Joining us would be the Day One crew, including anchor Forrest Sawyer and producer Terry Wrong. Former A Company 1-5 Cavalry commander Lt. Col. | His troops were ordered to keep digging the trenches ever nearer the French lines. leaving Sgt. Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : How do you know what kind of goddamn day it is? Savage didn't frighten easily, but he tended to be overly deferential to anyone "above" him. But Plumley proved more of a challenge, even to Galloway. Over the past few years, Plumley's personality changed noticeably, Galloway said. Ernie Savage (left) and Dennis Deal talked about their time in the Ia Drang Valley as members of the 7th Cavalry Medal of Honor Recipient retired Col. Walter Joseph Joe Marm, Jr. shared his recollections of the battle and how he continued to battle despite being shot through the jaw. He never shared war stories and was known to hang up on reporters who called him. Major Basil Plumley and his wife Deurice. Within minutes he had ringed the perimeter with well-placed concentrations, some as WebSgt. Maj. Michael Weimer selected as 17th Sergeant Major of the Army, MIA-Medal of Honor recipient and WWII Army pilot laid to rest, U.S. Army STAND-TO! Snatching the artilleryman's radio, he began calling in and adjusting artillery fire. "He didn't have to say a lot -- he just had to show up, and people paid attention. That support had evaporated and Vietnam was now cautiously searching for another way forward that involved some of the benefits of capitalism, especially foreign investment. (ret.) Across the room at another table a stunning conversation was unfolding between a Vietnamese army colonel, machine gunner Bill Beck and George Forrest. You killed my best friend. It was hard to square the image of this small, amiable gray-haired former schoolteacher with the fact that this was the man who, along with the former waiter Nguyen Ai Quoc, a.k.a. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. Plumley believed in training to standard, then raising the standard, said Steve Hansen, who served with Plumley in the Ia Drang. WebSergeant Ernie Savage's precise placement of artillery throughout the siege of the "Lost Platoon" enabled the platoon to survive the long ordeal. Bill explained that he had been way out front, guarding the American flank next to the dry creek bed.

History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. Joe and I were seated with the Vietnamese generals, Man, An and Phuong, whom we now felt we knew well from our previous trips and interviews. I disobeyed my orders. "He was all about PT and conditioning, but he'd do everything he expected us to do. I thanked them for the opportunity for such a historic visit by old enemies. Now we know that the dwindling down of our years to a precious few means little, because we are soldiers still. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. He took care of his Soldiers, trained them hard, but looked out for them.". I asked him, 'What's the story about you and a German tank and he just grunted and said, 'Obviously I won.' Tony Nadal Jon Hamm Capt. (ret.) Savage didn't frighten easily, but he tended to be overly deferential to anyone "above" him. No it's not the dead ones! Ernie Savage : Good morning, Sergeant Major. : Originally published in the December 2008 issue of Vietnam Magazine. WebSelect this result to view Ernie Roy Savage's phone number, address, and more. These terrible things happen in the confusion of war, and not just on our side.. Technical Specs.

Filming & Production For most, on both sides, this was their first time to sit down across from each other. Some of the others in our group of veterans were less comfortable with the idea; they were still angry at those who tried to kill them so long ago, and had in fact killed many of their friends. General An welcomed the Ia Drang veterans to Hanoi and did most of the talking on his side. Gen. Nguyen Huu An, the enemy battlefield commander; and Colonels Vu Dinh Thuoc and Tran Minh Hao, who had fought there as lieutenants. Matt Dillon Clark Gregg Capt. He knew that the French commander was betting everything he had on a victory at Dien Bien Phu. And at 6 feet, 6 inches, Plumley towered over the young Soldier. Now there was real traffic to contend with on the highway and the streets of Hanoimore cars and a plague of small, noisy, smoky motorbikes had joined the quiet stream of bicycles that had owned those streets before. WebSgt. leaving Sgt. He drew a quick map sketch on a paper napkin. Savage assumed command by virtue of being close to the radio and began the process of calling in repeated bombardments of artillery support around the platoon's position. Galloway said the best lines in the movie were Plumley's own words, including his response to a Soldier who greeted the sergeant major with a "good morning.". "You'd hear him up front yelling, 'Awright dammit, pick it up back there,'" Savage said.

