Basil Leonard Plumley (January 1, 1920 – October 10, 2012) was an American soldier who served in the United States Army for over three decades, rising to the rank of command sergeant major. He was a combat veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and is most noted for his actions during the Battle of Ia Drang in Vietnam.
Early life
Basil Leonard Plumley was born on January 1, 1920, in Blue Jay, West Virginia, one of six children born to coal miner Clay Plumley and his wife Georgia. After two years of high school, he worked as a chauffeur and truck driver before joining the U.S. Army on March 31, 1942.
Military career
In World War II, Plumley served with the 82nd Airborne Division, fighting in the division's assaults of Sicily and Salerno in Italy in 1943, and the invasion of Normandy in France and Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands in 1944. He ended the war at the rank of sergeant. During the Korean War, Plumley served with the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to the rank of sergeant major in 1961.
In addition to disputing Plumley's decorations, Siddall also found discrepancies in Plumley's service record regarding his postings and participation in combat. Based on his research, Siddall wrote that Plumley served in the 82nd Airborne Division as a scout in the 320th Glider Field Artillery Battalion, not as a paratrooper, contradicting the claim in Hal Moore's book We Were Soldiers Once… and Young that Plumley made four parachute jumps in World War II. Plumley died of colon cancer in Columbus, Georgia, on October 10, 2012, at the age of 92.
Plumley is a prominent figure in Lieutenant General Hal Moore's 1992 book We Were Soldiers Once… and Young, which chronicles the Battle of Ia Drang.
Awards and decorations
Per a 2015 memo, the U.S. Army verified that Plumley was entitled to wear the following decorations:
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!Badges
|colspan="2"|Combat Infantryman Badge
|colspan="2"|Master Parachutist Badge
|-
!Badges
|colspan="2"|Glider Badge
|colspan="2"|Vietnam Master Parachutist Badge
|-
!1st Row
|colspan="2"|Silver Star
|colspan="2"|Legion of Merit
|-
!2nd Row
|Bronze Star Medal <br> <small>with one oak leaf cluster</small>
|Purple Heart <br> <small>with one oak leaf cluster</small>
|Air Medal <br> <small>with bronze award numeral 7</small>
|Army Commendation Medal <br> <small>with three oak leaf clusters</small>
|-
!3rd Row
|Army Good Conduct Medal <br> <small>8 awards</small>
|American Campaign Medal
|European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal <br> <small>with arrowhead device, silver and bronze service stars</small>
|World War II Victory Medal
|-
!4th Row
|Army of Occupation Medal <br> <small>with "Germany" clasp</small>
|National Defense Service Medal <br> <small>with service star</small>
|Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
|Vietnam Service Medal <br> <small>with silver and three bronze service stars</small>
|-
!5th Row
|Korea Defense Service Medal
|Gallantry Cross <br> <small>with gold star <br> (South Vietnam)</small>
|Armed Forces Honor Medal <br> <small>Second class <br> (South Vietnam)</small>
|Vietnam Campaign Medal <br> <small>(South Vietnam)</small>
|-
!Unit Citations
|colspan="1" |Army Presidential Unit Citation <br> <small>with oak leaf cluster</small>
|colspan="2" |RVN Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
|colspan="1" |Civil Actions Medal Unit Citation
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!Fourragerès
|colspan="1"|French Fourragère
|colspan="2"|Belgian Fourragère
|colspan="1"|Netherlands Orange Lanyard
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