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Medal of Honor recipient Army COL Bruce P. Crandall.
Congressional Medal of Honor
Episode 2825 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature Army COL Bruce P. Crandall and his Congressional Medal of Honor award. Information featured in this episode appeared on the Military Hall of Honor and U.S. Army websites.
Bruce Perry Crandall is a retired U.S. Army officer who received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during the Battle of Ia Drang during the Vietnam War. During the battle he flew 22 missions in an unarmed helicopter into enemy fire to bring ammunition and supplies and evacuate the wounded. By the end of the Vietnam War, he had flown over 900 combat missions.
Bruce Perry Crandall was born on 17 February 1933 in Olympia, WA; he was also raised there. During high school, Crandall became an All-American baseball player. After graduating, he attended the University of Washington in Seattle until being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1953. He married his wife Arlene on 31 March 1956.
Crandall commanded 16 helicopter crews of the 1st Cavalry Division’s Company A, 229th AHB that lifted troops on a search-and-destroy mission from Plei Me to Landing Zone X-Ray in what would become the most vicious fight of the Vietnam War to that date. Then-Lt. Col. Harold G. Moore, commander of the 1st Cav. Div.’s 1st Bn., 7th Cav. Regiment depended on then-Maj. Crandall’s helicopters to insert his Soldiers of the 1st Bn. into the LZ.
Crandall’s Medal of Honor citation included this: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Major Bruce P. Crandall distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism as a Flight Commander in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).
Listen to episode 2825 and discover more about Army COL Bruce P. Crandall and his Congressional Medal of Honor award.