For his "gallantry under relentless enemy fire on an otherwise insignificant knoll in the valley of the Ia Drang," Ernie Savage received the Distinguished Service Cross. George Forrest helpfully reached over and added the symbol for machine gun to Bills X marking his position. Our soldiers could not go out in the dark and get our wounded and ignore yours, who were armed and could shoot them if they passed them by. WebSgt. After a good Vietnamese meal of spring rolls, fish, chicken and rice washed down by cold beers, we turned to the obligatory preliminary conversations about families and work and life in general as the hot tea was poured. By early November 1965 three PAVN regiments the 32nd, 33rd and 66th and the H15 Local Force Battalion had been assembled in the area. As an offensive measure, Sergeant Savage led his squad and attacked one of the hostile squads. How do you know what kind of goddamn day it is? Command ultimately fell to Ernie Savage, who led the platoon through the rest of the battle. I fared no better. Sergeant Ernie Savage : Dead bodies smell, Bungum. Some of us blinked back tears. He knew the strengths and weaknesses of his army and the positions. WebSergeant Savage was serving as squad leader in the 2d Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), on 14 November 1965, when it was attacked by a hostile force which consisted of approximately two companies. That's what he always said -- I don't do interviews," Galloway said. I held my breath, because I knew Plumley hated the limelight, no matter how "little" the light. ", Plumley believed training, leading and disciplining Soldiers "was NCO's job, not an officer's job," Savage said. "We all thought he was hatched a sergeant major, and here he was in black and white, a first sergeant. Specialist Galen Bungum Tony Nadal Jon Hamm Capt. He became "almost loquacious -- a chatterbox," swapping old Army stories (but never war stories!)

: Nov 15, 1992 WASHINGTON Ernie Savage, sergeant 1st class, U.S. Army, retired, was having a hard time of it. The dinner ended early, since we had a 4:15 a.m. wake-up call to catch our flight from Hanoi south to Danang, where our road journey to the Central Highlands would begin. Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : How do you know what kind of goddamn day it is? At other tables, the Americans and Vietnamese told war stories and asked and answered the age-old question: Where were you that day? Former B Company 1-7 Cavalry Sgt. Change did not end there. We headed back to our rooms at the sparkling new five-star Hotel Metropole with its modern amenitiessuch a contrast to our old quarters at the Defense Ministry with rats and huge spiders on our first two trips. Ernie is related to Mitchell Ernest Sawasy and Ernie Orest Sawasy as well as 2 additional people. WebSergeant Savage was serving as squad leader in the 2d Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), on 14 November 1965, when it was attacked by a hostile force which consisted of approximately two companies.

Earnie Savage was a young buck sergeant, an E5, when he met Plumley in 1964. Ernie Savage, after retiring from the Army, had remained at Fort Benning, Georgia, as a civilian employee helping train Army Reserve soldiers. WebSgt. "Too much Hollywood," he said of the movie. Ernie Savage Robert Bagnell 1st Lt. Charlie Hastings Marc Blucas 2nd Lt. Henry Herrick Josh Daugherty Sp4 Robert Ouellette Jsu Garcia Capt. "I carried the bucket in that conversation. WebSergeant Ernie Savage assumed command after Sergeant's Palmer and Stokes were killed. Ho Chi Minh, had built an army out of an unarmed gaggle of peasant boys and girls and led them with great skill against the Japanese, the French colonialists, the United States and, more recently, against their former ally and neighbor, Communist China. Our new book, We Are Soldiers Still, tells the story of that journey across the years and miles and a long night spent stranded on a battlefield known as Landing Zone XRay, amid Khmer Rouge guerrillas from nearby Cambodia, tigers and the spirits of those who had fallen there in desperate hand-to-hand fighting in that long-ago November.

