We were Soldiers Once...And Young: Ia Drang--The Battle That Changed The War In Vietnam Reviews

• Company Commander at X-Ray

  
  By AWSC3WZBQLYV8 on 2001-03-21
  I commanded A Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav under LTC Hal Moore at X-Ray. I lived the battle and led two aasaults. Hal Moore's book is an accurate account of the events of those two days and reflects his love for his soldiers as well as his determination to close with the enemy. As another reviewer described the book shortly after it was published it is "the best description of small unit combat since the Red badge of Courage". Having just read 71 reviews I note that some of the reviewers criticize Moore on issues of tactical considerations. Without going into a lot of detail the Hueys did well to carry 6 soldiers at the altitude of the central highlands of Vietnam. We did not have good intelligence as to where the enemy was so the operation was planned as a reconaissance in force. Not much different than hundreds of other air assaults by both Army and Marine units during the war. The book was not written to glorify war but to demonmstrate the courage and character of the American soldier.
  
  

• A book about great leadership, not just about war

  
  By A1EUGSAZQ8W7ZS on 2002-02-21
  The North Vietnamese soldier that Colonel Harold Moore's men captured in the Central Highlands of Vietnam on November 14, 1965 delivered chilling news: "There are three battalions [of Vietcong] on the mountain who very much want to kill Americans but have not been able to find any." A few hours later, those Vietnamese made contact with the 7th Cavalry --- and thus began the first battle of the Vietnam War to pit Americans directly against the Vietcong.

  The killing began right away. Not the killing of Vietnamese. The killing of Americans. Five died in the first few minutes. The hills were a concert of screams and explosions. Hiding behind a termite hill, Moore thought of another man who'd led the 7th Cavalry: George Armstrong Custer. Moore promised himself that he wouldn't let this battle --- Ia Drang --- repeat the sorry history of Little Bighorn.

  We Were Soldiers Once...and Young is the story of how close Moore and his men came to being slaughtered like Custer's troops. The numbers are spine-chilling: In four days of fighting --- with the enemy sometimes as close as 75 feet to the American line --- 234 Americans died. In this remarkable minute-by-minute account, you get to meet these men. And more: You watch each soldier die. And you get to grieve for every single one.

  The book's real subject isn't war. It's leadership. Consider the situation. Americans had been advisers in Vietnam, but they had never really engaged the enemy. Moore was career Army: West Point, Korea, advanced studies in fast-moving, guerilla warfare. In June of l965, he began training his battalion for combat in Vietnam. In August, the Army pulled all six of his newly-acquired second lieutenants out. In August, any soldiers who had 60 days or less to serve were separated from the 7th Cavalry. So when Moore and his unit sailed to Vietnam, they had already lost 100 of their most experienced men.

  The difference between an under-trained unit that survives a fierce battle and one that becomes legendary in defeat is leadership. Listen to some of the ways Moore managed his troops. He told his men:

  --- "Only first-place trophies will be displayed, accepted or presented in this battalion. Second place in our line of work is defeat of the unit on the battlefield, and death for the individual in combat."

  --- "Decision-making will be decentralized: Push the power down. It pays off in wartime."

  --- "Loyalty flows down as well."

  --- "I check up on everything. I am available day or night to talk to any officer of this battalion."

  Or this: Before the battle started, James Galloway (a United Press reporter who became co-author of Moore's book 25 years later) was watching Moore's soldiers shave as he boiled water for coffee one morning before the battle. Moore passed by. "We all shave in my outfit --- reporters included," he snapped. Galloway immediately repurposed his coffee water for shaving.

  And, finally, this: "In the American Civil War, it was a matter of principle that a good officer rode his horse as little as possible. There were sound reasons for this. If you are riding and your soldiers are marching, how can you judge how tired they are, how thirsty, how heavy their packs weigh on their shoulders?"

  Moore applied this philosophy conscientiously. He flew in to Ia Drang on the first helicopter. He led his men from the front. When he saw men from another company beginning to haul one of his dead soldiers out of a foxhole with a harness, he snapped, "No you won't do that. He's one of my troopers and you will show some respect. Get two more men and carry him to the landing zone." When it was over and it was time for Moore to turn over command, he requested a full battalion formation. One soldier recalls, "We stood in formation, with some units hardly having enough men to form up. Colonel Moore spoke to us and he cried. At that moment, he could have led us back into the Ia Drang."

  But it still wasn't over for Moore. His wife attended as many funerals as she could. And when he got back to the U.S., in April 1966, he visited some of the families of his lost men. One family thought his visit would last a few minutes. He stayed five hours. And he made sure he went with the family to visit the grave, and there he asked to spend some time alone there, kneeling in prayer and memory.

  This story --- the story of the relationship of a man to the men he leads and the families who sent those men to be in his care --- is why you want to read this book, and read it now. If you're an executive in charge of workers or if you're a parent trying to raise your children, you above all other readers will be able to read through the ugliness and the pain and understand why Moore's men fought and died for him.

