Robert McDade

{{Short description|United States Army colonel (1922–2009)}} {{Infobox military person |name= Robert McDade |image= mcdade photo.jpg |image_size= |alt= |caption= Lieutenant Colonel Robert McDade |birth_date= {{birth date|1922|08|11}} |birth_place= [[New York City, New York]], U.S. |death_date= {{death date and age|2009|10|14|1922|08|11}} |death_place= [[Sag Harbor, New York]], U.S. |burial_place= Oakland Cemetery, Sag Harbor, New York |allegiance= United States |branch= [[United States Army]] |service_years= 1942–1975 |rank= [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] |service_number= |unit= |commands= 2nd Battalion, [[7th Cavalry Regiment]] |battles= [[World War II]] [[Korean War]] [[Vietnam War]] * [[Battle of Ia Drang]] |awards= [[Silver Star]] (2) [[Legion of Merit]] [[Bronze Star Medal]] (3) with [["V" Device]] [[Purple Heart]] (4) |relations= {{marriage|Elinor Van Ingen|1974}} |other_work= }} '''Robert Alexander McDade''' (August 11, 1922 – October 14, 2009) was a [[United States Army]] colonel. He is best known for commanding the 2nd Battalion, [[7th Cavalry Regiment]] during the [[Battle of la Drang]] in 1965, during the [[Vietnam War]].

==Military career== McDade was one of relatively few officers to serve with an infantry unit in three wars – the [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|South Pacific]] in [[World War II]], where he commanded a rifle platoon, the [[Korean War]], where he commanded a rifle company, and the Vietnam War, where he commanded an infantry battalion. He was [[wounded in action]] four times. Besides his combat assignments, Mcdade held military posts in [[Washington, D.C.]], [[New York City]], Germany and [[Panama]].<ref>Sag Harbor Express, [http://sagharboronline.com/sagharborexpress/obituaries/robert-mcdade-5217 Robert Alexander McDade obituary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209090252/http://sagharboronline.com/sagharborexpress/obituaries/robert-mcdade-5217 |date=2011-02-09 }}, October 23, 2009.</ref>

===Battle of Ia Drang=== The [[Battle of la Drang]] was the first major battle between the [[United States Army]] and the [[People's Army of Vietnam]], referred to by U.S. fighting units as the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), during the [[Vietnam War]]. The two-part battle began on November 14, 1965, and was focused on landing zone (LZ) X-Ray. This part of the battle was fought primarily by the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, [[1st Cavalry Division (United States)|1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile)]], led by Lieutenant Colonel [[Hal Moore]], although elements of Alpha and Bravo Companies of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry (2/7), participated. The rest of the 2/7 arrived by the morning of November 16.<ref name=Moore>Moore, Harold G. & Joseph L. Galloway (1992). ''We Were Soldiers Once... and Young''. HarperTorch. pp. 277, 278. {{ISBN|0-679-41158-5}}.</ref>

Only three weeks before the battle, Lieutenant Colonel McDade had been the 1st Cavalry Division's personnel officer, and had not commanded troops in ten years. His orders were to march the 2/7 to another landing zone, LZ Albany, 4 kilometers to the north-northeast. On the march, through high grass and thick vegetation, McDade declined an offer of artillery assistance from the 2nd Battalion, [[5th Cavalry Regiment]], and allowed the middle ranks of soldiers to march single file with little regard for security. On breaks, exhausted soldiers sprawled on the grass.<ref name=Joe>Galloway, Joseph L. (October 29, 1990). [https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/soldiers/vietnam_901029.htm "Vietnam story: The word was the la Drang would be a walk. The word was wrong."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020911071916/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/soldiers/vietnam_901029.htm |date=2002-09-11 }}. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved February 8, 2012.</ref>

At midday, two NVA soldiers were captured. McDade moved forward to interrogate the prisoners himself, and called his company commanders forward for a conference. Most were accompanied by their radio operators. The American column was halted in unprepared, open terrain, and strung out in 550-yard (500 m) line of march. Meanwhile, NVA troops were organizing an assault.<ref name=Moore/>

The NVA opened fire, and Charlie Company took the worst of it, losing 20 killed and many more wounded in the first minute. The lead unit, Alpha Company, lost two platoons, 50 men, in the first minutes. The North Vietnamese were in among the Americans and up in the trees, so American artillery fire killed men from both sides. The commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, Lieutenant General [[Harry Kinnard|Harry W.O. Kinnard]] and his second-in-command, Brigadier General Richard Knowles, later said the brigade commander, Colonel Brown, had not alerted them. Brown said he could get no coherent report from McDade. "We had ample resources at hand to reinforce Albany–Hal Moore's men would have gone in a minute–but no one asked," said Kinnard.<ref name=Joe/>

Reinforcements arrived in the late afternoon and evening, and wounded were evacuated late in the evening, and the battle was over. The casualty toll for the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, was 155 killed, 125 wounded and at least four men missing in action.<ref name=Joe/> The battle lasted 16 hours.<ref name=Moore/> McDade would continue to lead the 2nd Battalion until March 1966.