By early November 1965 three PAVN regiments the 32nd, 33rd and 66th and the H15 Local Force Battalion had been assembled in the area. Ernie is related to Mitchell Ernest Sawasy and Ernie Orest Sawasy as well as 2 additional people. I can smell them creeping up on us. He fought with then-Lt Col. Hal Moore in the Battle of Ia Drang, which was the first major Battle of the Vietnam War involving US Troops. He fought with then-Lt Col. Hal Moore in the Battle of Ia Drang, which was the first major Battle of the Vietnam War involving US Troops. In walked retired Command Sgt. The girls bounded back smiling, with Plumley's signature scrawled across the back of my register receipt. Instead he ordered his artillery pieces pulled back to the reverse slopes of the mountaintops, and the laborers began burrowing through the earth and rock to construct impregnable gun positions where they could fire on the French below and then swiftly pull the guns back into the mountain itself. All this he told us quietly, matter-of-factly, with no hint of bragging or boasting. The girls, of their own volition, approached the sergeant major to ask for his autograph. Known as "Old Iron Jaw" to his Soldiers, he set his face like flint and led honestly, fairly and occasionally by intimidation, if need be. Savage, who was a squad leader with 2nd Platoon, B Co., 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, told the students how he had gone from a squad leader to leading the platoon during the battle. WebSergeant Ernie Savage's precise placement of artillery throughout the siege of the "Lost Platoon" enabled the platoon to survive the long ordeal. The situation on that ground was very difficult. When everything was ready, then, and only thenon March 13, 1954Giap signaled the attack, and this time he would use his tactics, designed for a Vietnamese army, first cutting French supply and reinforcement lines and the vital airstrip with his artillery while the Viet Minh troops closed in on and overran the surrounding French hilltop strongpoints one by one. "He was the very essence of a command sergeant major. We always knew the value of prisoners. General Giap is waiting for you at the museum, one of them explained. He welcomed them as fellow soldiers to a Vietnam now at peace. WebBy 1964 North Vietnam had established the B3 Front in the central highlands of South Vietnam. Our traveling companions on the journey were three of the North Vietnamese officers who had done their best to kill us allLt. There were the murmurs of a dozen other conversations at the small tables, and the clatter of dishes in the nearby kitchen, which gave off the enticing scents of the next course. The Vietnamese officer gasped and turned pale: You and your machine gun killed my battalion! It was clear that there had been major changes since our last two visits to Hanoi. Tucked between pages 220 and 221 of a dog-eared copy of "We Were Soldiers Once and Young" is a receipt from the Fort Benning commissary dated 2001. Command Sergeant Major (ret.) Tom Metsker Desmond Harrington Sp4 Bill Beck Blake Heron Sp4 Galen Bungum Erik MacArthur Sp4 Russell Adams Director Randall Wallace Writers In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. Ernie is related to Mitchell Ernest Sawasy and Ernie Orest Sawasy as well as 2 additional people. (ret.) Savage assumes command, calls in the artillery, and uses the cover of night to keep the Vietnamese from overrunning their defensive position. Why would anyone who had somehow survived the bloodiest and costliest fighting of the entire Vietnam War want to return to the birthplace of his nightmares and walk that blood-soaked red earth on a remote plateau in the Central Highlands?

Former A Company 1-7 Cavalry commander Col. In our earlier inter views we had learned something about their familiesGeneral An had a daughter who was an army doctor and a major; General Man had a son who was an engineer and later would study in the United States; General Phuong lived with a daughter and her family. As an offensive measure, Sergeant Savage led his squad and attacked one of the hostile squads. This ancient Red River Delta capital was bustling and busy where it had been quiet and somnolent on our previous two trips. His voice kept choking up and the words just wouldn't come. The Defense of Plataea Proved a Textbook Example of How to Survive a Siege. The second best result is Ernie Sawasy age 80+ in Woodland Hills, CA in the Woodland Hills neighborhood. Basil Plumley retired after 32 years in the Army, then worked as a civilian employee at Martin Army Hospital at Fort Benning for another 15 years. "It wasn't just his reputation, the sergeant major was literally bigger than life. He'd step in and speak up and tell the colonel when the men had all they could take. "He said the (1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment) was the best unit he'd ever been in, the best trained," Savage said. Former B Company 1-7 Cavalry Sgt. These were all crippled war veterans, men missing arms, legs, eyes. We shook hands warmly and visited with them for a few minutes before moving inside to a private room, where we were divided up and mixed together, Vietnamese and American veterans, table by table. Oddly enough, that scene never made it into the movie. Giap was under orders from the Politburo to launch human wave attacks on the French in the late afternoon of January 26, 1954. You wrote in your book that our men killed your wounded on the battlefield and this is true. No one should have survived all that," said Joe Galloway, who co-authored the book with retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore in 1992. Ernie Savage : Good morning, Sergeant Major. Some, like former-soldier-turned-journalist Jack Smith, expressed their feelings in the early discussions with the enemy commanders. The legendary war correspondent met Plumley in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam -- a place neither thought they would survive. They have also lived in Altadena, CA and Pasadena, CA. Former executive officer of A Company 2-7 Cavalry Lt. Larry Gwin left the Army as a captain, earned a law degree at Yale and practiced law in the Boston area. Giap led the way to a large room in back where a huge 20-by-30-foot sand-table exhibit depicted in full detail the battlefield of Dien Bien Phu, the scene of his greatest victory over the French in 1954. WebSgt. People were building small brick and stucco two- and three-story shop houses alongside the airport road. WebBy 1964 North Vietnam had established the B3 Front in the central highlands of South Vietnam. At our first meeting in 1982 to map out the research that would consume a decade and result in the publication of We Were Soldiers Onceand Young, my coauthor and best friend, Lt. Gen. Even more puzzling was the fact that we Americans had paid the tuitionby the end of the French war in Indochina, the United States was financing about 70 percent of the cost of that warbut had not learned the right lessons. These and the firm stand made by the remaining men pinned down on the knoll, lead to the death of scores of North Vietnamese troops, who never managed to wipe out the platoon. He didn't brag, he just told you like it was. It was just grunts and growls for the first hour and a half, but then they got to talking," Galloway said. But I explained who he was and reminded them that Sam Elliott played Plumley in the movie.

