Army veteran Peyton Ligon receives 2022 Hoover Freedom Award

Decorated Army veteran Peyton Ligon received the 2022 Hoover Freedom Award for promoting the ideas of freedom, his service in the military and his work as a veteran’s service officer for the American Legion Post 911 chapter.

Ligon was honored at the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon at the Hoover Country Club on July 21.

“I want to thank the chamber of commerce again for this award and all you’ve done to make this possible,” Ligon said. “That is why I humbly accept the honor on behalf of all of the veterans I’ve ever served with, including veterans that are here today.”

Ligon has had a distinguished career as an Army ranger and is a member of the American Legion Ryan Winslow Post 911. 

By the end of Ligon’s 27-year stint in the Army, he received a Silver Star, Bronze Star with Valor, Purple Heart, combat infantry medal and expert infantry level, among several other awards. 

In the American Legion Ryan Winslow Post 911, Ligon has helped dozens of veterans and their dependents apply for government benefits and compensation and assisting them with financial needs and hosting fundraisers for the Legion, said Paul Pocopanni, a member of the American Legion Post 911 chapter. 

“This is where he excelled and became invaluable to hundreds of residents, and I’m proud to say I’m one of them,” Pocopanni said. 

Ligon joined the Army in 1967 after he graduated from West Point Military Academy in 1966. He joined the 173rd Airborne Brigade, 4th Battalion in Dak Tow, Vietnam and saw action only a month later, he said.  

“Little did I know then that my first large-scale enemy action would only occur on the 10th of July at Hill 830, where three Airborne companies made contact with a North Vietnamese battalion in a fortified defensive position,” Ligon said. “The next morning, our patrols learned the enemy had withdrawn during the night, so that fight was over for the time.” 

During that time, he said, he was a rifle platoon leader until October of that year when he became the battalion air operations officer, which made him responsible for planning and conducting all air assaults in that battalion. 

As time went on, he said, the Battle of the Dak To Province had become costly since there were additions to the 173rd and six South Vietnamese battalions moving into the area. The increase in manpower led to the Battle of Hill 875, which left 115 U.S. soldiers dead, 253 wounded and four declared as missing in action. 

The brigade was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for operations in the Dak To area, he said. 

At the end of the Vietnam War, the 173rd Air Brigade was disbanded but was resurrected in 2000 with two battalions and was stationed in Italy, where the battlaion acted as a quick reaction force for the European Command, he said. 

In 2003, the brigade participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom, where it led a northern ground campaign, he said. During the operation, almost 1,000 airmen conducted the first combat jump into an airfield.

The most recent deployment of the 173rd Air Brigade was to the Baltic states in response to the current Russian invasion of Ukraine, he said.