43 Years Ago Today

[BobB1]

Mike Sprayberry won the Congressional Medal of Honor. Of the four CMOH awarded to the 5/7 cavalry in Vietnam, he was the only one that didn't get it posthumously.
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SPRAYBERRY, JAMES M .

Rank and organization: Captain (then 1st Lt.), U.S. Army, Company D, 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry , 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 25 April 1968. Entered service at: Montgomery, Ala. Born: 24 April 1947, LaGrange, Ga.

Citation
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Capt. Sprayberry, Armor, U.S. Army, distinguished himself by exceptional bravery while serving as executive officer of Company D. His company commander and a great number of the men were wounded and separated from the main body of the company. A daylight attempt to rescue them was driven back by the well entrenched enemy's heavy fire. Capt. Sprayberry then organized and led a volunteer night patrol to eliminate the intervening enemy bunkers and to relieve the surrounded element. The patrol soon began receiving enemy machinegun fire. Capt. Sprayberry quickly moved the men to protective cover and without regard for his own safety, crawled within close range of the bunker from which the fire was coming. He silenced the machinegun with a hand grenade. Identifying several l-man enemy positions nearby, Capt. Sprayberry immediately attacked them with the rest of his grenades. He crawled back for more grenades and when 2 grenades were thrown at his men from a position to the front, Capt. Sprayberry, without hesitation, again exposed himself and charged the enemy-held bunker killing its occupants with a grenade. Placing 2 men to cover his advance, he crawled forward and neutralized 3 more bunkers with grenades. Immediately thereafter, Capt. Sprayberry was surprised by an enemy soldier who charged from a concealed position. He killed the soldier with his pistol and with continuing disregard for the danger neutralized another enemy emplacement. Capt. Sprayberry then established radio contact with the isolated men, directing them toward his position. When the 2 elements made contact he organized his men into litter parties to evacuate the wounded. As the evacuation was nearing completion, he observed an enemy machinegun position which he silenced with a grenade. Capt. Sprayberry returned to the rescue party, established security, and moved to friendly lines with the wounded. This rescue operation, which lasted approximately 71/2 hours, saved the lives of many of his fellow soldiers. Capt. Sprayberry personally killed 12 enemy soldiers, eliminated 2 machineguns, and destroyed numerous enemy bunkers. Capt. Sprayberry's indomitable spirit and gallant action at great personal risk to his life are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
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We were in the A Shau Valley on a company size operation to stop the infiltration coming down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. We were trying to work our way to a 'saddle' that would have been a good position to set up a landing zone. We had been in intermittent contact with an NVA element for two days. We kept running into a 'brick wall' but didn't know the size of the force on the other side. We were trying capture one of them or some documents so intelligence could get some information. The company CO was out on a patrol with one of the platoons, when they saw an NVA soldier and took off after him. He led them right into an ambush. Two men went down in the initial attack, but the rest of them fought their way to two bomb craters that gave them some cover. They were surrounded by machine guns, so although they gave some cover, they were also traps. Anyone trying to come out was cut down as soon as they made it to the top. They were trapped about a quarter mile behind the line we couldn't get past.

As company XO, Mike had come out when the CO was trapped. We couldn't get through during daylight, so when it got dark, Mike came up with a plan. He asked for volunteers for a small group to go in the dark. I didn't have any plans for the evening, so I went along. I think there were seven of us including Mike. He said to bring as many grenades as I could carry. When I was at Ft Stewart last month for the change of command ceremony for the 5/7 Cav, there was discussion of that night, and one of the guys wondered how he had that many grenades with him. He had an ammo bearer.

We didn't find out until later that we were butting heads with an NVA regiment. I think if they had known, HQ wouldn't have authorized the operation. It wouldn't have made much difference to us. We had friends that we had to get out. They were practically out of ammo, and would have been overrun at daylight. We didn't have to take on the whole regiment, we just had to punch a hole through, and keep it open until we got back through. I think that the surprise element was really in our favor. We never did offensive operations at night. One thing that the citation doesn't tell is that it was so dark that he had to find the openings of some of the bunkers by feel.

We got all the wounded and dead out except for the ones that went down in the initial ambush. They sent a helicopter in two days later to try to find the bodies, and it went down in a hail of small arms fire. They never got the pilots out either. Since the war has been over Mike has been back several times with a team, when they get any new information, to try to recover the remains. Two years ago they got info and went back with one of the NVA soldiers who was there at the time. They were able to locate the wreckage of the chopper, but no remains.

[Niner]

A man like that should be remembered. He was fighting to save his men. Took courage and brains and determination to do what he did. That you volunteered to go with him says something about you too.

I was in the A Shau in late 70 after what was left of the 9th offically pulled out of Vietnam. By then the 1st Cav had moved much further south and left I Corps to the 101st and another unit or two of lessor size. I can second how dark it must have been down under the canopy of trees. The mountain valleys with heavy tree cover was serious, mysterious, and always dangerous even in the day light. A few months before I got there FSB Ripcord, in the middle of the A Shau region, had been abandoned in the face of large scale attacks in June of 1970. According to Keith Nolan this meant that Nixon had held the 101st generals back from their normal duty and Amercia had given up. Nixon wasn't going to risk another Hamburger Hill and the resulting bad press by swelling the body count that previously the SOP of piling on more troops and assets would have dictated. Ripcord had first been built by the 1st Cav in 1968 as FSB Carrol, by the way.

[BobB1]

This was forwarded to me today from one of the guys that was there that day.

Thoughts from Doc McBride

Today I ran a mile again for the 42nd year in a row, this year it took me 14 minutes so I guess I am slowing down a little. Just 43 years ago today I was wounded pretty severely there in the A Shau Valley on the far northwest end of Co A Nong, or Tiger Mountain, as it is known, alongside Captain Lambert and so many others. Mike Sprayberry and his squad of volunteers got us out alive and sometime thereafter I vowed to God that if I ever walked again, which at the time was doubtful; I would run a mile every year for as long as I could. So this morning I got up at 5:30 and pulled on my running shoes once again. It felt good to run, to sweat, and remember---all the guys, our MIAs--Kelley, Scott, and Guillory, as well as Lt. Barber and so many others wounded on that same night. It was a night I will never forget, nor will anyone else who was there and it is only by the grace of God that we are alive and have enjoyed this past 43 years of life. Thank you to all who participated that night and helped rescue our shattered platoon and CP group. It is good to be alive despite the stuff going on all around us. To me much of it is purely trivial compared to what we have been through in our day. Take care and have a good night Doc McBride