Earnie Savage was a young buck sergeant, an E5, when he met Plumley in 1964. Within minutes he had ringed the perimeter with well-placed concentrations, some as To say he is a legend is not an exaggeration. It serves two purposes; first, to mark the account of a remarkable incident that occurred in November 1965 during a battle between American forces and the North Vietnamese in the Ia Drang Valley; and second, to remind me that for a time, a giant walked among us. Specialist Galen Bungum He was also, in the popular vernacular, a PT beast. The men chosen to make this trip were all old friends and comrades. Sgt. The refrain "God may look like Sgt. Like you, we love our soldiers., The small, bespectacled Phuonga lieutenant colonel when he arrived on the Ia Drang battlefields in 1965 to write the Vietnamese armys report and lessons learned on the battle, and now a major general and chief historian of the Vietnamese armyalso had something else to say. Former A Company 1-7 Cavalry assistant machine gunner Bill Beck, after completing his two-year tour as a draftee, went back to being a commercial artist. In the months leading up to their deployment to Vietnam, Plumley and Moore worked their men hard. Savage didn't frighten easily, but he tended to be overly deferential to anyone "above" him. Ten-mile foot marches were the norm, and Plumley regularly ran long distances with his men, leading from the front. '", Elliot and Plumley were "two peas in a pod," Galloway said, but "the sergeant major, in life, was bigger than Sam Elliott. After retiring from the Army, Herren continued to work at the Pentagon as a civilian employee, while Nadal worked as a human resource officer in several large corporations. A hundred privately owned restaurants had sprung up where once there had been fewer than half a dozen. Meanwhile, with helicopters constantly dropping off units, Moore manages to secure weak points before the North Vietnamese can take advantage of them. It lodged in a box of hand grenades, burning fiercely. Plumley growled. Any apprehensions we had at such a chance meeting of old enemies were quickly laid to rest as the Vietnamese veterans smiled and held up a hand-lettered sign that read, in English: Welcome American Veterans. Published by arrangement with Harper Collins Publishers. Without hesitation, Sergeant Major Plumley ran to the stacks and with his bare hands reached into the grenade boxes and grabbed the flare.

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Ernie Savage (left) and Dennis Deal talked about their time in the Ia Drang Valley as members of the 7th Cavalry Medal of Honor Recipient retired Col. Walter Joseph Joe Marm, Jr. shared his recollections of the battle and how he continued to battle despite being shot through the jaw. He attended events at the National Infantry Museum and seemed to fairly tolerate the limelight, such as it was. Tuesday, a crowd of more than 400 packed The Infantry Center Chapel to bid farewell to a giant. I had nothing to worry about. "He's a real hero, not an actor," I said. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. After nearly four decades of rigid party control Hanoi residents were now experimenting big-time with capitalism and a more free market.