"It wasn't just his reputation, the sergeant major was literally bigger than life. "He's a real hero, not an actor," I said. 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. He didn't brag, he just told you like it was. We would have a chance to talk more that evening at dinner. Former C Company 2-7 Cavalry clerk Jack Smith, after his two years as an Army draftee, went back to college and drifted into television news as an on-air correspondent for ABC, a job that his father, the broadcast pioneer Howard K. Smith, had held. Meanwhile, with helicopters constantly dropping off units, Moore manages to secure weak points before the North Vietnamese can take advantage of them. Command passed to Sergeant Ernie Savage who called in multiple air strikes around the platoons position. 
These were all crippled war veterans, men missing arms, legs, eyes. WebSergeant Ernie Savage assumed command after Sergeant's Palmer and Stokes were killed. The meeting outdoors in the sweltering heat was mercifully brief. WebSelect this result to view Ernie Roy Savage's phone number, address, and more. WebSergeant Ernie Savage assumed command after Sergeant's Palmer and Stokes were killed.
And at 6 feet, 6 inches, Plumley towered over the young Soldier. I am glad I did not kill you. Stunned, all I could do was nod and think to myself: Me, too, colonel. Sergeant Ernie Savage 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. "He always said, 'If you lose a battle, it's the NCOs' fault.'". 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. A state-owned shop that once displayed four cans of evaporated milk in a dusty window had been transformed into the Hong Kong Kung Fu Video and Coffee Shop, and its tiny tables were jammed with young Vietnamese watching Bruce Lee movies. I thanked them for the opportunity for such a historic visit by old enemies. 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. The meeting was held outdoors on the shores of one of Hanois seven lakes. 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. So was he. The second best result is Ernie Sawasy age 80+ in Woodland Hills, CA in the Woodland Hills neighborhood. The legendary war correspondent met Plumley in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam -- a place neither thought they would survive. Meanwhile, with helicopters constantly dropping off units, Moore manages to secure weak points before the North Vietnamese can take advantage of them. But we want you to know that we never gave such orders. Me, too. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. 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. Former B Company 1-7 Cavalry Sgt. Tom Metsker Desmond Harrington Sp4 Bill Beck Blake Heron Sp4 Galen Bungum Erik MacArthur Sp4 Russell Adams Director Randall Wallace Writers "He said the (1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment) was the best unit he'd ever been in, the best trained," Savage said. ", As a Soldier, Plumley defied convention as he defied death. Matt Dillon Clark Gregg Capt. He knew the strengths and weaknesses of his army and the positions. The West Virginia native, who was born on the first day of 1920, earned the Combat Infantryman Badge in World War II, Korea and Vietnam (where he served two tours.) Within minutes he had ringed the perimeter with well-placed concentrations, some as Plumley believed in training to standard, then raising the standard, said Steve Hansen, who served with Plumley in the Ia Drang. Across the room at another table a stunning conversation was unfolding between a Vietnamese army colonel, machine gunner Bill Beck and George Forrest. 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. 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 have to say a lot -- he just had to show up, and people paid attention. : 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. Technical Specs. Savage assumes command, calls in the artillery, and uses the cover of night to keep the Vietnamese from overrunning their defensive position. "I don't do interviews. WebSgt. 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. His voice kept choking up and the words just wouldn't come. WebSgt. He welcomed them as fellow soldiers to a Vietnam now at peace. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. Giap had told us earlier that if we Americans had studied the lessons clear for all to see in the wake of Dien Bien Phu, we would never have come here. | Army Organic Industrial Base Modernization Implementation Plan, Army leadership meets with privatized housing partner CEOs, October 2017 Nominative Sergeants Major Assignments, May 2017 Nominative Sergeants Major Assignments, Pentagon Hall of Heroes Induction Ceremony for Lt. Col. Charles S. Kettles, Signal regiment honors Hollywood director. Ernie Savage, after retiring from the Army, had remained at Fort Benning, Georgia, as a civilian employee helping train Army Reserve soldiers.
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He fought in more than 20 military operations during his 32-year military career, having enlisted on March 31, 1942, as a private after two years of high school. 
I never knew him to be mean.". 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! We had asked for this briefing because of the importance of Dien Bien Phu and the defeat of the French in setting the stage for Americas beginning involvement in the affairs of the two Vietnams. After nearly four decades of rigid party control Hanoi residents were now experimenting big-time with capitalism and a more free market. Their wheelchairs were crude and decrepit, as were the prosthetics replacing their missing arms and legs. You wrote that our soldiers fought and died bravely in battle, and for that we thank you. Ernie Savage : Good morning, Sergeant Major. 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. WebBy 1964 North Vietnam had established the B3 Front in the central highlands of South Vietnam. Twelve were wounded. A couple of years back, as his health declined, he relinquished his "reign" on the reunions. You wrote in your book that our men killed your wounded on the battlefield and this is true. Nov 15, 1992 WASHINGTON Ernie Savage, sergeant 1st class, U.S. Army, retired, was having a hard time of it. We landed at Hanois airport on October 13, 1993, an hour behind schedule, and were met by our Vietnamese minders as we stepped off the plane. 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. Oddly enough, that scene never made it into the movie.
"Who made you the (expletive) weatherman?" He trained us to be the best," Hansen said. 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.". 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. For all of us the greatest revelations and emotions came that evening, in a floating restaurant built on a barge on Hanois West Lake. He was a lot like his reputation; he was gruff and he could be tough, but he wasn't mean. We have had your book translated into Vietnamese and I have read it twice already and will read it again, Phuong told the two of us. ", https://www.historynet.com/back-ia-drang/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot. Tony Nadal Jon Hamm Capt. 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. Plumley growled. "When we left there, Sam said 'Joe, I think I'm going to try to talk like the sergeant major.'
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