sergeant ernie savage vietnam

He knew that the French commander was betting everything he had on a victory at Dien Bien Phu. : Bill explained that he had been way out front, guarding the American flank next to the dry creek bed. Command ultimately fell to Ernie Savage, who led the platoon through the rest of the battle. 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. Ernie Savage, after retiring from the Army, had remained at Fort Benning, Georgia, as a civilian employee helping train Army Reserve soldiers. Meanwhile, with helicopters constantly dropping off units, Moore manages to secure weak points before the North Vietnamese can take advantage of them. I didn't introduce the girls to the Plumleys; they were on their way in and we were on our way out. Change was in the air. Joe immediately suggested that we ask that Senior General Vo Nguyen Giap meet us at the Vietnam Military Museum in Hanoi and give us a briefing on his conduct of the campaign against the French at Dien Bien Phu. But we want you to know that we never gave such orders. We sent a cable back asking for this. The situation on that ground was very difficult. ", As a Soldier, Plumley defied convention as he defied death. Across the room at another table a stunning conversation was unfolding between a Vietnamese army colonel, machine gunner Bill Beck and George Forrest. Perhaps it wasn't believable enough to pass muster with the masses. But I explained who he was and reminded them that Sam Elliott played Plumley in the movie. 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. It lodged in a box of hand grenades, burning fiercely. WebSergeant Ernie Savage's precise placement of artillery throughout the siege of the "Lost Platoon" enabled the platoon to survive the long ordeal. On the one occasion I called Plumley and reminded him that we had met socially a time or two, he declined to speak to me in my role as a reporter and explained nicely that he'd been burned once by the media, badly. Giap was under orders from the Politburo to launch human wave attacks on the French in the late afternoon of January 26, 1954. Technical Specs. Ernie Savage was a soldier in the Vietnam War. His voice kept choking up and the words just wouldn't come.

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. He trained us to be the best," Hansen said. (ret.) And at 6 feet, 6 inches, Plumley towered over the young Soldier. For us this was research, capturing the words and thoughts of these men for history. For most, on both sides, this was their first time to sit down across from each other. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. Beautiful morning, Sergeant! ", https://www.historynet.com/back-ia-drang/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot. The girls bounded back smiling, with Plumley's signature scrawled across the back of my register receipt. After nearly four decades of rigid party control Hanoi residents were now experimenting big-time with capitalism and a more free market. The men chosen to make this trip were all old friends and comrades. Their wheelchairs were crude and decrepit, as were the prosthetics replacing their missing arms and legs. 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. 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. Sgt. I can smell them creeping up on us. Ernie Savage : Good morning, Sergeant Major. How do you know what kind of goddamn day it is? Former helicopter commander Lt. Col. WebBy 1964 North Vietnam had established the B3 Front in the central highlands of South Vietnam. "It takes your breath away to think he survived all that. Nov 15, 1992 WASHINGTON Ernie Savage, sergeant 1st class, U.S. Army, retired, was having a hard time of it. They met at Plumley's house and chatted over coffee and Deurice's pie. Me, too. The legendary war correspondent met Plumley in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam -- a place neither thought they would survive. More than 300 American troopers of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) and thousands of North Vietnamese Army regulars had perished on that ground in November 1965 in the battles that opened a war that would drag on for 10 long years. 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! After Deurice died in May, Plumley said his time was short, he'd be joining her soon. Just one paragraph out of 430 pages -- a succinct account, unembellished, that encapsulates the character of a man who was larger than life long before his character hit the big screen. At one point, my seatmate on the bus, Colonel Thuoc, tapped me on the chest and told me through the interpreter: You have the heart of a soldier. The death of Communism and the old Soviet Union had clearly had a salutary effect on a nation that had once been an important client state and the recipient of much Soviet assistance.

