By MOAA Staff

Col. Bruce Crandall, an Army aviator whose heroism in Vietnam’s Ia Drang valley saved dozens of American soldiers and earned him the nation’s highest valor award, died May 31 at his residence in Tempe, Ariz. He was 93.

Born in 1933 and already a member of the Army National Guard at age 15, Crandall was drafted in 1953 and commissioned a year later. He flew more than 900 combat missions in Vietnam, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, none more dangerous than on Nov. 14, 1965, when then-Maj. Crandall made 22 flights in his unarmed helicopter alongside then-Capt. Ed “Too Tall” Freeman into Landing Zone X-Ray, delivering ammunition and evacuating wounded soldiers.

[MEDAL OF HONOR: Bruce P. Crandall]

The actions would be chronicled by the bestselling book We Were Soldiers Once … and Young by Lt. Gen. Hal Moore, USA, and Joseph Galloway, and again in the 2002 movie We Were Soldiers.

Freeman received the Medal of Honor for his role in the Ia Drang mission in 2001. He died in 2008. Crandall received the award in 2007 from then-President George W. Bush, who said Crandall had removed his name from medal consideration in 2001 to ease the path to the award for Freeman.

“In men like Bruce Crandall, we really see the best of America,” Bush said during the presentation. “He and his fellow soldiers were brave, brave folks. They were as noble and selfless as any who have ever worn our nation's uniform.”

Other decorations earned by Crandall included the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and 24 Air Medals. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1977 and was inducted into the Army Aviation Association of America Hall of Fame in 2004. He was promoted to colonel in 2010. 

Major Bruce Crandall's UH-1D helicopter delivers infantrymen in Ia Drang valley, Vietnam, in 1965 (Army photo) 

A MOAA Life member, Crandall was named to MOAA’s 100 Years, 100 Veterans list (along with Freeman) in 2018.

He is survived by his three sons and their spouses, four grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and his sister, according to an obituary posted on his website. His wife of 54 years, Arlene Louise Crandall, passed away in 2010.

There are 63 living Medal of Honor recipients, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The oldest, MOAA Life member Capt. Royce Williams, USN (Ret), received the medal during the State of the Union address in February. He turned 101 in April.