Van of Valor to Release Full Story of Army Sgt. Barry McAlpine, Two-Time Silver Star Recipient Who Volunteered Three Times for Vietnam
By Dr. Kevin P. Wallace
Van of Valor
NORTH PORT, Fla. – He could have played baseball in Germany while his peers fought in Vietnam. Instead, Barry McAlpine volunteered three times for combat, became a Hunter-Killer with the legendary 1/9 Cavalry, and twice ran through enemy fire to save his brothers.
This Wednesday, April 15, the Van of Valor project will release the complete story of McAlpine’s heroism—a tale of courage, humility, and the unbreakable American spirit.
McAlpine, then a staff sergeant and call-sign Blue 31, served in B Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, the “Bullwhip Squadron” of the 1st Air Cavalry Division. The unit pioneered “Hunter-Killer” operations: White Scouts locating the enemy, Red Gunships fixing them in place, and Blue infantrymen like McAlpine inserting to finish the fight.
On February 27, 1967, in the mountains near the An Loa Valley, McAlpine’s squad was ambushed in a rocky defile. His squad leader was killed. Three men went down wounded. McAlpine left his covered position, crawled through intense automatic weapons fire, and pulled each casualty to the rear before turning around and crawling back into the kill zone. When his men couldn’t locate the enemy, McAlpine went alone and systematically cleared the remaining North Vietnamese soldiers from the area. He was awarded his first Silver Star.
Three months later, near Duc Pho, McAlpine’s platoon was pinned down by a reinforced Viet Cong company. An urgent resupply helicopter took hits and crashed upside down outside the perimeter, its crew trapped in the burning wreckage. Without waiting for orders, McAlpine left the safety of the defensive perimeter and ran through a hail of machine-gun fire toward the crash site. Working under fire with the aircraft potentially ready to explode, he cut the pilot and co-pilot free and carried the most severely wounded man back to friendly lines. He was awarded his second Silver Star.
McAlpine was wounded three times during his tour, earning three Purple Hearts. Each wound could have sent him home early. Each time, he chose to stay.
After returning from Vietnam, McAlpine used the G.I. Bill to enroll at the Palmer College of Chiropractic, graduating in 1971. In 1973, he founded the McAlpine Chiropractic Group in Holland, Michigan, where he practiced for over four decades. His daughter, Dr. Ann McAlpine, joined him in 2013, continuing the family legacy of healing.
Now retired, Dr. McAlpine leaves behind a dual legacy: dedicated healthcare provider and celebrated veteran. His story has been preserved in the Military Times and Witness to War, and this Wednesday, April 15, the Van of Valor project will share it in full.
“Barry McAlpine is cut from an incredibly resilient thread of the American tapestry,” said Dr. Kevin P. Wallace of Van of Valor. “He is the man who will run into hell to save you. Some think McAlpine is a dying breed. They are wrong. He carries that rare strength which cannot be killed and will be right there when America calls again.”
The full story, including McAlpine’s own poem “I AM A SOLDIER,” will be released April 15 at www.HelpVoV.com.
A special music video honoring McAlpine’s service is available now at:Â https://youtu.be/BxJyAkteEVY
#VanOfValor #HunterKiller #SilverStar #1stCavalry #AmericanHero
Media Contact: Van of Valor via www.HelpVoV.com
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