Originally published in the December 2008 issue of Vietnam Magazine. We like your book. Another army of peasant laborers pulled and pushed old American 105mm artillery pieces captured by the Chinese in Korea along a 60-mile dirt road through the mountains. The Vietnamese officer gasped and turned pale: You and your machine gun killed my battalion! They have also lived in Altadena, CA and Pasadena, CA. "I don't do interviews. 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. 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. 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. At other tables, the Americans and Vietnamese told war stories and asked and answered the age-old question: Where were you that day? Earnie Savage was a young buck sergeant, an E5, when he met Plumley in 1964. Savage assumes command, calls in the artillery, and uses the cover of night to keep the Vietnamese from overrunning their defensive position. WebBy 1964 North Vietnam had established the B3 Front in the central highlands of South Vietnam. As an offensive measure, Sergeant Savage led his squad and attacked one of the hostile squads. Ernie is related to Mitchell Ernest Sawasy and Ernie Orest Sawasy as well as 2 additional people. These were all crippled war veterans, men missing arms, legs, eyes. Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : How do you know what kind of goddamn day it is? Former B Company 1-7 Cavalry Sgt. We always knew the value of prisoners. All this he told us quietly, matter-of-factly, with no hint of bragging or boasting. He didn't brag, he just told you like it was. He was laid to rest with Deurice in the Main Post Cemetery. The legendary war correspondent met Plumley in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam -- a place neither thought they would survive. Within minutes he had ringed the perimeter with well-placed concentrations, some as And that was all there was to it.". But when I approached him in person, after the screening of We Were Soldiers at the theater on Main Post, he offered this much. He welcomed them as fellow soldiers to a Vietnam now at peace. I fared no better. His dedication paid off, when Plumley staffed the 7th Cav's 1st Battalion with Soldiers he knew to be highly skilled, well- trained and disciplined. 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. The general, speaking through an interpreter, told us he made one daring decision that changed the course of the siege and history, a decision that he said could have cost him his life. The lights of Hanoi sparkled around the dark lake. WebThe President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Clyde E. Savage (RA14746198), Sergeant, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam. 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. 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. Former B Company 1-7 Cavalry Sgt. Published by arrangement with Harper Collins Publishers. As an offensive measure, Sergeant Savage led his squad and attacked one of the hostile squads. He was a lot like his reputation; he was gruff and he could be tough, but he wasn't mean. The second best result is Ernie Sawasy age 80+ in Woodland Hills, CA in the Woodland Hills neighborhood. WebSergeant Ernie Savage's precise placement of artillery throughout the siege of the "Lost Platoon" enabled the platoon to survive the long ordeal. Sgt. This is not very easy for me. Beck, whose memory of those terrible hours alone on that machine gun mowing down waves of attacking North Vietnamese is photographic, and whose nightmares linger to this day, responded simply and quietly: It isnt very easy for me either.. "Too much Hollywood," he said of the movie. I said 'Well, Sam, it don't seem like that great of a reach to me. "And it was, because he brought men he knew, a lot of them he'd trained and served with, and that's why we had such good leaders.". Tom Metsker Desmond Harrington Sp4 Bill Beck Blake Heron Sp4 Galen Bungum Erik MacArthur Sp4 Russell Adams Director Randall Wallace Writers Oddly enough, that scene never made it into the movie. Tuesday, a crowd of more than 400 packed The Infantry Center Chapel to bid farewell to a giant. Four hundred men. The three became fast friends and remained close for nearly 50 years. I disobeyed my orders. By early November 1965 three PAVN regiments the 32nd, 33rd and 66th and the H15 Local Force Battalion had been assembled in the area. 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. WebThe President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Clyde E. Savage (RA14746198), Sergeant, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam. Joe and I had talked through our feelings about these meetings with our old enemies on the earlier trips. Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway (4/6/2023), Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway 6/6/2018, Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway. Ernie Savage : Good morning, Sergeant Major. In the months leading up to their deployment to Vietnam, Plumley and Moore worked their men hard. 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. Ernie Savage Robert Bagnell 1st Lt. Charlie Hastings Marc Blucas 2nd Lt. Henry Herrick Josh Daugherty Sp4 Robert Ouellette Jsu Garcia Capt. He drew a quick map sketch on a paper napkin. From those same conversations and our book, the generals knew something about our families as well. Matt Dillon Clark Gregg Capt. 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. When we walked up the ramp we were stunned to be welcomed by a large table of Vietnamese war veterans who regularly gather there to talk of old times over a good meal. Official Sites Hal Moore, told me that we had to return to Vietnam and to the Ia Drang battlefields.

