View Full Version : A British American Soldier
SASless
17th Jul 2013, 23:45
This fellow's Parents immigrated to the United States from Royston when he was four years old.
He is fighting a life threatening illness in San Francisco.
His story needs telling.....as he is a genuine American Hero....and someone his neighbors and family in the UK should be very proud to know.
There is a charity set up to help fund expenses for his treatment...and to seek Bone Marrow Donors.
http://www.macvsog.cc/images/caviani.jpg
Jon Cavaiani & Fall of Hickory (http://www.macvsog.cc/jon_cavaiani_&_fall_of_hickory.htm)
A great man.
His and other stories (like John Walton) are in the book MACV-SOG by Major John Plaster.
SASless
18th Jul 2013, 01:33
Rick Rescorla was another Brit who went on to have a tremendous career after immigrating. He was a Soldier's Soldier and died saving lives in the WTC on 911.
http://www.lzxray.com/18.jpg
SaSless
Quite a few not so well know American Military people came from English stock.
Always liked that photo of Rick Rescorla by Galloway.
He was another interesting person although not English.
SASless
18th Jul 2013, 02:52
He was born in Cornwell.....which last time I checked made him British....or has something happened to change that?
212man
18th Jul 2013, 06:02
He was born in Cornwell.....which last time I checked made him British....or has something happened to change that?
I think he was referring to Joe Galloway - not Rick....
SaS
Yes, sorry, I wasn't clear.
As per what 212 said.
For a civvy photographer, didn't do a bad job !
Ia Drang and LZ X-Ray showed what good tactics, organisation and leadership can do.
obnoxio f*ckwit
18th Jul 2013, 09:34
Met one (although not a MoH winner!) in Bosnia. GI wandered over to the Puma at Srebrenica and asked for a look round, in a broad Essex accent!
Had gone to the US on a sports scholarship, married a local, and the joined the National Guard.
We grew up 6 miles from each other, small world.
thunderbird7
18th Jul 2013, 09:48
Lots of Brits became great American soldiers - like George Washington, Ethan Allan..... :ok:
SASless
18th Jul 2013, 11:47
Ia Drang is where the NVA learned how to fight the US Army....."Hug Them by their Belt" Tactic.....get in close so we could not use our superior firepower (air and artillery) due to risk of killing our own Troops.
Ia Drang would have turned into a total defeat had Colonel Moore not been able to deploy his Troops to exactly the right place as they arrived piecemeal. It took multiple flights of helicopters to land his Battalion and fortunately they arrived just in time for him to be able to counter the NVA's moves. Moore read the battlefield and figured out what the enemy commander was thinking.
The battle was a very near thing.....at a couple of points during the fight it looked as if the Battalion would be over run and wiped out. Only the immense firepower focused on the NVA saved the day. The 1st Cav Artillery particularly place very effective fires on the NVA.
The Helicopters also were instrumental in the delivery of Ammunition and Medical Supplies.....and removing the Wounded....done at no small risk to themselves. Two Pilots were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions that day....along with some of the Infantry.
Yes.....Washington....refused a Commission by the English.....only to achieve some success in the new American Army.....but the American Army was an organization with lots of upward mobility at the time instead of lots of English Nobility. We saw how that played out at Jamestown didn't we?
".....get in close so we could not use our superior firepower (air and artillery) due to risk of killing our own Troops."
Not sure I totally agree with that, the NVA tried but although some people in Moore's Bn were expert in the use of very close fire support from the available Artillery. The Sgt in the separated platoon and one of the Lieutenant's, can't remember which platoon.
"Two Pilots were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions that day....along with some of the Infantry."
Interesting that these two, plus Galloway's medal all occurred well after the actual war.
In about 1986, my first 2IC was an Ex RSM, Vietnam Vet and he gave me a book on Battles of Vietnam on leaving. The first battle written in it is Ia Drang.
Little did I know after researching it then that it would become so well know because of the film !
Hal Moore's comment re medals was an interesting one.
Along the lines of "many people performed heroic acts but died
and those who witnessed them also died".
I'll go and look up the exact quote.
"Although many notable decorations have been awarded to veterans of the Battle of Ia Drang, in his book We Were Soldiers Once...And Young, Harold Moore writes: "We had problems on the awards... Too many men had died bravely and heroically, while the men who had witnessed their deeds had also been killed... Acts of valor that, on other fields, on other days, would have been rewarded with the Medal of Honor or Distinguished Service Cross or a Silver Star were recognized only with a telegram saying, 'The Secretary of the Army regrets...' The same was true of our sister battalion, the 2nd of the 7th."
Interesting that he mentions the 2/7 who were of course massacred at or on the way to LZ Albany.
SASless - with respect, it's more likely he was born in Cornwall.
Cornwell is a very successful American crime writer. Cornwall is a county in England.
Rgds SOS
SASless
18th Jul 2013, 13:44
There are numerous places to find After Action Reports/discussions about the battle and how both sides thought they had won.
The Vietnamese understood the American People would not support a War of Attrition which is the strategy Westmoreland put into place. His Successor, Abrams, changed it to a war of logistics with minimum casualties and made much more progress.
It was not unusual to have 105mm Artillery rounds land within 25-50 meters of an American position when under heavy attack by the NVA. Helicopter gunships also worked their fires into such distances in extreme cases.
More than a few times.....Fire Bases used Beehive and other anti-personnel weapons directly at attacking NVA forces....much like huge shotguns. Such tactics were very effective in stopping an infantry assault when the enemy troops were in the open charging perimeter defenses.
Those kinds of artillery rounds were developed during the war as were Flechette rounds for the helicopter gunship rockets.
"Flechette rounds"
Now they are a nasty piece of work.
Saw the effect at a fire power demo at Puckapunyal on a section
of Wooden stand up targets. Would have made a nice mess.
thunderbird7
18th Jul 2013, 15:04
SASless - with respect, it's more likely he was born in Cornwall.
Cornwell is a very successful American crime writer. Cornwall is a county in England.
Rgds SOS
He was a boy from Hayle, Cornwall, where this (http://rickrescorla.com/cornwall) memorial has been unveiled.
One and all!
I meant to add this before.
I know it didn't only happen in that one battle but the number of
extra ordinary people who ended up in that valley on that particular few days.
Plumley with his long battle record, Hal Moore, Rick, Joe Galloway,
Lt Marm, the two helicopter pilots flying unarmed helicopters and of course many others.