Moore requires assistance these days, but he paid a visit to Plumley's bedside before his death. 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. 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. Filming & Production Command had fallen to a 21-year-old buck sergeant, Ernie Savage of Birmingham, Alabama. 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. Sergeant Ernie Savage : Dead bodies smell, Bungum. : 
At the end of that first day, eight of the platoons 27 men were dead. Plumley received the Doughboy Award in 1999. His voice kept choking up and the words just wouldn't come. 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. They have also lived in Altadena, CA and Pasadena, CA. 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. Release Dates It was clear to us that our book about the battles had opened the hearts of these Vietnamese generals and it was that, and our determination to get and tell their side of the story as honestly as we could, that had opened the door to this journey back to our old battlefields. After nearly four decades of rigid party control Hanoi residents were now experimenting big-time with capitalism and a more free market. Former B Company 1-7 Cavalry Sgt. A couple of years back, as his health declined, he relinquished his "reign" on the reunions. Ours was not the only fascinating talk going on that evening. After a series of studio interviews in New York, a number of Ia Drang veterans were chosen to make the trip to Vietnam with me and Joe Galloway. Their wheelchairs were crude and decrepit, as were the prosthetics replacing their missing arms and legs. WebSergeant Ernie Savage's precise placement of artillery throughout the siege of the "Lost Platoon" enabled the platoon to survive the long ordeal. By early November 1965 three PAVN regiments the 32nd, 33rd and 66th and the H15 Local Force Battalion had been assembled in the area. On the sidewalk in front, four new businesses were in operation selling trinkets, tea and cakes, tins of Russian caviar, and bottles of brandy. Savage didn't frighten easily, but he tended to be overly deferential to anyone "above" him. He didn't brag, he just told you like it was. Savage assumes command, calls in the artillery, and uses the cover of night to keep the Vietnamese from overrunning their defensive position. (ret.) Command Sergeant Major (ret.) "It wasn't just his reputation, the sergeant major was literally bigger than life. I didn't introduce the girls to the Plumleys; they were on their way in and we were on our way out. "Being second at anything didn't count. Joining us would be the Day One crew, including anchor Forrest Sawyer and producer Terry Wrong. He knew that the French commander was betting everything he had on a victory at Dien Bien Phu. Now we know that the dwindling down of our years to a precious few means little, because we are soldiers still. "It had too much Hollywood in it. 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. Ernie Savage, after retiring from the Army, had remained at Fort Benning, Georgia, as a civilian employee helping train Army Reserve soldiers. "Too much Hollywood," he said of the movie. He was one of only 324 Soldiers to claim that honor. He never shared war stories and was known to hang up on reporters who called him. Before we left the United States for Hanoi, the Vietnamese government Foreign Press Office asked if there was anything else we wanted to do or anyone else we wanted to see on our trip. Perhaps it wasn't believable enough to pass muster with the masses. Can You Spot the Hidden Symbols in DCs World War II Memorial? But when I approached him in person, after the screening of We Were Soldiers at the theater on Main Post, he offered this much. The meeting was held outdoors on the shores of one of Hanois seven lakes. He was laid to rest with Deurice in the Main Post Cemetery. 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. At other tables, the Americans and Vietnamese told war stories and asked and answered the age-old question: Where were you that day? 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. Gen. Nguyen Huu An, the enemy battlefield commander; and Colonels Vu Dinh Thuoc and Tran Minh Hao, who had fought there as lieutenants. This led to some remarkable exchanges. Technical Specs. The situation on that ground was very difficult. His voice kept choking up and the words just wouldn't come. 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. They have also lived in Altadena, CA and Pasadena, CA. "He said the (1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment) was the best unit he'd ever been in, the best trained," Savage said. Joseph L. Galloway. 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. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. 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. Command ultimately fell to Ernie Savage, who led the platoon through the rest of the battle. 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. For most, on both sides, this was their first time to sit down across from each other. Ernie Savage was a soldier in the Vietnam War. 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. [At night] Specialist Galen Bungum : I can't see a thing, but I can smell them. Joe and I had talked through our feelings about these meetings with our old enemies on the earlier trips. Nov 15, 1992 WASHINGTON Ernie Savage, sergeant 1st class, U.S. Army, retired, was having a hard time of it. Ernie Savage "He was all about PT and conditioning, but he'd do everything he expected us to do. 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. Sergeant Ernie Savage : Dead bodies smell, Bungum. Sgt. The general knew instinctively that there were answers to be found there to questions that haunted us all; that if we hoped to find peace for ourselves and our fallen brothers it would be there among the termite mounds dotting the tangled jungle and tall elephant grass. 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. 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. General Phuong, the historian, spoke for them all. To say he is a legend is not an exaggeration. Former helicopter commander Lt. Col. WebBy 1964 North Vietnam had established the B3 Front in the central highlands of South Vietnam. Oddly enough, that scene never made it into the movie. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. 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 second best result is Ernie Sawasy age 80+ in Woodland Hills, CA in the Woodland Hills neighborhood. We met and talked with other Ia Drang veterans of the other side during our days in Hanoi before beginning the long trip south. Sergeant Savage, the 3d Squad leader, now took command. Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : How do you know what kind of goddamn day it is? Giap was under orders from the Politburo to launch human wave attacks on the French in the late afternoon of January 26, 1954. 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. Sgt. 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. Nov 15, 1992 WASHINGTON Ernie Savage, sergeant 1st class, U.S. Army, retired, was having a hard time of it. WebSgt. 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. WebSergeant Ernie Savage assumed command after Sergeant's Palmer and Stokes were killed. You wrote that our soldiers fought and died bravely in battle, and for that we thank you. "He was the very essence of a command sergeant major. 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. Snatching the artilleryman's radio, he began calling in and adjusting artillery fire. But Plumley proved more of a challenge, even to Galloway. The men chosen to make this trip were all old friends and comrades. 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. 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. leaving Sgt. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. Sergeant Major Basil Plumley : How do you know what kind of goddamn day it is? ", https://www.historynet.com/back-ia-drang/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot. He'd step in and speak up and tell the colonel when the men had all they could take. "We thought he was the dragon, but looking back, I know he was the moderator. For all of us the greatest revelations and emotions came that evening, in a floating restaurant built on a barge on Hanois West Lake. Command passed to Sergeant Ernie Savage who called in multiple air strikes around the platoons position. Tom Metsker Desmond Harrington Sp4 Bill Beck Blake Heron Sp4 Galen Bungum Erik MacArthur Sp4 Russell Adams Director Randall Wallace Writers Ernie Savage, after retiring from the Army, had remained at Fort Benning, Georgia, as a civilian employee helping train Army Reserve soldiers. 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. 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. The highway to the capital had been widened, potholes had been repaired, and new homes and shops were being built along the roadside. To subscribe, click here. Dead bodies smell, Bungum. At Ia Drang in 1965, they fought each other with an intimate, bloody ferocity that left hundreds dead and scores maimed, and yet decades later, old enemies could embrace in friendship. "Who made you the (expletive) weatherman?" He walked around the sand table with a pointer in hand, showing us all that had been made ready for the attack. They met at Plumley's house and chatted over coffee and Deurice's pie. Command had fallen to a 21-year-old buck sergeant, Ernie Savage of Birmingham, Alabama. I asked him, 'What's the story about you and a German tank and he just grunted and said, 'Obviously I won.' HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. | 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. At the end of that first day, eight of the platoons 27 men were dead. 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. WebSgt. ", As a Soldier, Plumley defied convention as he defied death. WebSelect this result to view Ernie Roy Savage's phone number, address, and more. leaving Sgt. (He was awarded the Bronze Star for helping rescue wounded American Soldiers under fire at Landing Zone X-Ray.). He attended events at the National Infantry Museum and seemed to fairly tolerate the limelight, such as it was. Our traveling companions on the journey were three of the North Vietnamese officers who had done their best to kill us allLt. "You'd hear him up front yelling, 'Awright dammit, pick it up back there,'" Savage said. A hundred privately owned restaurants had sprung up where once there had been fewer than half a dozen. Ernie Savage was a soldier in the Vietnam War. The lights of Hanoi sparkled around the dark lake. 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. Savage assumes command, calls in the artillery, and uses the cover of night to keep the Vietnamese from overrunning their defensive position. Former B Company 1-7 Cavalry Sgt. But he said he had grown increasingly worried that such an attack would play into the hands of the French; that his artillery was vulnerable to the big guns of the French, and to launch human-wave attacks would destroy much of the force so carefully built and trained over the last 10 years, with no hope of replacements for the terrible losses he would suffer in such an attack. "I don't do interviews. Sergeant Ernie Savage In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. They were agitated and rushed us through the formalities in a matter of minutes. The airportstill surrounded by the big water-filled craters that American bombs had dug in the rice paddieshad been expanded and was jam-packed with humanity, where just months before it had been smaller and much sleepier. No it's not the dead ones! 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. WebSergeant Ernie Savage's precise placement of artillery throughout the siege of the "Lost Platoon" enabled the platoon to survive the long ordeal. That's what he always said -- I don't do interviews," Galloway said. We like your book. Ernie Savage : Good morning, Sergeant Major. (ret.) General An welcomed the Ia Drang veterans to Hanoi and did most of the talking on his side. Tony Nadal Jon Hamm Capt. Moore was the lieutenant colonel who led the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, into the Ia Drang, and Galloway was a UPI journalist assigned to the unit. Ernie Savage : Good morning, Sergeant Major. His soldiers tunneled and trenched and burrowed in the red earth, drawing the noose ever tighter around the French strongpoints and positions, while the big howitzers were set into positions on the forward slopes of the mountains surrounding the doomed French garrison. As an offensive measure, Sergeant Savage led his squad and attacked one of the hostile squads. Former B Company 1-7 Cavalry Sgt. "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.". History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. WebSgt. Change did not end there. The actor "under played" the sergeant major, said Galloway, who introduced the two after Elliott had been cast as Plumley. 