  Should you ever be in Washington, D.C., the names of the soldiers killed at Ia Drang --- and there are 305 of them, in total --- can be found on the third panel to the right of the apex, Panel-3 East, of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. But you don't have to visit the Memorial to learn from them; thanks to Hal Moore, their deepest legacy is in the wisdom he can, in their names, pass on to you.
  
  

• Life is nothing much to lose, but young men think it is ...

  
  By A29GN23WDQ6ZAK on 2000-07-31
  This outstanding account of the first major battle between American and North Vietnamese forces in the Vietnam War tells in gut-wrenching, eye-watering detail what close combat is all about. Authors Hal Moore and Joseph Galloway (Moore commanded the 1st Sqdn., 7th Cav., one of the two squadrons involved; Galloway was a journalist on the ground with Moore) have prepared a carefully researched, well documented account of U.S. and North Vietnamese actions at Ia Drang Valley in the fall of 1965. Importantly, they have drawn not just on American sources and their own experiences, but on official and personal accounts of their former enemies.

  Ia Drang featured the new U.S. battlefield concept of airmobility and the North Vietnamese decided to give battle in a desperate attempt to find out the best way to deal with American helicopters and fire power. When Lt. Col. Moore and the 450 troopers of his 1/7th Cav. air assaulted into a small clearning in the Ia Drang Valley they were immediately surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese regulars. The fighting that ensued consumed Moore's squadron. The enemy increased his forces and applied even greater pressure on the Americans, and a sister unit, the 2/7th Cav., was chopped to ribbons. Enemy losses were extraordinarily high ... a price they were willing to pay to learn the lessons that would serve them on future battlefields.

  The North Vietnamese did learn. They adjusted their tactics and modernized and increased the number of rocket propelled grenade launchers carried by infantry units. Additional heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft weapons were laboriously brought down the Ho Chi Minh Trail to beef up defenses in future operations. By summer 1970, when a division of North Vietnamese soldiers surrounded airmobile troopers of the 101st Airborne Division at Fire Support Base Ripcord, they were a different enemy.

  By 1970 the Vietnam War was a different war as well. In 1965 there was support for the war at home and Moore's men went into Ia Drang to win, and win they did. By 1970 U.S. forces were being withdrawn and the ground war was being turned over to an increasingly capable South Vietnamese military. At home, support for the war effort had waned terribly and political will was lacking. U.S. units increasingly became casualty-shy. Even so, the battle for FSB Ripcord (see Keith Nolan's "Ripcord: Screaming Eagles Under Siege, Vietnam 1970") was as complex and deadly as that at Ia Drang. But in the end, the 1st Cavalry Division held their ground and the 101st did not. A clear sign that the war was, for all practical purposes, over.

  Read Moore's and Galloway's book ... give copies to friends and relatives ... it's a classic that will stand the test of time. Then remember the words of A. E. Houseman after the bloody struggles of World War One: "Life is nothing much to lose, but young men think it is ... and we were young."
  
  

• The night was clear and the moon was yellow

  
  By A2EQ74Y24BHHIF on 2001-10-31
  I read this book in 1993, right after it first came out. It was the marine commandant's choice for Marines who wished to read in their field of concentration. Joe Galloway, a war correspondent and Col. Hal Moore, the commanding officer in this horrific battle in the Ia Drang valley in Vietnam, co-wrote this superb depiction of one of the first set piece battles of the Vietnamese war. That these men survived this battle at all is mute testimony to their irrepressible fierceness, to their dogged determination, and to the fearless efforts of their air and artillery support. They fought a courageous enemy who was bent on one purpose, the annihilation of their American foe. It's a brilliantly told tale of military heroism and perseverance. The recent death in the WTC bombing of one of the primary participants in the battle, Rick Rescorla, and the articles dedicated to his selfless display of bravery as he made certain that his charges were evacuated from the WTC, caused me to review this book once again.

  Most Americans are sadly deficient when it comes to any knowledge of military history and its impact on the course of civilization. It seems too often that we are a nation of full stomachs and empty heads. However, the emotional trauma of the recent Taliban attacks on our soil has shaken us loose from our stupor and an interest in affairs military has been thusly ignited. As one who remembers WWII, and whose family is filled with men who went to every war this country has ever fought, my fervent wish is that our citizens will one day wake up to what actually happened in SE Asia in the mid to latter part of the 20th century. My second wish is that people will grow to understand that terrorists are not patriots, and that they are not leaders of their people. Cromwell, Bolivar, George Washington, all of whom refused the crown, they were leaders of their people. Mao, Lenin, Stalin, Ho Chi Minh, Castro, they were and are killers of their people. America fought a cold war, rebuilt Western Europe and Japan, and liberated South Korea from the Communists like the aforementioned. Vietnam was a battle in that Cold War.

