In the summer of 1965 the U.S. Army turned an experiment into a fighting division. On July 1, at Fort Benning, the test-bed 11th Air Assault Division was re-designated the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). Its historic colors, gone from American soil for 22 years, flew again – if only briefly. Three weeks later President Lyndon Johnson ordered the new formation to Vietnam.
Major General Harry W.O. Kinnard’s Sky Troopers—nearly 16,000 soldiers and more than 400 helicopters—moved with remarkable speed. An advance party flew in late August and began carving a base from the Central Highlands jungle, near An Khe, 36 miles inland from the port of Qui Nhon. The 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division secured the road and the site in Operation Highland while engineers cleared the dusty “Golf Course” that would become Camp Radcliff.
Troopships, and the carrier USNS Boxer, reached Qui Nhon in mid-September. On September 9 the Boxer delivered CH-47 Chinooks; two days later the first of those heavy-lift helicopters lifted off the deck and began shuttling men and cargo inland. Infantry brigades marched ashore on the 14th and 20th, and flew to An Khe the same day. By September 28, the division had assumed responsibility for its own defense. Elements had already seen combat supporting the 101st.
In just 90 days, the Army had activated a new kind of division, moved it 12,000 miles, and placed it in the fight. The airmobile concept—infantry no longer tied to roads—would soon be tested in the Ia Drang Valley.
Living in the Clarksville, Tennessee area, I am a huge fan of “Air Assault” units. Fort Campbell is based here and is the home of the 101st Airborne Division – which is now an Air Assault unit – 5th Group Special Forces and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR). I watch Blackhawks, Chinooks, Apaches and Little Birds fly over my compound every day. It gives me a feeling of pride for our great Republic that we have men and women willing to give their “Last Full Measure” for our country.