'Garry Owen!'

This is a post about heroes.

Several years ago my young neighbor Cindy came over with a book. “B.J., I want you to read this book. My daddy’s in it.”

I began the read and, discovering it autographed with many names, took it back, explaining I couldn’t be responsible for something so dear to her.

She told me the author had extra copies, so I placed a phone call and met one of the nicest and busiest men I’ve ever known.

The autographs in Cindy’s book were those of survivors of one of the fiercest battles in Vietnam. Her daddy, Larry Gilreath, fought in the battle of Ia Drang, near the Cambodian border. Gilreath fired the first shot at the enemy in the first ground battle in that war. Reunion buddies kid him that he started it all.

The writer I called is Joe Galloway, one of the military’s staunchest champions. A Texan with family ties to the Lees of Virginia, Joe braved that battle as a young UPI reporter. He, along with Lt. Gen. Hal Moore, wrote one of the best books about that period in our history, “We Were Soldiers Once … And Young.” The book later was adapted as the movie “We Were Soldiers” starring Mel Gibson as Gen. Moore, Barry Pepper as Joe and Greg Kinnear as the daring helicopter pilot Bruce Crandall.

These men of the 7th Cavalry rode into hell on helicopters with their battle cry, “Garry Owen!” From time to time, the men of that battle, Joe included, surface in the news to remind us of the collective heroism that came together on that hot landing zone.

Rick Rescorla, pictured front and center on the book’s dust jacket, survived the Ia Drang Valley and was a hero of 9/11. As head of security for Morgan-Stanley/Dean-Witter, the WTC’s largest tenant, Rick gave his life saving 2,700 co-workers. A documentary, “The Man Who Predicted 9/11,” is Rick’s story. Read more: LINK

On Monday, 41 years later, another hero of that battle, the helicopter pilot Ret. Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall, 74, was awarded the Medal of Honor, the country’s highest military distinction.

The Associated Press reports:

“The medal recognizes Crandall for his valor in repeatedly flying into enemy fire to bring in ammunition and supplies and evacuate the wounded. Crandall completed 22 flights in a 14-hour period on Nov. 14, 1965, most under intense enemy fire.” Read the full AP article on this fearless pilot: LINK

Crandall rescued 70 wounded Americans during those flights.

Capt. Edward Freeman, who flew the missions with Crandall, receive the Medal of Honor in 2001.

I haven’t talked with Joe in a while. The last time we talked he was headed to Atlanta, where this longtime war correspondent, decorated for bravery, was grand marshal of the city’s Memorial Day parade.

I know he was there, in the White House East Room, standing in the background as Crandall received his long overdue medal. And, I know he continues to make certain these men get the laurels they deserve.

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The Mel Gibson movie was good. The book is so much more powerful, because you really get to know these guys. You learn a lot about how we got into the war and how our troops prepared for a new way of fighting. You wait with wives and children as Yellow Cab drivers deliver dreaded telegrams. You hear the bullets of battle. And, finally, you learn to accept that the “enemy” were soldiers, too.

“We Were Soldiers Once … And Young.” A highly recommended read!