  The Taliban, who have taken many lives to further a fanatical agenda, are merely the latest iteration of terrorists who seek to do what our constitution was written to prevent. This book is a great story about men who fought and died for principles that too many know too little about to understand. Perhaps now that the country is on high alert we'll gain back some ground form the empty heads that have presided over the media and academia in America. Buy this book and read it, you'll be very glad you did.
  
  

• Hero of Ia Drang also Hero of World Trade Center

  
  By on 2001-10-04
  This ran in Army Times. In addition to being one of the under-reported stories of 9-11, it seems like a remarkable footnote to a remarkable book.

  `The bravest man I ever knew'

  After a lifetime in which he cheated it many times, death caught up with Rick Rescorla halfway up the south tower of the World Trade Center.
  But like a good soldier, he didn't sell his life cheaply. Death took him only after he had cheated it again, helping to save 2,700 lives by relying on the instincts and the preparation that had served him well in battles on two continents.

  Rescorla was a retired Army Reserve colonel and the head of security for Morgan Stanley's Individual Investor Group at the World Trade Center. But many readers will be more familiar with him as Lt. Rick "Hard Core" Rescorla, one of the heroes of the 1965 battle of the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam.

  "Rick was the best combat leader I ever saw in Vietnam," said Pat Payne, the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment's reconnaissance platoon leader in Ia Drang.

  Featured in book

  Rescorla's role in that battle is recounted in detail in the book "We Were Soldiers Once... And Young," a searing account of the action by retired Lt. Gen. Harold "Hal" Moore and Joe Galloway. In 1965, Moore was a battalion commander in the center of the battle, and Galloway was a UPI reporter who covered the entire engagement.

  Even those only vaguely familiar with the book have seen Rescorla's image - he is the gaunt soldier on the cover with the 2-day old beard and the bayonet fixed to his M16.

  When Rescorla showed up for Basic Training at Benning in 1963, he'd already seen more adventure than most soldiers do in a lifetime. Born in Cornwall, England, he joined the British army's Paratroop Regiment as a teen-ager, then became a military intelligence warrant officer. He served in that position in Cyprus during the violence that wracked that island in the 1950s, then left the British Army for a London police job in Scotland Yard's famous "Flying Squad" of detectives.

  He left England for another military job, this time as a commando in the Rhodesian Colonial security force in Africa. From there he came to seek his fortune in the United States.

  After breezing through basic training, Rescorla was picked up for Officer Candidate School. Last year he was inducted into the OCS Hall of Fame.

  He graduated as a second lieutenant in 1965, just in time to ship out to Vietnam with the 1st Air Cavalry Division. In November of that year, still a British citizen, he would draw on all his youthful experience in the battle of the Ia Drang.

  Headed the `Hard Corps'

  Ia Drang was the Army's first major battle in Vietnam, and one of its bloodiest. The battle claimed 305 American lives, soldiers who died in fierce combat with a North Vietnamese regiment that also took heavy losses. Rescorla commanded 1st Platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, and was almost worshipped by his soldiers, who called themselves the "Hard Corps" after his nickname. But his courage and infectious optimism resonated beyond those under his immediate command.

  Payne remembers Rescorla "leaping off [a] chopper and strutting into our small very beat-up group of survivors" during the night. After placing his men to fill the gaps in Payne's line and pausing to speak quietly to each soldier, he walked toward Payne.

  "I was so amazed to see him walking around because we had all been crawling on our stomachs for eight hours," Payne said. Speaking in a low, confident voice, Rescorla complimented Payne on establishing good fields of fire.

  "Then he looked me in the eye and said, `When the sun comes up we are going to kick some ass.' I will never forget his words or the look in his eye. He said it in a confident, matter-of-fact way. He was not boasting, it was resolve."

  Rescorla earned a Silver Star for his actions at Ia Drang, and, in Moore's words, "went on to establish himself as a living legend in the 7th Cav in Vietnam."

  But behind the swagger and the self-confidence, Rescorla hid a keen intellect, according to Dan Hill, a former captain who met Rescorla at basic and remained his best friend. This fine mind served Rescorla well when he left the Army in the late 1960s and put himself through college and law school, before going on to establish himself as a specialist in security for financial firms.

  His will to live came to the fore again three years ago, when he was diagnosed with inoperable cancer and given six months to live. Against the odds, he beat the disease into remission.

  As Morgan Stanley's security chief, Rescorla brought his belief in the "seven Ps" - proper prior planning and preparation prevents poor performance - to bear, to the immense good fortune of his co-workers.

  Morgan Stanley was the largest tenant in the south tower, with about 2,700 employees in 20 floors. But incredibly, only six, including Rescorla and two security folks who worked for him, still are missing. Everyone else made it out alive.

