The Battle of Ia Drang was the first battle of the Vietnam War for America. It took place on Nov. 14-15, 1965. The movie “We Were Soldiers” depicts the battle. Bruce Crandall was not well-known until the movie made him famous. Greg Kinnear played him. How much of his depiction was accurate?
Crandall was born on February 17, 1933. He was an All-American baseball player in high school, batting .600. He was attending the University of Washington when he was drafted in 1953. Unfortunately, he was not drafted by a major league baseball team. He was drafted into the Army. He became a helicopter pilot. He spent a lot of time helping with military topographic mapping.
In 1965, he was sent to Vietnam. As a major, he commanded a squadron of choppers. His call sign was “Ancient Serpent 6”. On Nov. 14, he led UH-1 Hueys in ferrying Col. Harold Moore’s unit into Landing Zone X-Ray. Soon after his second drop, the soldiers started taking fire from enemy forces. The LZ became very hot. So hot that Medevac helicopters refused to go in. Crandall and his wingman Capt. Ed “Too Tall” Freeman risked their lives to bring in ammunition and take out the numerous casualties. In 16 hours, Crandall made as many as 22 trips. His crew chief was shot in the throat. He saved at least 70 Americans. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross which was bumped up to a Medal of Honor. It was presented by Pres. George W. Bush on Feb. 26, 2007. See his citation below. (Oddly, Freeman received his in 2001.)
In Operation Masher in 1966, he landed in a small area in the middle of trees at night to rescue wounded of a company that was surrounded. It was a dark night, so the commander of the company stood in the middle of the clearing with a flashlight to guide Crandall in. Crandall made two trips and brought out 12 wounded. In 1968, he was shot down when the explosions of American bombs damaged his Huey. He was the only survivor. He spent five months in a hospital with a broken back and other injuries. He had made around 900 flights in his two years in Nam.
Crandall went on to much success in the civilian world. He took time out to be a technical adviser for the film “We Were Soldiers”. He was on set when filming of the helicopters took place. Crandall was invited to fly one of the Hueys. His depiction in the film was accurate. His nickname “Snake” was changed to “Snakeshit”. They did wash the blood out of his chopper. He did point a gun at an officer, but in reality the situation was that he was being pulled off a cot by a man who then cast aspersions on his mother. Crandall pointed his pistol at the man’s groin. The movie has his chopper shooting up the enemy, when in reality his Huey was not armed. But overall, Crandall was pleased with his portrayal.
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Major Bruce P. Crandall distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism as a Flight Commander in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). On 14 November 1965, his flight of sixteen helicopters was lifting troops for a search and destroy mission from Plei Me, Vietnam, to Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley. On the fourth troop lift, the airlift began to take enemy fire, and by the time the aircraft had refueled and returned for the next troop lift, the enemy had Landing Zone X-Ray targeted. As Major Crandall and the first eight helicopters landed to discharge troops on his fifth troop lift, his unarmed helicopter came under such intense enemy fire that the ground commander ordered the second flight of eight aircraft to abort their mission. As Major Crandall flew back to Plei Me, his base of operations, he determined that the ground commander of the besieged infantry battalion desperately needed more ammunition. Major Crandall then decided to adjust his base of operations to Artillery Firebase Falcon in order to shorten the flight distance to deliver ammunition and evacuate wounded soldiers. While medical evacuation was not his mission, he immediately sought volunteers and with complete disregard for his own personal safety, led the two aircraft to Landing Zone X-Ray. Despite the fact that the landing zone was still under relentless enemy fire, Major Crandall landed and proceeded to supervise the loading of seriously wounded soldiers aboard his aircraft. Major Crandall’s voluntary decision to land under the most extreme fire instilled in the other pilots the will and spirit to continue to land their own aircraft, and in the ground forces the realization that they would be resupplied and that friendly wounded would be promptly evacuated. This greatly enhanced morale and the will to fight at a critical time. After his first medical evacuation, Major Crandall continued to fly into and out of the landing zone throughout the day and into the evening. That day he completed a total of 22 flights, most under intense enemy fire, retiring from the battlefield only after all possible service had been rendered to the Infantry battalion. His actions provided critical resupply of ammunition and evacuation of the wounded. Major Crandall’s daring acts of bravery and courage in the face of an overwhelming and determined enemy are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
https://www.seattlepi.com/ae/movies/article/Real-life-hero-All-day-long-it-was-blood-1082374.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_P._Crandall
https://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/crandall/profile/index.html
https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20020303&slug=crandall03
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