Luis Jorge Landin (May 26, 1930 – August 26, 2010), was an American

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

veteran who has received numerous decorations for his bravery in both wars. Landin completed three tours of combat duty while in Vietnam and is known as Laredo's most decorated war hero.

Military enlistment

Landin enlisted in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

in 1948, where he was a combat infantryman. Within a couple of years into his enlistment, he began his first tour of duty in Korea in late 1951.

Service in Vietnam

Landin would become one of the first U.S advisers to the Vietnamese Army Ranger Units in alliance with American Special Forces in 1960. While helping the Vietnamese Army Ranger Units he would be wounded numerous times, for which he would receive three Gallantry crosses. Within a year of becoming an adviser in the Vietnamese Army Rangers Unit, Landin started his first of three volunteer tours in Vietnam in 1961. His first tour was primarily to teach the Vietnamese Army about weapons and different

guerrilla war Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics ...

tactics commonly used during the war. While in his first tour he became extremely familiar with the topography in the

Danang Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is o ...

area as well as the Mekong Delta.

Vietnam tours

In 1964, Landin would begin his second tour of duty in Vietnam that would last all the way through 1966, mostly in charge of the light weapons infantry as an adviser to the Vietnamese Army. Luis would be awarded a Silver Star for his bravery by General

William Westmoreland William Childs Westmoreland (March 26, 1914 – July 18, 2005) was a United States Army general, most notably commander of United States forces during the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968. He served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from ...

during a

Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

ambush. After the assault failed, Landin managed to gather and reorganize his troops and led the men into a counterattack. During the counterattack, Landin was able to save soldiers by carrying them across the battlefield which was under heavy sniper fire to a safe location where they could wait for a medical evacuation aircraft. In 1968–69 he completed his third tour in Vietnam where he was ranked as a Sergeant Major for the 16th Infantry division. After his third and final tour in Vietnam, Sergeant Major Landin retired in 1973.

References

* http://www.somosprimos.com/sp2002/spdec02.htm * http://www.hillsidefuneral.com/home/index.cfm/obituaries/view/fh_id/12593/id/693881 {{DEFAULTSORT:Landin, Luis J. 1930 births 2010 deaths People from Laredo, Texas Military personnel from Texas