  Obsessed with preparation

  Those survivors owe their lives in no small part to Rescorla's quick thinking at a time of crisis, and his obsession with being prepared for every eventuality.

  "He'd take every possible contingency that could happen, and he'd come up with a plan for it," Hill said. When the first plane hit the north tower, the Port Authority told workers in the south tower to stay put. But Rescorla disagreed and immediately executed an evacuation plan he had made the employees rehearse twice a year.

  The plan worked, and when the second plane hit the south tower, almost all Morgan Stanley employees were on their way to safety. So was Rescorla, who made it to the ground floor, singing "God Bless America" to calm the nerves of the evacuees.

  But he insisted on going back upstairs to check for anyone left behind. He was probably still climbing when the building collapsed.

  His wife, Susan, and his two children likely will remember Rick Rescorla for his generosity of spirit and his dry English wit.

  But middle-aged veterans of a hellish battle long ago in the sun and the elephant grass are more likely to remember Rick Rescorla as Bill Lund, another second lieutenant in that battle, does: "This was the bravest man I ever knew."
  
  

• A Terrific Tale of Vietnam
  By A2VGKGXSG81KAS on 2000-01-07
  Had war planners in Washington D.C. experienced what Lieutenant Colonel Harold Moore saw in his first weeks of combat in 1965 the tragedy of America's involvement in the Vietnam War might well have been avoided. In the fall of 1965 Moore's 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry Regiment engaged North Vietnamese soldiers at Ia Drang.

  The Battle for Ia Drang showed for the first time the steep cost American soldiers would pay in their engagements with the vietnamese communists and set into play a frustrating pattern that would persist until the end of the war- American units would inflict heavy casualties upon the communist forces, but the enemy would simply slip away into the underbrush, leaving behind nothing but dead Americans and an empty jungle.

  "We Were Soldiers Once . . . And Young" is Moore and reporter Joseph Galloway's account of the 1st Cavalry Division's initial deployment to Vietnam and America's first combat actions with the North Vietnamese Army. The lessons Moore learned at Ia Drang showed just how difficult victory in Southeast Asia would be for American forces. The lessons learned by Moore and his troops would have served American decision-makers well.

  "We Were Soldiers Once . . . And Young" is both a terrifically exciting narrative about the Battle of Ia Drang, and a cautionary tale about the clash between strategic planning and the tactical realities of warfare. Unrealistic assumptions can lead to tragic results. Good work.
  
  

• War Up Close and Personal
  By A8DJ9EU2QP2JM on 2000-10-04
  Moore has done a great service to those interested in the war in Vietnam as well as those who have not experienced the horror of combat first hand.

  This book about a relatively large scale U.S. Infantry operation in the Ia Drang Valley is very well written. The author tells the story of his unit's fight and subsequent movement well. So well, that it is possible to visualize the battle, the defensive perimiter and keep the individual soldiers -- whose story it is -- straight. Not only is the tale of the battle well told, but the fears and uncertainty faced by cut off troops who could not see their enemy and knew they had to hold their perimiter is brought home to the reader. This story has plenty of heroics, but also a lot of fear, anger and luck.

  The story also underscores the problem with U.S. strategy in Vietnam. Unlike World War II, our troops were not driving across the country to hold land and capture territory. Many missions, like Moore's, were designed to find and harass a jungle hid enemy, inflict casualties and then retreat to a well protected base. That type of war without gain must have played heavily on the minds of the soldiers who could not measure their sacrifice in ground gained or villages freed, measurements their fathers and uncles had been able to see in their great war.

  This is a good book. Moore's US infantry are very sympathetic (the chopper pilots merrit special mention from the author), doing a hard job and doing it well. It reads quickly and is captured my attention from the outset.
  
  

• American Thermopylae
  By on 1999-12-10
  Oh, what an extraordinary book. This book satisfies on so many levels. First, it provides an accurate historical account of the most important battle of the Vietnam War -- the first one. From this examination, the reader can understand why the U.S. reached strategic failure in Vietnam. Until its publication, there has never been an accurate accounting of this savage, enigmatic battle, only partial analysis and limited oral histories. This book presents the battle from the battalion commander view and integrates it into the goals of the war. Second, the book presents, in unsparingly frank terms, the sacrifices and courage exuded by average American boys in combat with an ardent foe in a foreign land. After reading this book, I dare anyone, ANYONE, to question the scope and magnitude of the sacrifices made by those who served in Vietnam. The depictions of combat and its accompanying loss will stay with the reader for a very long time. Lastly, for all military buffs, it's a great read and allows you to engage in some healthy hero-worship. In honor of those who served and died on this tragic battlefield and all those of Vietnam, a paraphrase of the inscription at Thermopylae is in order: "Go tell the Americans, stranger passing by, Here, obedient to their laws we lie."
  
