began turning in its horses and The division scored its second It was one of the -I a stat· Without the hostile Indians of the South· changed over to a dismounted "first" at the end of the war tempts by the . enemy to meet west. Among the legendary unit. when Gene-rar MacArthur or· American forces with conven· feats accomplished by the 8th The division's first operation dered it to accompany him to tlonal warfare methods. Weapons was a 2,000 mile march by in the Pac I f I c came on Feb· the Japanese capital, Tokyo. The division slarted 1966 with horseback from Ft. Concho, ruary 129th, 1944 when it made and serve as part of the Eighth the Bong Son Campaign in the (Continued From Page 1) Texas, to Montana and South an amphibious landing on Los Army's occupation force. coastal areas of Binh Dinh they could muster - bowie Dakota. Today this unit Is the Negros Island, part of the Ad· The Cay performed that mls. Province. Here too, as in the Ia knives, machetes, bayonets, en­ lst Brigade's lst and 2nd Bat· mlraJty Islands of the Bismarck sion until early July of 1950. Drang, the airmobile Cavalry' trenching tools and an occasion· Archipelago. men scored high. In six weeks al axe _ the men marched in talions. In late June the North Korean close-ordered double files down The 9th Cav Regiment, fa· More than 7,000 Japanese feli of fighting the division killed before the 1st Cav's guns, and Army had Invaded South Korea 1,342 enemy soldiers and re­ the narrow, muddy streets of mous for its unique reconnais· the unit could look with pride and the division was ordered to turned 140,000 Vietnamese -to An Khe. Silent, hard·eyed Viet· sance mission with the dIvIsion, on Its ·First taste of combat In the Immediate assistance of the government contro\. namese villagers a Ion g the also had Indian War exploits in World War II. South Korean government. The victory formula had street watched the suspicious In· Its heritage. This was the unit Eight years later the First truders. that led to the deCeat ot the The cry was "Saddle up!" been established. and the division moved north Team would score another first For the next six months 1st The Cavalrymen made the rebellious Apache and Com· toward its next target - the when President Lyndon Johnson one·hour march along a rudi· manche tribes of the Southwest_ issued these words: Air Cavalry Division's helicop· mentary, cattle path, and then The 9th Cav, however, did not Philippines. ters darted from the Cambodian The Pacific commander, Gen· "I have today ordered to Viet· started cutting through the join the division's rolls until border to the beaches of the dense jungle with their hand 1957. . eral Douglas MacArthur gave nam the Airmobile Division." South China Sea. It hounded the division this message: tools. The oldest of the 1st Air Cav's It was the first lime an Amer· the enemy by day and night . in At lunchtime, the men care· clements was formed In 1855 "Go to Manila; free the pris· ican President has publicly an· the relentless. pursuit. When the oners at Santo Tomas; take fully packed all uneaten items when Congress redesignated the nounced the deployment of an Communtst ran, the division from their C·rallons lor the reo 2nd C a val r y Regiment and Malacanan Place and the Legis· Army division to a combat zone chased, depleting his ranks with lative Building." turn trip. formed the 5th Cay. At the out· before the actual departure of ambushes, the penalty for the Darkness was rapidly ap· break of the Civil War in 1861. The Qrder was brief but big. the unit. Communists' unwillingness to proaching as the sweat-«Jvered the unit's first commander reo At 0001 hours on February I, The division, now designated stand and light. troopers again marched through signed to lead the armies of 1!H5, a "Flying Column" from the 1st Cavalry Division (Air· The airmobile tactics had the village, this time handing the South. He was Lieutenant the division jumped off on a mobile), was the first full divl· thrown the enemy off balance. out left-over candy, gum, ciga­ Colonel Robert E. Lee. In_later loo-mile lightning thrust to Ma­ sian committed to the South They kept him In a state of con­ rettes, and other items from years, the 5th would distinguish nila. Sixty·six hours later it Vietnamese fi ght against Com· fusIon. The Central Highlands their noon meal. itself in such battles as Vicks· crashed Into surprised Japa· munism. The First Team was became a maze and a night­ Adult villagers, still silent and berg, Bull Run, and the Shenan· nese defenders on the outskirts first agaIn. mare for Communist opera· still suspicious, accepted the doah VaHey. Members of the gifts and left. leaving the crowd unit also watched at Appom_at· of soldiers and three and rour· tox when Lee surrendered to l year·old youngsters. General Ulysses S. Grant. The The following morning. Cav· 5th is currently r epresented by 1st Cav s Major Operations I alrymen set out again. This time the 1st and 2nd Battalions of Enemy Enemy Enemy Enemy as they marched through An the 5th Cav under the 2nd Bri· Name KIA (BC) KIA (Est) WIA (Est) Captured Khe they were greeted by smiles gade. PLEIKU CAMPAIGN 1,519 2,042 1,178 136 and waves from thc ·adults and From such a heritage the 1st CLEAN HOUSE 137 ,., 48 44 tugs·on-sleeves by the young· Cavalry Division was molded. BONG SON CAMPAIGN 1.342 1,746 1,348 633 sters. But 22 years would pass from LINCOLN·MOSEY .51 239 180 18 Several Viet Cong informers that September 13. 1921 Organi­ DAVEY CROCKETI 345 192 112 82 were soon pointed out to Viet· zation Day before thc division CRAZY HORSE 50' 381 175 28 namese Government Police; one would get a chance to prove NATHAN HALE 371 291 103 35 VC suspect was overcome by itself in combat. PAUL REVERE II· '02 209 89 two farmers who dragged him to The division's first contribu· BYRD 50. ,<1 the police station. Uon was made In the Depres­ PAUL REVERE IV 18' 12 Many other Viet Cong Infor­ sion years of the 1930's. Presi· THAYER I 231 72 mcrs f1t-d town during the af· dent Franklin Delano Roosevelt IRVING 81 ternoon sIesta, and the afternoon Instructed the division to be the THAYER II 765 ISO walk through An Khe had all cadre for his Civilian Conserva­ PERSHING 3,039 3,038'" the aspects of a Iiberallon tion Corps. The 1st Cav trained ALL OTHERS 20' 62 parade. 62,000 while al a total division TOTALS t,9711 • .,,.. The 1st Air Cav had won Its strcnJ!; th of 3,3 00. .. After Paul Re\·ere II estimates of enemy KIA and wounded were no longer made. first battle.