Carole Cornett White lost her brother Don during the battle of LZ Albany on November 17, 1965. Over 150 soldiers of the 2nd Bn., 7th Cavalry died in the tall grass of the Ia Drang Valley that November, each a brother, a father, a husband or son.

  Don's Coming Home
Page 2
 

Upon graduation from McNeese, Don was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the U.S Army and because of his ROTC accomplishments he received a coveted regular army commission. He was now a soldier and he approached it with the energy and enthusiasm of a zealot. He volunteered for jump school and after winning his paratrooper wings he volunteered for ranger school. Upon graduation from ranger school Don was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry of the 2nd Infantry Division stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was a brand new Airborne Ranger Second Lieutenant, and could hardly wait to begin the challenge of becoming the best soldier possible. Like most infantry second lieutenants, his first assignment was as a platoon leader, a job he really loved. Earlier the year before, Don married his college sweetheart Sylvia and they were expecting their first child later that fall. Don wrote often telling me how hard his unit was training. They were involved in a new concept called "air mobile" and were training with a unit called the 11th Air Assault. They spent a lot of time in or around helicopters and Don mentioned he was considering going to army flight school. Don loved to fly. He had taken flight lessons as part of his ROTC training and had received a civilian pilots license his senior year in college. "This helicopter thing was the wave of the future", he wrote in one letter to me. It all sounded so exiting and I was pleased Don was doing something he truly enjoyed.

Rear row standing: Cadet Colonel Don Cornett, Cadet Captain George Heard, Cadet Captain Harry McCloud; Front row kneeling: Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Lloyd Guillot, Cadet Captain Edward Cepiel

In the spring of 1965, exciting things were happening in my life. I was preparing to graduate with my B.S. in Nursing from McNeese State and start my first real job at Charity Hospital right here in Lake Charles. It was later that spring when Don wrote that his unit was being redesignated from The 2nd Battalion of the 9th Infantry of the 2nd Infantry Division to the 2nd Battalion of the 7th Cavalry of the 1st Cavalry Division Airmobile. The 7th Cavalry, Don wrote, was Custer's old outfit but not to worry because it had earned a distinctive combat record in both WW2 and Korea. He also added the Air Cav was on alert for deployment to Vietnam that summer.

My father called from North Carolina. He had talked to Don at Fort Benning and they had set a date for a family get-together in Georgia. This would be the first time we had gathered as a family since college. Dad gave me the directions to Don's and the date He, Mom and my younger sister Peggy would be driving south. I was looking forward to the reunion with enthusiasm.

Don, Sylvia and their infant son Kevin lived at the Camellia Apartments, outside of Fort Benning. The apartment complex was full of young Air Cavalry officers and their families. All of them it seemed were also on their way to Vietnam. It was a special time. There were lots of parties and cookouts with Don's friends and their families. There was lots of positive energy. All Don's buddies were enthusiastic about the upcoming Deployment. They all had great confidence in their training and were eager to show the enemy what the Air Cav could do. The evening before we left for home Dad and Don sat together talking about Vietnam. My father had retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel several years earlier. Dad was not an emotional man but in his talk with Don I sensed real fear and apprehension. Don sensed it also and tried to reassure my Dad that any conflict would be short lived once the enemy encountered the Air Cavalry. I remember how Dad told Him the importance of not only relying on his sergeants but also listening to them. Don agreed with him and told him that most of his senior NCO's were WW II and Korean War combat vets. The next morning we said our goodbyes to Don, Sylvia and Kevin. I remember how proud we all felt of Don and how I was looking forward to our next reunion upon his return home from overseas.