Bahnsen

ROCHELLE, Ga. – The nation lost one of its most highly decorated combat veterans Wednesday with the death of U.S. Army Brig. Gen. John C. “Doc” Bahnsen, who rode helicopters with his troops into battle in the jungles of southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.

He was 89.

Bahnsen died of natural causes with his wife and family members present in a home he recently had built on the ancestral family farm in agricultural southeast Georgia. He had returned to residence in his native state after 26 years of living at the family farm of his wife, LTC. Peggy Miller, at New Cumberland, W.Va.

“Doc” had remained deeply involved with military issues and leaders following his retirement in 1986. He actively spoke and wrote on warfare tactics and on issues such as using U.S. military forces in undeclared foreign wars with no clear mission goal or “end game.” He spent much of his retirement personally helping individual veterans receive benefits and honors due them.

Bahnsen served under the then-Col. George S. Patton, commander of 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. Patton called him “the best, most highly motivated and professionally competent leader I have served with in 23 years of service, to include the Korean War and two tours in Vietnam. He is one of those rare professionals who truly enjoys fighting, taking risks and sparring with a wily foe. He is utterly fearless and because of this, demands the same from his unit.”

In a 2021 news article, Bahnsen related that Patton saw his regiment’s mission as “find the bastards and pile-on,” meaning to locate and engage the enemy with a scouting force, then escalate with regimental resources.

Bahnsen’s job was the “find” part. “I was good at it,” he said. “That was a unique job and what Patton wanted him for,” Peggy Bahnsen explained.

Bahnsen believed that fighting to win is “the way Americans are supposed to fight a war . . . the whole idea of going to war, if you’re a commander, is to save the lives of your soldiers and destroy the enemy force.”

During his first tour of duty in Vietnam in 1965-66, Bahnsen commanded the “Bandits” helicopter gunship platoon at Bien Hoa. Most of his 18 decorations for valor came in his second tour, in 1968-69, when as a major he commanded an air cavalry troop, including a 40 man rifle platoon, observation helicopters and gunships. He fought in more than 300 engagements and had several helicopters shot out from under him.

In a 2007 interview, Bahnsen said, “My only regret is about the 44 soldiers killed under my command. Every single loss is a tragedy for the military and the family.” He has been vocal that politicians who have no family members serving in the military are much too eager to send U.S. service members into danger.

Patton, son of the legendary Patton of WWII fame, was a lifelong friend of Bahnsen. So was Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, a West Point classmate who wrote the foreword to Bahnsen’s 2007 co-authored autobiography, American Warrior: a Combat Memoir of Vietnam, called one of the best combat accounts of that war.

“Doc” Bahnsen’s commendations include the Distinguished Service Cross, five Silver Stars, four Legions of Merit, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, four Bronze Stars (three with a V for valor), two Purple Hearts and 51 Air Medals. He was inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame, the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame and was invited to and honored by the U.S. Air Force Staff College Gathering of Eagles. Maintaining a continuous relationship with West Point over the years, Bahnsen was named a 2016 Distinguished Graduate of West Point.

“Our Army is still today liberally sprinkled with graduates who were inspired by him to a lifetime of service,” stated former West Point Superintendent and retired Lt. Gen. Dave Palmer, a classmate of Bahnsen’s Class of ’56.

A mark of the esteem in which he was held by many of those who served under him is that two of his Vietnam helicopter pilots, CW4 Earl Moore and CW5 James Noe, traveled to Georgia during his terminal illness and spent weeks assisting his wife and family members in his personal care.

Three children – daughter LeeAnne and sons Jimi and Chris, and their families, reside in Georgia. Another son, Minh, and family members reside in Los Angeles.

At “Doc’s” request, he is to be cremated and his ashes buried in an Army ammo box on the Georgia farm. Memorial celebrations in Georgia and West Virginia are to be arranged.