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On November 14, 1965, Army aviator Bruce Crandall led the first major division operation of airmobile troops into Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam.

When the operation turned into the first major battle between U.S. and NVA soldiers, Crandall and his wingman, Ed Freeman, delivered ammunition and evacuated nearly six dozen wounded over 22 missions straight into enemy fire. The craft he was flying was unarmed. ‘It was the longest day I ever experienced in any aircraft,’ he’d remember.

Affectionately known as ‘Snake’ – and sometimes ‘Snakeshit’ – Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Crandall’s story was immortalized in General Hal Moore and Joe Galloway’s epic, "We Were Soldiers Once…and Young", and in the subsequent movie, portrayed by Greg Kinnear. In 2007, it was immortalized once more, when he was awarded the Medal of Honor by President George W. Bush.

A battlefield legend and an original character, Bruce Crandall passed away on May 31, 2026, age 93. Rest In Peace, old friend.
 
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