  
• One of The Best Combat Books
  By A222LQEPE7O7BV on 2002-10-02
  I must say that I saw this movie before I read the book. I was concerned that the first 20 - 30% of the book would be similar to the movie with a review of the soldiers family lives, life on the base, the creation of the unit, and the training. Not that this information is not interesting, but this book was held out as one of the better books on Vietnam combat, not base life descriptions. I turned out to be pleased with the book in that it started out with action and never stopped. I have read a number of books about combat and this one was one of the best I have read - ranking up there with Back Hawk Down. From page 1 to the end there are no slow spots in the book, it is full speed the whole way.

  The book tells the story of two different, but related battles that took place in 1965. They were the first major battles of the American effort in the war and they were some of the hardest fought. The author interviewed what seams like almost everybody that made it out for the book, and he lets the soldiers use their own words so that you get a full picture of each section of the battle. It is interesting to see how two or three different people in different locations viewed / remembered the same situations. The one draw back to this form of story telling is that there is not a consistent author's style. This is a minor point because Harold Moore did a wonderful job in telling the story and placing the other solders statements in the text. Overall it is a great book that anyone interested in combat or the Vietnam War will need to read.
  
  

• Read it now before the Movie!
  By A3IQD2BJG501BW on 2001-11-07
  This is the best rendition of tactics in Vietnam and a must read for small unit leaders. We Were Soldiers Once...And Young takes us on a journey with then Lieutenant Colonel "Hal" Moore and Joe Galloway, the reporter who climbed on a helicopter heading for a "hot" landing zone, into the Ia Drang Valley. The North Vietnamese baited the 7th Cav into a firefight in order to determine how the U.S. would fight, and they learned quickly in the first major engagement of the war. As the battalion commander of the 1/7 Cav, LTC Moore engages in a battle for the lives of everyone in his unit. The lessons which Mr. Galloway and LTG (Retired) Moore illustrate in the first section of the book will drive home the need for discipline and leadership during combat. The first section makes the book worth the read, all by itself.

  Fortunately, there are two other sections, equally as dramatic. The second section lets us walk with the 2nd battalion, 7th Cavalry Division into an ambush quickly established by the NVA. This time almost the entire unit is wiped out. Due to poor discipline (not putting out security, letting soldiers smoke and talk on break, etc..) the 2/7 is completely surprised. This book uniquely juxtaposes the difference in success between two similar units, with very different leadership, morale, and discipline. The lessons are stark and vivid.

  The third section, titled Aftermath, describes life on the homefront - not the protests and demonstrations, but the military families waiting to hear how their soldiers are doing. The description of Western Union hiring taxi drivers to deliver death notices is emotional. Some wives were awakened at 4:00am in the morning and handed a yellow slip with the words, "The Secretary of the Army regrets to inform you that your husband .... was killed in action, etc.." If you don't want to go to bed crying, don't read this powerful account of how coldly the institution cared for families during the Vietnam era. My wife and I have both spent over ten years of service in the Army and found this section to be a powerful motivation for helping to care for military families.

  As the title of this review indicates, the movie is coming soon. Mel Gibson will play Joe Galloway, and other famous actors will take part. I highly recommend this account of courage, leadership, discipline, success and failure. This book spent several weeks on the New York Times best seller list, and almost every senior leader in the Army recommends it as mandatory reading for leaders at the tactical level. You won't be disappointed!
  
  

• Excellent Tribute from a Commander to his Soldiers
  By A1FKLSRSKUNNMT on 2002-03-25
  Lieutenant General Harold Moore and Joseph Galloway have written what is probably the definitive book on the soldier's experience in Vietnam. Covering the American campaign in the Ia Drang Valley in 1965, the book focuses in on two battles: the Battle of LZ X-Ray, where an American battalion held off attacks by a People's Army of Vietnam division, and the Battle of LZ Albany, where another American battalion was decimated by other elements of the same PAVN division.

  The Ia Drang campaign set the tone for Vietnam, demonstrating both American solders' fighting abilities and the strategic failure of American planners who could never take the initiative away from the enemy. When the battle was joined, the Americans would fight well and inflict devastating losses on PAVN forces, but the battles were almost always fought on their terms, at times and places of their choosing. American willingness to fight the war on their terms ensured the North Vietnamese would win in the end, as long as their will to fight persisted.

  But while Moore and Galloway touch on these factors, their focus is firmly on the young men who fought and died in the Ia Drang. Moore, the battalion commander at LZ X-Ray, and Galloway, a UPI reporter who rode into LZ X-Ray to cover the battle, have done meticulous research to produce a well-written, easy to read account of the two battles that drags the reader headlong into the terror and tension of the fighting. We are introduced to each soldier in turn, and the book is careful to note the circumstances of each American death as best it can. The result is a gripping read, impossible to put down.

