Surrounded in Ia Drang: LTC Ronald E. Ray

Welcome to the Medal of Honor podcast, brought to you in partnership with the National Medal of Honor Museum. I’m Ken Harbaugh. In each episode, we’ll learn about a different service member who has distinguished him or herself through an act of valor.

Ronald E. Ray was born on December 7th, 1941 in Cordele, Georgia. His family of nine worked as migrant farm workers, following seasonal jobs throughout the south and midwest each year. At the age of 18, Ray enlisted in the Army. He served initially for three years before deciding to reenlist. He then volunteered for Special Forces, and after training, was sent to Vietnam at the age of 24.

Then Lieutenant Ray was deployed as a platoon leader in the Ia Drang Valley, right on the Cambodian border. The area was part of an NVA supply route that transported troops and supplies into the central highlands of Vietnam. In order to spot enemy movement, Ray and his team were tasked with monitoring the area via listening posts along the border.

In just his first week in Ia Drang, Ray could tell something was brewing. Each day they’d patrol the area, check in with their allies at the listening post, and reposition posts if need be. By his 3rd or 4th day, Ray saw large paths that had been cut by the enemy. Additionally, enemy probes had been seen nearly every day. Ray reported this to his company commander, and told him he believed a large force was on its way. Ray’s commander dismissed him, believing that the attack would begin not at Ray’s sector, but at his own. A few days later, Ray’s team encountered a major enemy platoon and engaged in a short skirmish. Seeing this as more evidence of an impending attack, Ray continued voicing his concerns to his commander, but again they were dismissed.

Taking matters into his own hands, Ray ordered more personnel to the listening post near the enemy paths, and ordered a patrol of the area. Sensing that an attack was near, Ray ordered them to quickly break contact and move back if they were engaged by the enemy. The enemy attacked within a day of Ray’s orders. On June 19th, 1966, the outpost defenders were quickly surrounded by the enemy despite their attempt to disengage and retreat. When Ray learned of the situation, he called his commander one more time and requested reinforcements, but the request was denied.

Ray was determined to rescue his trapped comrades, gathering nearly all his men before heading towards their location. The enemy was sure to know reinforcements were on their way, so Ray ordered his soldiers to make a ruckus as they traversed the jungle, hoping the enemy would mistake them for a larger unit. After the 35 men or so had traveled two kilometers, they reached the enemy and quickly broke through their lines. Now reconnected with their allies, Ray directed his men as they took fire from all sides. One machine gun in particular was causing problems, so Ray sent a squad to take it out. Before they could reach it, the squad got pinned down by overwhelming fire. Seeing nothing left to do, Ray advanced towards the machine gun by himself, using grenades and a shotgun to kill four enemies and silence the machine gun. Around the time he returned to his allies, they began taking fire from another angle. Ray knew they had to get out of there. He ordered his men to carry a wounded ally to an opening in the enemy lines that could be used as an evac' zone. After just under 40 yards, they too got pinned down by enemy fire. Again Ray moved forwards, throwing a grenade and silencing the enemy nest. When he turned back to his allies, a bullet flew across his legs, causing him to fall to the ground. Two NVA soldiers rushed him, throwing a grenade that exploded, knocking his shotgun out of his hands and into the air. Miraculously, the shotgun landed right near Ray’s hands, allowing him to grab the weapon and fire, disposing of the two advancing enemies. Just a few moments later, another grenade flew by, landing near two of Ray’s men. He shouted, trying to alert them of the danger, but they couldn’t hear him. Ray dove in front of the grenade, protecting his allies from the blast. Ray’s unprotected feet and legs were hit by shrapnel, leaving him temporarily paralyzed. He immediately was hit in the legs again by machine gun fire. Unable to walk, Ray crawled towards the gun and threw his last two grenades, destroying the nest.

Ray continued directing his men from the ground until the gunfire slowed to a halt. He then made sure all of his men reached safety before allowing himself to be evac’ed and receive medical treatment.

Ray underwent surgery in Pleiku, and then was sent back to the US. After six months, he made a full recovery, and went on to serve two more tours in Vietnam.

Ray’s foresight, bravery and leadership saved his men from annihilation in Ia Drang, and for this he was awarded the Medal of Honor on May 14th, 1970.

The Medal of Honor podcast is a production of Evergreen Podcasts.

Nathan Corson is our executive producer and mixing engineer, Declan Rohrs is our associate producer, scriptwriter, and recording engineer, and I’m Ken Harbaugh.

We are proud to support the National Medal of Honor Museum. To learn more, and to support their mission, go to mohmuseum.org. Thanks for listening.