The lives of professional military officers are not all that different, no matter what country they soldier for. 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.". Without hesitation, Sergeant Major Plumley ran to the stacks and with his bare hands reached into the grenade boxes and grabbed the flare. Savage assumes command, calls in the artillery, and uses the cover of night to keep the Vietnamese from overrunning their defensive position. "I am so blessed to have had two such men as best friends, as mentors and as role models for almost half a century," said Galloway, who has done more than any other to inspire new generations of Soldiers with the stories of old Soldiers, like Moore and Plumley. He became "almost loquacious -- a chatterbox," swapping old Army stories (but never war stories!) This ancient Red River Delta capital was bustling and busy where it had been quiet and somnolent on our previous two trips. In walked retired Command Sgt. We met and talked with other Ia Drang veterans of the other side during our days in Hanoi before beginning the long trip south. Release Dates Sgt. Tom Metsker Desmond Harrington Sp4 Bill Beck Blake Heron Sp4 Galen Bungum Erik MacArthur Sp4 Russell Adams Director Randall Wallace Writers Plumley believed in training to standard, then raising the standard, said Steve Hansen, who served with Plumley in the Ia Drang. Former A Company 1-7 Cavalry commander Col. | The passage wasn't very clear, just mentioned (Plumley) and something about a German tank," Hansen said. (ret.) Sam would tell you the same thing. WebSgt. At the outset of the Peloponnesian War the Athenian-allied city-state came under attack from the same Greek forces that a half century earlier had driven off Persian invaders. Sgt. 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. Former B Company 1-7 Cavalry Sgt. Snatching the artilleryman's radio, he began calling in and adjusting artillery fire. "He's a real hero, not an actor," I said. It was just grunts and growls for the first hour and a half, but then they got to talking," Galloway said. Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : How do you know what kind of goddamn day it is? The actor "under played" the sergeant major, said Galloway, who introduced the two after Elliott had been cast as Plumley. Most of the Americans would find peace on this journey.
A couple of years back, as his health declined, he relinquished his "reign" on the reunions. : At the end of that first day, eight of the platoons 27 men were dead. What are you a fucking weatherman now? with old Army buddies. Ernie Savage, after retiring from the Army, had remained at Fort Benning, Georgia, as a civilian employee helping train Army Reserve soldiers. Within minutes he had ringed the perimeter with well-placed concentrations, some as It is just like mine. "He was a man of few words and a humble man; a lot of people don't realize that about him. Command passed to Sergeant Ernie Savage who called in multiple air strikes around the platoons position. | Meanwhile, with helicopters constantly dropping off units, Moore manages to secure weak points before the North Vietnamese can take advantage of them. Ernie Savage Robert Bagnell 1st Lt. Charlie Hastings Marc Blucas 2nd Lt. Henry Herrick Josh Daugherty Sp4 Robert Ouellette Jsu Garcia Capt.

His awards and decorations included Silver Star (one Oak Leaf Cluster); Legion of Merit; Bronze Star (one Oak Leaf Cluster and Valor Device); Purple Heart (three Oak Leaf Clusters); Air Medal (one silver and three bronze Oak Leaf Clusters); Army Presidential Unit Citation (two Oak Leaf Clusters); Army Commendation Medal; American Defense Service Medal; American Campaign Medal; Word War II Victory Medal; Korean Service Medal (with Arrowhead device and three campaign stars); Vietnam Service Medal (with one silver and three bronze campaign stars); Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation; Republic of Korea War Service Medal; United Nations Service Medal for Korea; Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm; Vietnam Campaign Medal; Combat Infantryman Badge (three awards); Master Combat Parachutist Badge (with gold star, indicating 5 combat jumps); Vietnam Army Basic Parachutist Badge; Order of St. Maurice; and Garry Owen Distinctive Unit Insignia. Sergeant Ernie Savage : Dead bodies smell, Bungum. Giap greeted Joe and me as old friends in token of our two previous meetings and shook hands with the rest of our traveling squad during a brief stop in a museum reception room. Ernie is related to Mitchell Ernest Sawasy and Ernie Orest Sawasy as well as 2 additional people. It was clear that there had been major changes since our last two visits to Hanoi. The highway to the capital had been widened, potholes had been repaired, and new homes and shops were being built along the roadside. He was also, in the popular vernacular, a PT beast. At the end of that first day, eight of the platoons 27 men were dead. [At night] Specialist Galen Bungum : I can't see a thing, but I can smell them. 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. People were building small brick and stucco two- and three-story shop houses alongside the airport road.

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There are those who claim, but cannot prove, that he was the only man to claim five combat jumps behind enemy lines.