  Moore and Galloway are to be commended for their hard work and dedication in writing this book. There's no way to understand how it truly feels to be trapped in a desperate firefight when people you love are dying all around you, but this comes as close as humanly possible. After decades of propaganda calling Vietnam veterans either emotional wrecks or horrible baby killers, "We Were Soldiers Once...and Young" finally puts out the truth about the Americans who fought and died for their country in a war few cared about. It is a fitting tribute to all those men.
  
  

• DAVID AND GOLIATH - FEAR AND LEARNING IN THE IA DRANG
  By A23IPRYG9095MZ on 1998-07-09
  As an Infantry Lieutenant who flew helicopters in Viet Nam and a student of military history for the past forty years I found 'We Were Soldiers Once and Young" to be a fascinating read. It is really two books that run concurrently.The first is about the leadership of a small outgunned army of citizen soldiers who were tryng to figure out a way to win against the big guy. This they learned in the Ia Drang and, given that there would be no change in U.S. strategy to negate the knowledge the NVA acquired from this battle the Viet Nam War was effectively lost at that point for the U.S.

  The second is as close as you can get to that dirt in the face, taste of terror in your mouth, please God let me live through this, feeling that all soldiers experience in battle without your having to endure the actual thing. So engrossing was this part of the book that, although I already knew the outcome, I found myself trying to will some of the indivdual participants in this battle to a different conclusion than the one that was already written for them.

  This book is an engrossing piece of living history and I highly recommend it.Yes, war is hell and a tragedy almost beyond comprehension. Commanders make mistakes that lose them. all men are not heroes and not everybody remembers things the same way but for those who of you who know a Viet Nam Era grunt who humped the boonies and you have wondered why he is different from everybody else this book will help you understand. For those who want some insight into what happened in Viet Nam and why we lost that war this book will answer some of those questions. For those interested in only a gut-wrenching account of ground combat this book will give it to you with nothing held back. I think we all should read it, and maybe again.
  
  

• Wonderful History Of Vietnam Battle !
  By ALR35EFI69S5R on 2002-09-20
  This is a carefully written and professionally crafted tome jointly written by two eyewitnesses and participants in the events described therein. The two authors, Harold Moore (a retired Army Lt. Col) and Joe Galloway, then a UPI reporter, met on the battlefield of Ia Drang and became lifelong friends and associates. Moore actually commanded the U. S. Army force dropped into a remote rural area of South Vietnam controlled by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) in November of 1965 in what became the first recorded engagement between the U.S. Army and the NVA.

  Firstly, the field tactics employed by Moore's men were experimental in nature, since the was the first time Air Cavalry had attempted to systematically employ attack helicopters to quickly deploy men to and from combat. Since this tactic meant consecutive serial moves of portions of the attacking force to the forward area, it meant those dropped first were, by the very nature of the tactical strategy, left in an extremely vulnerable position in terms of their openness to enemy attack during the initial period of time, before their numbers and strength were reinforced. Of course, the NVA understood this weakness and sought to exploit it to the maximum extent possible, attempting to quickly overrun and overwhelm the sixty some soldiers already on the ground.

  Thus the battle was joined, and the Air Cavalry troops were quickly surrounded and portions of the force cut off from the others. Moore painstakingly describes the escalating set of circumstances that brought the force to a crisis point, and details how both they and the NVA systematically attempted to deal body blows to the opposing forces. From the beginning the casualties on both sides were considerable; in the several weeks of its duration, almost half the U.S. Army forces were either killed or seriously wounded, while on the other side, there were as many as 1,800 NVA casualties. There were literally bodies of dead enemy soldiers stacked like kindling at various points of the campaign. In the end, the superior firepower and sole control of the skies by the U. S. Forces served to balance the otherwise overwhelming numerical superiority of the NVA units in the area. Once the smoke cleared, the NVA forces had (at least temporarily) already evaporated, while the U.S. forces returned to the main staging base, leaving the battlefield deserted.

  This is an absorbing and interesting book to read, both because of the subject matter and because of the personal beliefs and values of the men who authored it. One comes way from the reading experience convinced these men honestly cared about the men they fought beside, and that they tried to do the best they could to win the engagement and bring everyone home safely. Of course, in war this is something no one can succeed at, yet one appreciated the sentiment and the kind of honest values and degree of integrity such sentiments represent. This is a book I can heartily recommend, as I know you will find it as intriguing and provocative ad I did. Enjoy!
  
