This week’s Veteran is Joe Pena, 84, who served in the U.S. Army 1963-1965. Joe was an Infantryman, training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, before being shipped off to Vietnam Pena was in the first major battle between North Vietnamese regulars, or the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN), and the United States Army. The event was called ‘The Battle of la Drang,’ and was featured in the movie ‘We Were Soldiers,’ with Mel Gibson, playing the part of then Lt. Col. Hal Moore, in the first engagement of the battle at Landing Zone, or LZ X-ray. Pena, as an Infantryman was assigned as an M79 Grenade Launcher. He arrived in Vietnam in September 1965 at the An Khe Airfield with Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Division, then moved onto Camp Holloway in Pleiku in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, which is very near the Cambodia-Vietnam border. Since Camp Holloway was still growing with construction at the time, due to the build-up, Pena shared a pup tent with a fellow soldier one-night. On the next day, his buddy was withdrawn to go back to the US, since his military service was expiring. Pena did eventually make it to a newly constructed barracks. Joe also went on three patrols prior to going into the la Drang Valley on November 15, 1965. Company D was undermanned with approximately 76 soldiers, with Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie Companies averaging 110 soldiers each. When Pena’s company arrived in the mid-afternoon on the second day of the battle under fire, Joe’s company level officers were all wounded under fire, and were out of the battle, and his position was temporarily overrun. His Platoon Leader 1Lt. Larry Litton, had to take charge of the heavy weapons and recon troops. The soldiers would be distributed to all companies surrounding the perimeter, and by the morning of the third day, at 0700 hrs, the North Vietnamese Regulars attacked, overwhelming the perimeter forcing Lt. Col. Moore to radio out to his superiors ‘Broken Arrow,’ which was an alert trigger, calling all planes in the area to come to the LZ’s immediate support, along with artillery support. The action worked, and soon the battlefield was secured. Besides his grenade launcher, Joe carried a rifle since the launcher was only good for 50 yards. Mr Pena recalled the horrific battle scenes, not having enough time to dig a foxhole for cover. “We didn’t have any time to show fear,” said Pena, focused on the task of keeping alive during the firefight. “We were focusing on what Lt. Col. Moore taught us in training at Fort Benning.” Joe was at the Fort Hood premier of the ‘We Were Soldiers,” with General Hal Moore in attendance. Incredibly, Pena’s service ended just several weeks after his time in La Drang, in early December 1965. Prior to his service, Joe was a dispatcher with the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office. He returned to the Sheriff’s Office in 1966, working his way up to an Investigator. Mr Pena is a True American Hero, and Montgomery County News is Honored to feature him this week. Good Luck Joe, and Congratulations on being MCNs ‘Veteran of the Week’.