PFC John Rudolph “Rudy Jr.” Cummins Jr. US Army

John Rudolph Cummins Jr. was born in Roswell NM on October 18, 1946 to John R. and Willie Cummins.  His father, a fighter pilot of WWII, was a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and ran an excavation and paving company across the state.  John graduated from Roswell HS in 1964 and entered NMSU for one year prior to being taken into the army.  On 23 August 1966 he arrived in country (Vietnam) and was assigned to Company “C”, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).  The 1st Cavalry (Airmobile) had been the first Division size unit the US committed to Vietnam.  It began combat operations in August 1965.  One year later, when PFC Cummins arrived, it was battle tested with such battles as the Ia Drang Valley already written into its history books.  In mid-September 1966 the troopers of the 5th Cavalry took part in Operation Thayer I.  The mission was to rid Binh Dinh Province of North Vietnamese Regulars and Viet Cong soldiers.  Binh Dinh Province lies along the south central coast of Vietnam. To the west was An Khe, main operating base for the 1st Cav.