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.. The Vietnamese officer gasped and turned pale: You and your machine gun killed my battalion! Plumley was witty without effort and never long-winded, Savage said. Through an interpreter the colonel asked where Bill had been during the fight at LZ X-Ray. 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. 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. By early November 1965 three PAVN regiments the 32nd, 33rd and 66th and the H15 Local Force Battalion had been assembled in the area. It was just grunts and growls for the first hour and a half, but then they got to talking," Galloway said. 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. Beautiful morning, Sergeant! (ret.) That's all I want to say.". Sergeant Major Basil Plumley The following day, our group of Ia Drang veterans met with Gen. Nguyen Huu An and seven of his commanders who had fought against us at X-Ray and Albany. People were building small brick and stucco two- and three-story shop houses alongside the airport road. But apparently, Plumley had no issues with Elliott's portrayal. 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. Meanwhile, with helicopters constantly dropping off units, Moore manages to secure weak points before the North Vietnamese can take advantage of them. I can smell them creeping up on us. Now the Vietnamese generals pulled closer to the table. | 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. Earnie Savage was a young buck sergeant, an E5, when he met Plumley in 1964. You are the first serious historians to come here and ask us for our version of what happened, and you quoted us accurately. We would have a chance to talk more that evening at dinner. 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. The girls, of their own volition, approached the sergeant major to ask for his autograph. And that was all there was to it.". Tony Nadal and former B Company 1-7 Cavalry commander Col. Command ultimately fell to Ernie Savage, who led the platoon through the rest of the battle. Command passed to Sergeant Ernie Savage who called in multiple air strikes around the platoons position. In April 2001, the smoke had finally settled from the exodus of the film crew, the stars and cameras and hangers on who descended on Fort Benning earlier that year to film Hollywood's adaptation of We Were Soldiers. The refrain "God may look like Sgt. Plumley's bravery in Vietnam was probably a mixture of inherent character and confidence gained on the battle field. "When we left there, Sam said 'Joe, I think I'm going to try to talk like the sergeant major.' There I was with the two most monosyllabic men in the world in the same room, and I sat there between them. WebSergeant Ernie Savage's precise placement of artillery throughout the siege of the "Lost Platoon" enabled the platoon to survive the long ordeal. At the museum, with its welcoming array of gray-and-green-painted cannons, antiaircraft guns, and old Russian tanks, we were welcomed by a smiling General Giap. 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. Without hesitation, Sergeant Major Plumley ran to the stacks and with his bare hands reached into the grenade boxes and grabbed the flare. 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.". "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 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. 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 evening, I tucked it into the book for safe keeping, and there it stayed until last week, when I learned that Plumley died Oct. 10 at the Columbus Hospice after a short battle with cancer. The legendary war correspondent met Plumley in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam -- a place neither thought they would survive. It has now been 43 years since those bloody battles of our youth, and yet the memories of the killing and dyinglittle more than a footnote in the schoolbooks of both the United States and Vietnamare as fresh as yesterday in our hearts and minds. Change was in the air. Across the room at another table a stunning conversation was unfolding between a Vietnamese army colonel, machine gunner Bill Beck and George Forrest. Within minutes he had ringed the perimeter with well-placed concentrations, some as Ernie Savage, after retiring from the Army, had remained at Fort Benning, Georgia, as a civilian employee helping train Army Reserve soldiers. Originally published in the December 2008 issue of Vietnam Magazine. Former B Company 1-7 Cavalry Sgt. The three became fast friends and remained close for nearly 50 years. I fared no better. "He was the very essence of a command sergeant major. 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. Savage assumes command, calls in the artillery, and uses the cover of night to keep the Vietnamese from overrunning their defensive position. 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! He was there; the Politburo was not. Savage didn't frighten easily, but he tended to be overly deferential to anyone "above" him. He then stomped out the grass fires touched off by the flares in and around the ammo crates.". 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.) Twelve were wounded. John Herren were both West Point graduates and professional Army officers. Published by arrangement with Harper Collins Publishers. Sam would tell you the same thing. Ernie is related to Mitchell Ernest Sawasy and Ernie Orest Sawasy as well as 2 additional people. 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 the!: I CA n't see a thing, but he 'd step in and adjusting artillery fire the... Between a Vietnamese Army colonel, machine gunner Bill Beck and George Forrest played '' the major. Other Ia Drang veterans to Hanoi and did most of the other side during our days in Hanoi before the! 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sergeant ernie savage vietnam