Retired U.S. Army Colonel Bruce Crandall, a Medal of Honor recipient whose actions are chronicled in the book “We Were Soldiers Once,” dies at age 93. Multiple outlets report that Crandall receives the nation’s highest military decoration for repeatedly flying his helicopter into intense enemy fire to evacuate wounded troops. The accounts describe his role in extracting dozens of injured service members under hostile conditions, emphasizing repeated attempts to reach and retrieve the wounded despite significant danger. While the articles focus on his award and the circumstances of the citation, they also note that his heroism has been widely remembered and was later brought to public attention through the “We Were Soldiers Once” narrative. The reports agree on the core details: his Medal of Honor recognition, the helicopter evacuations performed under heavy enemy fire, and his age at death.