Bruce P . Crandall Bruce Perry Crandall ( born February 17 , 1933 ) is a retired U . S . Army officer who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Ia Drang . During the battle he flew 22 missions ( in one of the aircraft , then flew 6 - 8 different aircraft for a true mission total of 70 - 80 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 . After retiring from the Army he worked several jobs in different states before settling down with his wife in his home state of Washington . Early life and family . Crandall was born in 1933 and raised in Olympia , Washington and during high school 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 March 31 , 1956 and they have three sons and five grandchildren . Arlene died on November 2 , 2010 , from cancer . As of 2011 , Crandall lives in Washington . Military service . After commissioning and graduation from fixed - wing and helicopter training conducted by the United States Air Force and United States Army , he was assigned to an Army Aviation mapping group based out of the Presidio of San Francisco " " that at the time was the largest flying military aviation unit in the world " " . From there he went on to fly Cessna L - 19 Bird Dog s and de Havilland Canada DHC - 2 Beaver s in Alaska , again for topographic studies . His first overseas flying assignment was to Wheelus Air Base in Tripoli , Libya , mapping the desert for two years flying de Havilland Canada DHC - 3 Otter , Beaver , Birddog and OH - 23 Raven aircraft as an instructor pilot and unit test pilot . His next overseas tours were flying over thousands of square miles of previously unmapped mountains and jungles in Central and South America . For this mission , he was based out of Howard Air Force Base , Panama , and Costa Rica . While assigned to the 11th Air Assault Division , Crandall helped develop air - assault tactics as a platoon leader . In early 1965 , he joined the Dominican Republic Expeditionary Force as a liaison to the 18th Airborne Corps . Later that year , he commanded the 1st Cavalry Division ' s Company A , 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion at An Khe , Vietnam . Using the call sign " Ancient Serpent 6 " , he led a flying unit supporting eight battalions on the ground . Battle of Ia Drang . Crandall was assigned to A Co . , 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion . On November 14 , 1965 , he led the first major division operation of the Vietnam War landing elements of the 1st Battalion and 2nd Battalion of the 7th Cavalry Regiment , and the 5th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army , into Landing Zone X - Ray in Vietnam ' s Battle of Ia Drang . During the fierce battle that followed , he was credited with evacuating some 70 wounded soldiers along with wing man Major Ed Freeman . Twelve of these fourteen flights were made after the Med Evac unit refused to land in the intensely hot landing zone . Crandall ' s helicopters evacuated more than 75 casualties during a flight day that started at 6 : 00 am and ended at 10 : 30 pm , more than 16 hours later . The two also flew in the ammunition needed for the 7th Cavalry to survive . The craft he was flying was unarmed . Crandall was initially awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and on February 26 , 2007 , this was upgraded to the Medal of Honor , awarded by President George W . Bush in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House . Operation Masher . On January 31 , 1966 , during the first combined American and South Vietnamese Army operation , " Operation Masher " , Crandall had just finished a full day supporting the 1 / 12th Infantry Battalion . As he returned to refuel and shut down for the night , he learned that " X ' Company of the 1 / 7th was in heavy enemy contact and had 12 wounded soldiers that needed evacuation . The soldiers were pinned down in a tight perimeter . The unit was led by his friend and fellow veteran of the Battle of la Drang , infantry officer Captain Tony Nadal . Crandall refueled and flew to the area . He learned the pick up zone was surrounded by trees on three sides . He also was told that even during daylight , Med Evac had refused to land there . To minimize the chances of hitting the trees , he decided to descend vertically . The night was pitch dark with an overcast sky , making flying extremely difficult . Crandall also wanted to avoid giving the enemy an illuminated target and risk backlighting the soldiers defending the landing zone and wounded soldiers . Instead of using search or landing lights , he instructed Nadal to point a flashlight up in the center of the touchdown area . Crandall landed twice under intense enemy fire and successfully evacuated all 12 wounded soldiers . Later service . After an assignment in Colorado , he attended the Armed Forces Staff College . Soon he was back in Vietnam , this time flying Huey gunships — " " a big improvement " " — supporting the 1st Battalion , 9th Cavalry Squadron , 1st Cavalry Division . In January 1968 , four months into his second tour , Crandall ' s helicopter was downed during another rescue attempt due to Air Force bombs going off too close to where he was flying . After five months in the hospital , with a broken back and other injuries , he resumed his career as a student earning a bootstrap degree through the University of Nebraska in 1969 . In Bangkok , Thailand , he would become a facility engineer managing 3800 people . He subsequently served as deputy chief of staff , deputy installation commander , and commander of the 5th Engineer Combat Battalion , all at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri . South America was supposed to be his next assignment , and he and his wife , Arlene , attended the Defense Language Institute , Monterey , California , as Spanish language students in preparation as aviation and engineering adviser to Argentina , an assignment which never came . A stroke sidelined Crandall , ending his flying career . After his recovery , the Crandalls did find the language training useful when he was sent to Caracas , Venezuela , as the Defense Mapping Agency ' s director for the Inter - American Geodetic Survey . In his final Army assignment , he served as senior engineer adviser to the California Army National Guard and then in 1977 he retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel . Later life . After retiring from the Army he received a master ' s degree in Public Administration from Golden Gate University in 1977 . Since retiring he has held several different jobs including spending three years as the city manager of Dunsmuir , California . After leaving California , he and his wife , Arlene Louise Crandall , moved to Mesa , Arizona , where he spent 17 years working in the Public Works Department , the last four as the public works manager . His wife died on November 2 , 2010 , and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery . On April 15 , 2010 , over 30 years after retiring from the U . S . Army , in recognition of his accomplishments and receiving the Medal of Honor , Bruce Crandall was promoted to colonel , U . S . Army ( retired ) . The ceremony was held at the Army Aviation Association Convention , in Fort Worth , Texas . Crandall attended the June 25 , 2013 , unveiling of Medal of Honor recipient Leroy Petry ' s statue in Santa Fe , New Mexico . Awards and decorations . Crandall has received the following military decorations . Medal of Honor citation . On February 26 , 2007 , Crandall was awarded the Medal of Honor by President George Bush for his actions at the Battle of la Drang . Other honors . He was inducted into the United States Air Force ' s " Gathering of Eagles " in 1994 , one of only seven Army aviators so honored , and the Army Aviation Hall of Fame in 2004 . For his courage during Operation Masher Crandall received the Aviation & Space Writers Helicopter Heroism Award for 1966 . At the 20th annual award ceremony , his rescue flights were ranked highest over the first 20 years of the award . The Olympia High School Baseball Field was named after Lt . Col . Crandall in a ceremony during the 2003 season . Crandall was a High School All - American baseball player for Olympia High School . Crandall served as the honorary starter for the 2011 Indianapolis 500 . On April 15 , 2011 , Col . Bruce Crandall ( retired ) , was inducted as an honorary member of 1st Squadron , 6th Cavalry Regiment . Col . Crandall signed the Squadron rolls during a Squadron Ball where he helped induct officers and NCO ' s into the Order of St . Michael and received a 1st Sqdn . , 6th Cav . Regt . belt buckle . 1 - 6 CAV recently returned from a successful deployment to support Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn . Crandall ' s exploits ( along with those of many others ) at the Battle of Ia Drang , are depicted in the 1992 book " We Were Soldiers Once . . . And Young " ( by Harold G . Moore and Joseph L . Galloway ) , and in the related 2002 movie , " We Were Soldiers " , where he is portrayed by Greg Kinnear . Crandall served as an aviation consultant during filming in 2001 .