== Family ==

McDade met his wife, Elinor Tibbets Van Ingen (December 14, 1922 – April 11, 2012), in [[Saigon]], where she was working for the [[State Department]]. They married in 1974.<ref>East Hampton Star, [https://archive.today/20120707010441/http://67.199.116.138/dnn/Obituaries/tabid/10373/Default.aspx Robert Alexander McDade obituary], October 22, 2009.</ref> The McDades owned and managed The Goat Alley Gallery in Sag Harbor for twenty three years.<ref>New York Times, [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9401E0DB1F3AF93BA25753C1A96F9C8B63 Robert Alexander McDade death notice], October 18, 2009.</ref>

==Military awards== McDade's decorations and awards include:

{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;" |colspan="4"|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=CIB3.gif|width=256|alt=}} |- |colspan="4"|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Silver Star ribbon.svg|width=106}} {{Ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=106}} {{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Bronze Star ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}[[File:"V" device, brass.svg|22px]][[File:Bronze oakleaf-3d.svg|22px]][[File:Bronze oakleaf-3d.svg|22px]] {{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Air Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}} |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Army Commendation Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Purple Heart ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}[[File:Bronze oakleaf-3d.svg|22px]][[File:Bronze oakleaf-3d.svg|22px]][[File:Bronze oakleaf-3d.svg|22px]] |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}[[File:Bronze-service-star-3d-vector.svg|18px]][[File:Bronze-service-star-3d-vector.svg|18px]] |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Korean_Service_Medal_-_Ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}[[File:Bronze-service-star-3d-vector.svg|18px]][[File:Bronze-service-star-3d-vector.svg|18px]][[File:Bronze-service-star-3d-vector.svg|18px]] |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Vietnam Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}[[File:Bronze-service-star-3d-vector.svg|18px]][[File:Bronze-service-star-3d-vector.svg|18px]] |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=ResMedRib.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Vietnamese Gallantry Cross, with palm.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Vietnam Campaign Medal ribbon with 60- clasp.svg|width=106}} |}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;" |- !Badge |colspan="19"|[[Combat Infantryman Badge]] {{small|with 2 Stars (denoting 3rd award)}} |- !1st Row |colspan="4"|[[Silver Star]] {{small|w/ [[Oak Leaf Cluster]]}} |colspan="4"|[[Legion of Merit]] |colspan="4"|[[Bronze Star]] {{small|w/ two [[Oak Leaf Cluster]]s and [["V" Device]]}} |colspan="4"|[[Air Medal]] |- !2nd Row |colspan="4"|[[Commendation Medal|Army Commendation Medal]] {{small|with [[Oak Leaf Cluster]]}} |colspan="4"|[[Purple Heart]] {{small| w/ three [[Oak Leaf Cluster]]s}} |colspan="4"|[[American Campaign Medal]] |colspan="4"|[[Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal]] {{small| w/ two [[Service star|{{frac|3|16}}" bronze stars]]}} |- !3rd Row |colspan="4"|[[World War II Victory Medal (United States)|World War II Victory Medal]] |colspan="4"|[[National Defense Service Medal]] {{small| w/ {{frac|3|16}}" bronze star}} |colspan="4"|[[Korean Service Medal]] {{small| w/ three {{frac|3|16}}" bronze stars}} |colspan="4"|[[Vietnam Service Medal]] {{small| w/ two {{frac|3|16}}" bronze stars}} |- !4th Row |colspan="4"|[[Armed Forces Reserve Medal]] |colspan="4"|[[Gallantry Cross (Vietnam)|Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross]] {{small| with Palm}} |colspan="4"|[[United Nations Korea Medal]] |colspan="4"|[[Vietnam Campaign Medal|Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal]] {{small| w/ 1960- device}} |- |}

== References == {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Portal|Biography}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110719173829/http://www.ordersofbattle.darkscape.net/site/history/open3/us_iadrang1965.pdf OPERATION SILVER BAYONET: THE BATTLE OF THE IA DRANG] *[http://www.historynet.com/magazines/vietnam/3026671.html?page=1&c=y Rescue at LZ Albany] *[http://www.vietnamwall.org/news.php?id=1 Jack Smith's account of the battle] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190316205537/http://www.vietnamwall.org/news.php?id=1 |date=2019-03-16 }} *[http://www.lzxray.com/albany_o.htm LZ Albany] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209041309/http://www.lzxray.com/albany_o.htm |date=2012-02-09 }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcdade, Robert}} [[Category:1922 births]] [[Category:2009 deaths]] [[Category:United States Army colonels]] [[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]] [[Category:United States Army personnel of the Korean War]] [[Category:United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War]] [[Category:Battle of Ia Drang]] [[Category:Recipients of the Silver Star]] [[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit]] [[Category:Recipients of the Air Medal]] [[Category:American recipients of the Gallantry Cross (Vietnam)]] [[Category:Military personnel from New York City]] [[Category:People from Sag Harbor, New York]]