1. Even though Israel has vastly superior forces, Hizbullah has very strong backing in Iran, Syria and the Arab world.

2. Crandall was leading a group of 16 helicopters in support of the 1st Cavalry Division‘s 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment – the regiment led by George Armstrong Custer when he met his end at the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn, or Custer‘s Last Stand.‘‘ Without Crandall‘s actions, the embattled men at Ia Drang would have died in much the same way – cut off, surrounded by numerically superior forces, overrun and butchered to the last man,‘‘ the infantry commander, Lt.

3. "If the air bridge failed, the embattled men . . . would certainly die in much the same way George Armstrong Custer‘s cavalrymen died at the Little Bighorn –– cut off; surrounded by numerically superior forces, over–run and butchered to the last man," Moore wrote in his book describing the battle of Ia Drang, "We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young." The extraordinary heroism of Crandall and Freeman, as well as infantry soldiers, long went unrecognized because many witnesses were wounded and dispersed and "there was no one who had time to sit down and by lamplight write recommendations for medals," said war correspondent Joseph Galloway, who flew into the Ia Drang Valley on Crandall‘s last flight of that day.