Welcome to the unofficial homepage for A (Alpha)1 Company, 1st Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Brigade of the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized), APO San Francisco 96477. The primary Area of Operation (AO) was northern I Corps (1CTZ), In Quang Tri Province, from near coastal areas, to the DMZ, and into Laos. This website is dedicated to the soldiers that were assigned or attached to A Company.

The U. S. Army's written designation for A Company is A/1-11. This would be used in official reports and correspondence. A (Alpha) Company as part of the 1st Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment arrived in Quang Tri Province in July 1968. The last elements of the 5th Infantry Division departed Vietnam in August 1971. The company included; a company commander (CO), executive officer (XO), first sergeant (1SG), platoon leaders, platoon sergeants, squad leaders, riflemen, mortarmen, radiotelephone operators (RTO), platoon medics2, artillery forward observers (FO)2, dog handlers2, company clerk, communications NCO, armorer and supply sergeant.

During A Company’s time in Vietnam its members participated in numerous combat operations, principally against units of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). While every combat operation was important to individual soldiers, some of the operations the company participated in were; Pioneer I (1968), Montana Mauler (1969), York Market (1970), and Dewey Canyon II which evolved into Lam Son 719 (1971) and the last operation before final stand down was Montana Mustang (1971). For a more complete list of combat operations please click here.

This effort will, most likely, always be a work in progress. I encourage all former members, or their families to contact me with their stories or photos. Also a special thank you to Keith Short, Society of the 5th Division former National Historian, for his valuable input and insight into the process of attempting to document the men and activities of A Company.

For the United States, the Vietnam War "officially" ended with the provisions of the Paris Peace Accord signed on January 27, 1973. Less than a week later on February 1, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon sent an diplomatic letter to the Prime Minister of North Vietnam which reminded him of the terms of the "Peace Accord" that governed post-war reconstruction of both Vietnams. The letter was a subtle hint to the North Vietnamese, that they were required to abide by the provisions of the accord if they wanted to receive U.S. funding for reconstruction. For the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), the war continued until 1975. The fall of Saigon and the capitulation of the South Vietnamese government ended the war for them. No U.S. funds were ever distributed per the Paris Peace Accord, due to North Vietnamese violations of the Accord.

The United States lifted its trade embargo against Vietnam in 1994, and officially recognized the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in July, 1995. The first American ambassador, former POW Pete Peterson, arrived in Hanoi in 1997. In July, 2000 the United States and Vietnam signed a Bilateral Trade Agreement, which was ratified by the United States Congress, and became effective in December, 2001. The United States Government granted Vietnam temporary "Most-Favored Nation" status, also known as "Normal Trade Relations" status to Vietnam, which significantly lowers tariffs on goods imported from Vietnam into the United States. On May 31, 2006, the United States and Vietnam officially signed a bilateral market access agreement, which paved the way for Vietnam's bid to join the World Trade Organization at the APEC Summit in Hanoi in November 2006.

Whatever the year, or combat operation, all Alpha Company soldiers had profound and unforgettable combat experiences. For the soldiers, these events changed their lives forever. Please see page 2


1 Alpha or "A" Company will be used interchangeably. The name Alpha is derived from the military’s use of the phonetic alphabet, and the letter “A” being designated Alpha to avoid confusion with other similar sounding letters.

2 Attached to company.

 
     
     
 

   

  updated 5/2/2020

updated 4/14/19

updated 12/6/2015

 
 

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Charles  Ames

            
 

Last updated: 5/3/2020

 
  

 
 
 
 

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