By Jessica Ginet
It happened 44 years ago this month. It was March 25, 1970, deep in the jungles of Vietnam. The day was hot. Muggy. Overcast. It was the tail end of the dry season.
Alpha Company, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (also referred to as Alpha Troop) rested in shallow holes dug out between the armored vehicles. Alpha Troop had just about finished a hellish day. A mortar round accidentally exploded in one of the vehicles, killing several men and Alpha Troop was mentally and physically drained after removing the burnt remains of their fellow soldiers from the wreckage. Later that evening, after the refueling, maintenance and rearming chores that had followed another tense day of jungle reconnaissance, nearly all was still in the diesel fume-permeated air at the night’s defensive position.
One grunt was supposed to remain awake at each position during the night, but sleep usually proved irresistible to the infantrymen as long as the reassuring armor was nearby. Silence and sleep was yearned for.
But there was an issue: Later that night Alpha Troop heard over the radio that another unit was in trouble. Charlie Company, from the 1st Calvary Division, was on a huge underground bunker full of North Vietnamese troops. Charlie Company was trapped, with just one hundred American soldiers facing at least 400 enemy fighters. Outnumbered and outgunned, Charlie Company was at risk of being overrun and the men were facing almost certain death or capture by enemy forces. Their casualties were increasing while their supplies were quickly dwindling.
That’s when John Poindexter, Alpha Troop’s young, 25-year-old Captain, gave the order: “Saddle up and move out.” The rescue of Charlie Company, an airmobile unit of the 8th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division by Alpha Company’s 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment on March 26, 1970, is now known as the Anonymous Battle.
The soldiers who experienced this event never heard about or read details of their heroics in the papers back in the US.
The battle didn’t have a name like the Tet Offensive or the Battle of Khe Sanh.
But like many battles then and now, known and unknown, it is a testament to the pride and determination of the American soldier. The Anonymous Battle is the amazing story of a group of men of all ages and all colors, from every part of the United States who stuck together, protected and fought for each other and defied the odds. Some of these soldiers were 18-year- old grunts, as Paul Evans of Olalla was at the time. Some were older and more experienced with a tough exterior shell brought on by the ugliness of warfare. Alpha Troop drove their tanks and armored vehicles through dense jungle that was part of War Zone C in South Vietnam.
They skirted around bomb craters, risked ambush and land mines, trying to get to Charlie Company in time. The confusion and sensory overload of warfare makes a complete, concise retelling of this event nearly impossible.
But in piecing together the information and the stories of the men who were there, the Anonymous Battle epitomizes the most recent revision of the US Army’s Soldier’s Creed, re-written in 2003, which reads:
I am an American Soldier. I am a warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values. I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade. I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself. I am an expert and I am a professional. I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat. I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life. I am an American soldier.
Considered a miracle by those that were saved by the actions and sense of duty of Alpha Troop, the events of the Anonymous Battle aptly tells the story of what soldiers do, both for their country and for each other.
Alpha Troop thrust themselves into the line of fire, using their armored vehicles and tanks to protect their fellow Americans in Charlie Company. The men of Charlie Company were determined warriors; they fought to maintain a steady supply of ammunition, they persevered running the guns, never stopping, and they quickly moved to replace those gunners that were injured or killed. The Anonymous Battle is about the soldiers who refused to leave a fallen comrade, dragging their wounded to safety. It’s about those who were injured yet never accepted defeat or quit after hours of fighting against horrible odds.
It’s about the medics who worked to place the mission first, working fervently to save those injured. The Anonymous Battle is about how, as night was falling on March 26, 1970, the convoy made a daring escape back through the jungle. As a warrior and a member of a team, these soldiers remained alert, protecting the wounded who lay in their midst.
On Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, over 39 years after the event, President Obama awarded veterans of the Alpha Troop the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest award for valor that a military unit can earn. In a clip obtained from www.whitehouse.gov, President Obama told the crowd, “Among the many casualties that day, some 20 members of Alpha Troop were wounded. And at least two made the ultimate sacrifice — their names now among the many etched in that black granite wall not far from here.
But because of that service, that sacrifice, Alpha Troop completed its mission. It rescued Charlie Company. It saved those 100 American soldiers, some of who join us today. And those soldiers went on to have families —children and grandchildren who also owe their lives to Alpha Troop. Now, some may wonder: After all these years, why honor this heroism now? The answer is simple. Because we must. Because we have a sacred obligation. As a nation, we have an obligation to this troop. Their actions that day went largely unnoticed — for decades — until their old captain, John Poindexter, realized that their service had been overlooked. He felt that he had a wrong to right. And so he spent years tracking down his troopers and gathering their stories, filing reports, fighting for the Silver Stars and Bronze Stars they deserved and bringing us to this day.”
Exactly one year after the Anonymous Battle, on March 26, 1971, the duties of the 1st Cavalry Division officially ended in Vietnam.
In the April 2014 Veterans Life: Part 2…The Anonymous Battle according to Paul Evans of Olalla.