MAJ, U.S. Army — Vietnam War
Bruce P. Crandall was born on February 17, 1933, in Olympia, Washington. A helicopter pilot known by his call sign “Ancient Serpent 6,” he commanded Company A of the 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).
On November 14, 1965, at Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley, Crandall led the first major divisional airlift of the war, carrying elements of the 7th Cavalry into battle. When the landing zone erupted under intense fire and the ground commander ordered follow-on flights aborted, Crandall refused to stop: flying an unarmed UH-1 Huey, he made 22 flights into and out of the surrounded perimeter over more than 16 hours, delivering ammunition the 7th Cavalry desperately needed to survive and evacuating roughly 70 wounded soldiers — after Army medical evacuation crews had judged the landing zone too dangerous to enter. He changed helicopters several times as each aircraft was shot up, and kept flying until late that night.
Crandall originally received the Distinguished Service Cross; four decades later, his award was upgraded to the Medal of Honor, presented by President George W. Bush at the White House on February 26, 2007. Across two Vietnam tours he flew more than 900 combat missions and was shot down in January 1968, suffering a broken back. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1977 (promoted to colonel in 2010), later served as city manager of Dunsmuir, California, and worked 17 years for Mesa, Arizona’s Public Works Department. He was portrayed by Greg Kinnear in the film We Were Soldiers (2002), for which he served as aviation consultant. Bruce Crandall died on May 31, 2026, at his home in Tempe, Arizona, at age 93.
Sources: Wikipedia · Congressional Medal of Honor Society