Lewis Douglas Bell
Major, U.S. Army

Bell was a graduate of Fort Worth's Paschal High School and attended Texas Christian University.

He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1952. On 6 April 1954, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Field Artillery after graduation from Officer Candidate School. Bell then attended the Field Artillery Basic and Career Officer Courses at Fort Sill, OK. He attended Army Flight School at Fort Rucker, AL, in 1956, and Rotary Wing Course in June of 1957.

Bell served with the Eighth Army in Korea during 1957-58 and was stationed with the Sixth Army Flight Detachment at the Presido, San Francisco, from 1958-60. From 1960-63 he was Division Serial Surveillance Officer for the Third Division at Hanau, Germany.

Major Bell went to Vietnam on his first tour of duty in 1963. He served as Assistant Flight Operations officer for the First Aviation Battalion of the First Infantry Division there. Upon his return from Vietnam, MAJ Bell served at Fort Sill with the Artillery and Missile School's Target Acquisition Department in 1964. He began his second tour in Vietnam on 17 February 1966.

On 5 March 1966, Major Lewis Douglas Bell was serving with Company B, 1st Aviation Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, in South Vietnam.

On that day, MAJ Bell was serving as Pilot of a UH-1D helicopter when he learned that the perimeter of the 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry was surrounded and under heavy attack by a regimental-sized Viet Cong force in the vicinity of Lai Khe, Binh Duong Province. The insurgents were so close to the perimeter of the American units that mortar and supporting artillery fire were ineffective and the defenders were critically short of small arms ammunition. The delivery of ammunition in the midst of a jungle battle was extremely hazardous and would expose the deliverer to Viet Cong machine gun fire, yet MAJ Bell and his crew voluntarily tried to deliver fifteen hundred pounds of explosive cargo into the battle area. On the approach to the landing zone, the helicopter and crew were hit many times by heavy machine gun and small arms fire. Knowing the ammunition was needed to save the infantrymen, MAJ Bell and his crew ignored their personal safety and continued through the heavy fire to the LZ. The crew members were repeatedly wounded by the ever-increasing enemy fire as they unloaded the ammunition. Despite the entire crew having been seriously wounded, all the ammunition was unloaded and MAJ Bell managed to fly the helicopter out of the LZ. Moments later, the helicopter was shot by a deadly cross-fire of .50 caliber machine guns, causing the aircraft to explode in flight, killing all aboard. The heroic actions of MAJ Bell and his crew supplied the needed ammunition to turn the tide of battle and save numerous American lives. Because of the ammunition resupply by MAJ Bell and his crew, the heavily outnumbered infantry units routed the insurgents, killed over 200 Viet Cong, and captured supplies and equipment that included four .50 caliber machine guns. MAJ Bell's extraordinary heroism, in the face of overwhelming firepower and at the cost of his life, earned him the U.S. Army's second highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Distinguished Service Cross
Purple Heart
Air Medal
Army Good Conduct Medal
National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star
Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnam Campaign Medal
Army Senior Aviator Badge

Distinguished Service Cross Citation

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918 (amended by act of July 25, 1963), takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Major (Field Artillery) Lewis Douglas Bell (ASN: 0-4009726), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Company B, 1st Aviation Battalion, 1st Infantry Division. Major Bell distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry against an armed hostile enemy force at the cost of his life on 5 March 1966 in the Republic of Vietnam. Major Bell was serving as Pilot of a UH-1D helicopter when he learned that the perimeter of the 2d Battalion, 28th Infantry was surrounded and under heavy attack by a regimental-sized Viet Cong force in the vicinity of Lai Khe, Binh Duong Province. The insurgents had pressed so close to the perimeter of the American units that mortar and supporting artillery fire were relatively ineffective and the defenders had begun to run critically short of small arms ammunition. Though they realized that delivery of ammunition into the middle of a raging jungle battle was extremely hazardous and called for exposure to withering Viet Cong machine gun fire, Major Bell and his crew voluntarily undertook to deliver fifteen hundred pounds of explosive cargo into the battle area. On the approach to the landing zone the helicopter and crew were hit time and time again by heavy machine gun and small arms fire. Knowing the ammunition was desperately needed to save the besieged infantrymen, Major Bell and his crew ignored their own wounds and personal safety and continued through the heavy fire to the landing zone. The crew members began to unload the ammunition even though they were being repeatedly wounded by the ever increasing Viet Cong fire. Though the entire crew had been seriously wounded in their efforts, all the ammunition was successfully unloaded and Major Bell managed to fly the helicopter out of its untenable position, moments later the helicopter was shot down by a deadly cross fire of .50 caliber machine guns, killing all aboard. The heroic actions of Major Bell and his crew supplied the needed ammunition to turn the tide of battle and save numerous American lives. Because of this ammunition resupply the heavily outnumbered infantry units completely routed the insurgents, killing over 200 Viet Cong and capturing supplies and equipment which included four .50 caliber machine guns. Major Bell's conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity, at the cost of his life, above and beyond the call of duty was the mainstay of the successful camp defense. His actions were an inspiration to the American defenders, displaying magnificent leadership and conspicuous bravery. Although wounded, he never relented from his determined effort to resupply the heavily beleaguered infantry units. Major Bell's courage and determination, in the face of overwhelming firepower, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

General Orders: Department of the Army, General Orders No. 16 (April 4, 1967)

Honors

The name Lewis D Bell is located on Panel 5E Line 113 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

Burial

Major Lewis Douglas Bell is buried at Greenwood Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Fort Worth, Tarrant County, TX, in Plot: Garden of Love, Lot 1071, Space 4.

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