For many Americans, their first introduction to Bruce Crandall was his portrayal by Greg Kinnear in the 2002 film “We Were Soldiers.” While the film depicts the actions for which Crandall earned the Medal of Honor, the Army aviator had a distinguished career beyond his service in Vietnam.
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Born in Olympia, Washington in February 1933, Crandall was an All-American high school athlete and played baseball at the University of Washington with MLB hopes. He joined the Army National Guard at the age of 15, but was drafted into the active duty Army in 1953.
After basic training at Fort Lewis, Washington, Crandall attended Engineer Officer Candidate School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. After commissioning as an officer, he attended fixed-wing and helicopter fight training. The Army Aviation branch was not created until 1983, with earlier aviators belonging to other career fields like Engineer, Transportation, and Signal.
Crandall’s first assignment took him to San Francisco where he served in a topographical mapping unit supporting surveys of Alaska. In 1956, he was sent to Wheelus Air Force Base in Libya as a flight instructor and unit test pilot, helping to map the North African desert. Subsequent assignments to Panama and Costa Rica had Crandall mapping regions all over Central and South America.
In 1965, Crandall served as flight commander of Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) and took his unit to Vietnam. Supporting the 7th Cavalry Regiment, Crandall’s unit flew troops into the Battle of Ia Drang, a battle in November of that year, which saw the first major engagement between the U.S. Army and the People’s Army of Vietnam.
On Nov. 14, 1965, Crandall led a flight of 16 helicopters carrying troopers into Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley during the intense battle. As enemy fire intensified, follow-on aircraft were ordered to abort their mission. Recognizing that the infantry on the ground desperately needed ammunition and that wounded soldiers remained trapped without medical evacuation helicopters, Crandall took action.
Working outside of his mission parameters, Crandall volunteered to fly ammo in and carry the wounded out of the battle zone. Disregarding his own safety, he organized volunteer crews to keep the helicopters flying.
”I will always be in awe of Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall for his extraordinary bravery and brilliant flying skills under the most difficult wartime conditions—flying continuously into a hot LZ to support a U.S. battalion surrounded by elements of three Vietnamese regiments,” Col. John Herren later wrote in a letter supporting Crandall’s Medal of Honor nomination. “By risking his own life in leading these hazardous flights, Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall provided exceptional leadership to the rest of his company which he continued throughout the three-day ordeal.”
Through the day and into the night, Crandall flew 22 lifesaving missions and inspired his men to fly with him in spite of the danger. His actions were praised by Col. Hal Moore, the commander of 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment at the Battle of Ia Drang, in his book “We Were Soldiers Once… and Young.”
The book was later adapted into the 2002 film. Crandall received the Medal of Honor from President George W. Bush for his actions during the battle in a 2007 White House ceremony.
After his first tour, Crandall served a second combat tour in Vietnam that culminated in over 900 combat missions. In 1966, he was recognized for saving 12 wounded troops under heavy fire and suffered severe injuries himself when his helicopter was shot down in 1968.
Crandall retired from the Army in 1977. In addition to the Medal of Honor, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, 24 Air Medals, and Vietnam Service Medal.
The Congressional Medal of Honor Society reported that Crandall passed away peacefully on May 31, 2026 at the age of 93. In addition to the society, Crandall’s legacy is preserved in the Army Aviation Hall of Fame (class of 2004) and the headquarters building of the 1st Battalion, 229th Aviation Regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord which is named in his honor.
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