John B. Poindexter

Poindexter was born in Houston, Texas.^[1]

He graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1966 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with Honors.^[1] After several years' military service, he entered New York University, where an MBA in 1971 was followed by a Ph.D. in Economics and Finance in 1976.^[1][2]

Poindexter joined OCS in 1967 and graduated that July. After three years with L Troop of the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment (as Platoon Leader and Executive Officer in Germany, and then Troop Commander in Fort Lewis, WA), he joined the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam in 1970. Initially serving as Commander of Headquarters Troop, he was then appointed as Commander of 1st Squadron's A Troop.^[3][4]

On March 26, 1970, the hundred-strong Charlie Company of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, unwittingly entered into an area of dense jungle containing a complex of North Vietnamese bunkers and were pinned down by approximately 400 NVA troops.

Captains Poindexter and Ray Armer (of the 2nd Battalion's airborne infantry Alpha Company) heard their call for assistance, and in the absence of orders from Command, Poindexter directed Alpha Troop to aid Charlie Company. In the resulting battle, 20 U.S. troops were wounded, including Poindexter, and there were at least two fatalities. At dusk, with concern that the night would advantage the North Vietnamese, Poindexter ordered a full retreat.^[5][6][7][8]

During the next few months before he returned to the United States, Poindexter applied for dozens of decorations to be awarded to members of his troop,^[9] and wrote an unpublished account of the battle.

In 1999 he used this account to develop a presentation on small unit leadership for an 11th Cavalry professional development program,^[4] and subsequently revised it for publication in Armor in 2000.^[10]

In 2002, he discovered through reading Keith W. Nolan's Into Cambodia that the decorations he had applied for on behalf of members of Alpha Troop had never been awarded. He resubmitted applications for award in 2003, but only 14 additional individual awards were made.^[11] To remedy this, he coordinated a team of a hundred volunteers to help obtain and compile evidence from both documentary and eyewitness sources, and self-published The Anonymous Battle (2004), an account based on his manuscript and the collected evidence.^[6][9]

Because the time elapsed was significant, and consequently not all individual medal claims could be sufficiently substantiated, Poindexter sought award of a Presidential Unit Citation to provide recognition to all members of Alpha Troop.^[12]

During his campaign for recognition, he obtained support from generals including Brigadier General John Bahnsen, the retired commander of the 11th Cavalry's 1st Squadron, as well as from Texas Senator John Cornyn, who submitted the dossier in 2004 to the then-Secretary of the Army. In late 2008, award of a Presidential Unit Citation was approved;^[6][9] this was unveiled in California (11th Cavalry being stationed at Fort Irwin) in September, 2009. On October 20, 2009, President Barack Obama presented attending Alpha Troop veterans with the Presidential Unit Citation at the White House.^[6][7]

Philip Keith's 2012 Blackhorse Riders: A Desperate Last Stand, an Extraordinary Rescue Mission, and the Vietnam Battle America Forgot details the action and Poindexter's campaign for its recognition.^[13]

For his military service, Poindexter was awarded the Silver Star, the Soldier's Medal, two Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star.^[4][14]