  

• Battle report that is not for lay person
  By AUDSM2CTLLW1Q on 2003-04-22
  It pains me tremendously to have to offer up a negative review "We Were Soldiers Once...and Young". Lt. General (then Lt. Colonel) Hal Moore's account of the vicious battle of Ia Drang in 1965 should be a very compelling read, giving great insight to the battle that changed to scope of the Vietnam War. Unfortunately, Moore's narrative is nothing more than series of repetitive statements and descriptions of the action that took place. In a few of the negative (or less than enthusiastic) reviews written about this book, it has been cited that this reads more like a battle 'after-action' report than a literary presentation of the events of that day. I have to agree. Writing accounts of actual battles is a tricky proposition. A good writer or editor can make it happen, though. Neither seemed to have helped with this book. After approximately 50 pages of relatively interesting background material to set the stage for the battle to follow, "We Were Soldiers" just dissolves into 300 pages of non-stop battle sequences. If a proper context is given to the events that are occurring, it can allow the lay person to properly understand and picture what is taking place. Unfortunately, it seems that Moore is intent on telling the stories of every single soldier who fought in that battle, describing their wounds and their determination to fight on. There are far too many names to keep track of and their situations are far too similar to give the reader and distinct sense of who these men were. There is also a very frustrating tendency to jump to different soldiers' points of views without ever giving a proper transition. One minute, the reader may think they are reading the comments of a private who was shot and survived the battle, but the next minute it will be the company captain who is speaking, and there will have been nothing to indicate the switch in speakers.
  
  Although Hal Moore's name is listed as the primary author for this book, he really isn't the primary person at fault for the failure of "We Were Soldiers Once... and Young". Moore is a military man, not a writer. His skills lay in his ability to prepare men for battle and then lead them into battle, have them do their job, and get as many out safely as possible. From all accounts, Moore was superb with this task. The fault lies more with his editors at the publishing house and his co-author, journalist Joseph Galloway. By trade, Galloway is a writer and he should be equipped with strong narrative and story-telling skills. He could have and should have taken the tremendous insights that Moore provided and molded them into a fascinating tale of the men who fought on that day. There are many non-fiction war books that have managed to accomplish this. The editors of this book should also have seen that there was no narrative flow to the story and found ways to improve it before they published it. Alas, they didn't and, as a result, "We Were Soldiers..." is a chore to read.
  
  It is clear that I am in the minority in my opinion here. That is part of why I feel it pains me to give this book a negative review. However, my final decision came down to a set of deciding factors: As a person who reads a lot of military history, but has never been in an actual battle or studied military strategy in-depth, could I still follow what has happening in this story with any degree of clarity. Unfortunately, the answer is 'No'. Therefore the negative review must stand.
  
  
• The essence of leadership - a textbook for all Americans
  By A2KMY0TI3OS9DE on 2002-02-27
  Today we have become complacent to short wars, "smart" weapons and few casualties. Journalists constantly poll for our opinions and ratings on "how the war is being managed". War is neither about management nor polls. War is about leadership, survival and sacrifice.

  Gen. Moore and Joe are survivors and leaders. These men understood what they were getting into. They did not fight for medals, Pulitzer prices or news polls. They performed their duties courageously against a strong and equally determined enemy.

  If you want to know what war is, this book brings the message home loud and clear. War is about the failure of political leadership and about the incredible leadership of soldiers who carry on orders knowing what the outcome maybe. Leadership is about the guts to tell those under your command that some will die yet no one will be left behind. That when the fight starts, you will be the first one to walk into the battlefield and the last one to leave it. This kind of leadership is not accomplished through fancy PowerPoint presentations or "briefings" kept to within 10 minutes. This is accomplished through character and this story contains tons of examples, from the rifleman to the platoon leader to the Command Sgt. Major, all real people all real heroes.

  This book also teaches us about respect and humility. Gen Moore and Joe talk about their foes with respect for in the end it was their battle too. Warriors who did not hide behind non-combatants nor used cowardly tactics as so called freedom fighters.

  Gen. Moore teaches us that as hard as it may be a senior officer's job is first and foremost commanding his troops. A senior officer has no business getting into the fight. They let their company grade officers and NCOs run that part, while they ensure everyone stays focused and alive. Imagine how awesome our school systems would be if we allowed teachers to teach and parents to raise their children. Do your job, let others do theirs and help when you're asked.

  For NCOs this is also a textbook in what is required of them, for they too are leaders and their example will determine the outcome of a battle as well as the lives of those under their care. They influence enlisted and officers alike.

  After the events of September 11, 2001, it is extremely important to understand what it means to sacrifice ones life through service to their country (military service personnel, firefighters, teachers) so that others may live, be free and have a chance to a better life. Rick Rescorla, whose picture appears in the front cover of the book, knew this first hand. He sacrificed for the last time on that fateful day by directing many others to safety while ignoring his own at the World Trade Center tower.

  This book has a message for all Americans who care and respect their country.
  
