--- title: "Watch this Vietnam Veteran describe what it was like to dodge machine gun fire to save his buddies" description: "Tony Nadal is a retired Army lieutenant colonel who dodged machine gun fire in Vietnam. Hear what it was like on We Are the Mighty." date: "2021-08-30" modified: "2021-08-31" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/veterans/tom-nadal-dodged-machine-gun-fire/" categories: - "Combat Stories" - "History" - "Veterans" - "Vietnam War" - "War History" --- # Watch this Vietnam Veteran describe what it was like to dodge machine gun fire to save his buddies ![]() Tony Nadal is a retired Army lieutenant colonel who spent his whole life with the military in some way. Nadal was born on Fort Benning, Georgia, and his father was also an Army officer. --- The younger Nadal only ever wanted to go to West Point and be an Army officer. That's exactly what he did. His first duty station after airborne school and Ranger school took him to Munich, Germany. After three years of European service, Nadal got wind of Special Forces operations in Laos. He decided to move toward the sound of the guns. After a Special Forces deployment in Laos, he returns to the U.S. to lead soldiers in an Air Mobile Division. On July 28, 1965, his Air Mobile Division was sent to Vietnam. His battalion was the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, under the command of Lt. Col. Hal Moore. By November, they were responding to intelligence about an NVA position in the Chu Pong Mountains. ![]() *Nadal in Vietnam (AARP)* Moore led his battalion to an area called Ia Drang, landing at a place the Army dubbed LZ *X-Ray.* The battalion's eight Huey helicopters could only carry six men each, so they had to bring the entire battalion in 48 men at a time. By the time the 7th Cavalry landed 124 men, intelligence from a captured North Vietnamese soldier informed the Americans they were outnumbered 19-to-1. "I can forget a lot of things about life but I won't forget the feel, the sense, the smell of LZ-XRAY," Nadal said in a video interview. "Colonel Moore immediately realized it was going to be a battle for survival." Over three days, 3,500 U.S., South, and North Vietnamese soldiers fought for a contested victory, leaving 308 Americans and 660 NVA dead, with 544 U.S. and 670 NVA wounded. It was the first major battle between the U.S. Army and the North Vietnamese Army. ![]() *Combat operations at Ia Drang Valley, Vietnam, November 1965. Major Bruce P. Crandall's UH-1D helicopter climbs skyward after discharging a load of infantrymen on a search and destroy mission. (U.S. Army photo)* Then-Capt. Tony Nadal lost 15 of his men in the first two days of fighting. Sleepless and battered, his command was ordered out before the Air Force cleared the area out. The video below was produced by AARP Studios for the [American Heroes Channel](). Tony Nadal describes how he feels as he pushes himself into the machine gun and grenade fire to retrieve the bodies of some of his soldiers. "I feel the loss of all my soldiers," Nadal said. "When you get through all of the bravado, what you're left with is anguish. They fought for a cause… there was the expectation that when your country calls, you go." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZfN9o7bS0Q The legendary battle was depicted in the book "We Were Soldiers Once… and Young" and the 2002 film "We Were Soldiers." ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()