REAL AMERICAN HEROES LT. COLONEL JOHN B. POPE In July of 1966, my Dad, then Major John B. Pope, was deployed to Vietnam. Major Pope was set to become the Company Commander of the 229th Aviation Battalion of the 1st Calvary Division. The 229th was one of the first to provide tactical mobility to combat troops by use of the helicopter. Major Pope was the third Company Commander of the 229th following two legends of Army Aviation. Major Bruce Crandall, who was featured in the Mel Gibson movie "When We Were Soldiers" and was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism in the Battle of Ia Drang Valley was the first Commander of the 229th. Major Crandall, who was portrayed by actor Greg Kinnear in the movie, arrived in Vietnam in the summer of 1965 and was later replaced by Lt. Colonel Bob Jackson who was an American hero in his own right. Major Pope took over as Company Commander in Decemb...