A 32-year-old Army major when he arrived in Vietnam for his first of two tours in Vietnam, Bruce Crandall was called “the old man” by the men he led. The Army commissioned him via Engineer OCS in 1953. He describes living conditions at An Khe, including hot showers and its officer’s club, and flying missions to support all eight battalions and three brigades of the 1st Cavalry Division. In detail, Crandall describes flying for 16 straight hours on the first day of the battle at LZ X-Ray, a 1965 battle in which he earned the nation’s highest military award for valor, the Medal of Honor. He describes the advice he gives to Medal of Honor recipients from more recent wars when they opine they don’t deserve the award. He speaks briefly about a crash four months into his second tour that broke his back and paralyzed him below the waist for some time, but when asked about his most vivid memory of the Vietnam War he responded, “How good the people were.” Remembering his Soldiers, he says, “My men were my sons.” About his own son, he speaks about a schoolteacher that protested the war by refusing to teach his son, an Eagle Scout, because “his father was a killer in Vietnam.” His worst day in Vietnam occurred on December 28, 1965, when four of his men went missing in action after their helicopter crashed. It was difficult telling their families he had known for nearly three years the men were missing. To this day, Crandall feels strongly that being a commander is "the greatest honor you can have.” In recognition of his accomplishments and receiving the Medal of Honor, the Army promoted Crandall to colonel in 2010, more than 30 years after retiring from the service.
Key Words: Cessna L-19/O-1 Bird Dog; Camp Rucker, Alabama; Gary Air Force Base in San Marcos, TX; Hiller OH-23 Raven; Wheelus Air Base, Tripoli, Libya; 11th Air Assault development, air mobility concept, Fort Benning, GA; 18th Airborne Corps, Dominican Republic; hot showers; officers club; Montagnards; Duc Co and Plei Me Special Forces camps; Ia Drang Valley; Fire Base Falcon; M60; M16; Peter Pilot; Armed Forces Radio; Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); Stolen Valor by Burkett and Whitley.
Key Names: Major Ed “Too Tall to Fly” Freeman, “Piney” Gramley, Colonel Allen M. Burdette, Jonathan “Jon” Mills, Captain Thomas C. Metsker, Crew chief Donald Grella, Shirley Haase, Master Sergeant Leroy Arthur Petry, Major William D. Swenson, Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester; General Peter W. Chiarelli, First Lieutenant B.G. “Jug” Burkett, Manuel Noriega.