  

• Well-written, devastating and heartbreaking
  By on 2000-01-05
  Although I grew up in the 60s and 70s, Vietnam didn't touch me personally. I'd watch the honor roll nightly on t.v., taps playing in the background, feeling vaguely numb as the names of dead soldiers scrolled across the screen. Read this book if you want to feel and smell the battlefield and get to know the men who served. This is a poignant, well-written account that provides a lot of historical information without being dry and difficult to follow. It is an incredibly personal account without being sentimental. The author occasionally and very subtley gives insight into his own view on the war and the politics that kept it going, but focuses on his soldiers and their struggle to survive the deprivation and slaughter of a meandering war without end. You will get to know the soldiers by name. You'll learn about the lives they left and, if they were lucky, the lives they went home to. You will not be spared the carnage of the battlefield, but this is no Rambo-esque mythology of the glories of war. It is a sad paen to the slaughter of so many young men.

  I had preconceptions about the kind of book a Lt. General might write. Harold Moore and Joseph Galloway shattered them. This book will haunt you.
  
  

• In the Ia Drang, they did the impossible routinely....
  By ABPSMMOAZF32 on 2001-04-04
  Having served 27 months in Pleiku Province in 1968-1970, I was always mindful of that dark valley on the lower left of the province map marked Ia Drang, where very bad things had happened to the 1st Cav Division years before. This is the book that makes those bad things come alive for all to see, to understand, and even to experience in some remote way. This book is moving beyond comprehension.

  Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway are owed a debt of gratitude by every veteran for recording these events. Certainly the men who walked in, flew in, and supported LZs X-Ray and Albany are owed an even larger debt for what they endured. But their due would have no measure without this book--this tribute of love--having given form to their days in hell. Not since Bernard B. Fall's "Hell in a Very Small Place" has any book captured the courage, fear and grime of battle so completely as "We Were Soldiers Once, and Young."

  Many things stand out in my mind about this book's account, but three head the list.

  First and foremost, one simply must stand in awe of the courage and brotherhood of the common soldier under fire. He did uncommon things with uncommon valor, and Hal Moore and Joe Galloway captured that essence with vivid clarity--on page after page after page.

  Secondly, like the men on the ground, the Huey pilots loom larger than the lives they touched. They did what had to be done under the most horrifying of circumstances, and they did it because brothers out there needed it done. In the Ia Drang, they did the impossible routinely and set the standard for those who followed them.

  Thirdly, I was deeply moved by the tribute the authors paid in the book's Prologue to the enemy they faced in the Ia Drang. I faced the 66th PAVN Regiment for two years. They were highly motivated and as courageous as any soldiers who ever took the field of battle. The Ia Drang was their introduction to South Vietnam, and yes, they were a worthy enemy.

  To all of these men, friend and foe, I salute you and thank you for your sacrifices. You are owed more than you can ever be paid. To Hal Moore and Joe Galloway, I owe you my sincerest thanks for your service and for this book--and a tall cool one on demand.

  If none of this makes sense to you, read the book. Then it will.
  
  

• I'm a selfish idiot
  By A19EWP1U3X1I2B on 2002-01-14
  I've been reading a lot of books featuring stories of combat forces lately: Black Hawk Down, Ghost Soldiers, Flags of Our Fathers, and now this book by Lt. General Moore. I guess what I'm looking for is some sense of what this abstract quality is that causes men (and now women) to place themselves in harm's way and potentially give up their lives and their futures for their country. I'm not sure I've found it yet in these books, but I've seen hints of it. The only thing I know for sure about this quality is that I don't have it and the men in this book do.

  Lt. Gen. Moore, the author of this book, was the commander of the 450 men of the 1st battalion, 7th cavalry when they engaged in combat in the Ia Drang valley in November, 1965. This was very early in the war and these men were not sure what to expect. This book tells the story of the horrific battle that followed from a very human standpoint. While there was significant carnage, General Moore treats not a single casualty as a statistic. He describes every soldier in the most human of terms, who they were, where they were from, and their actions in this battle. The tactics and flow of the battle are described flawlessly, but mostly this is a human story.

  One of the closing chapters of the book is given to the families of the men who died, to tell their side of the story of losing their husband, son, or father. I'm not a man often moved to tears...but I was moved to tears. Battle can never be considered casually. The cost is just too high.

  I don't think I've found the answer to my question yet and probably never will, but this book moved me a step closer. At the very least, I've concluded I'm a selfish idiot with a comfortable life whose biggest concern is whether to order the chicken or the fish. The people who wear the uniform...are heroes.
  
  

• Best Combat Book Ever Written
  By on 2002-10-25
  I first saw the movie, was moved, then read the book. This book is FANTASTIC -- best book on small-unit combat tactics I have ever read.

  It deals with two battles: one at Landing Zone (LZ) X-Ray and another a day later at LZ Albany, a few miles from LZ X-Ray. The battle at LZ X-Ray lasted several days under the direction of Lt. Col. Hal Moore. Moore, the American battalion commander, and Joe Galloway (a UPI photographer present throughout the battle) wrote the book. This battle was a testament to the military leadership and skill of Moore and his company commanders, as well as the spirit of his men, along with the chopper pilots and artillery units that supported them.

  The second part of the book deals with the battle at LZ Albany a few days later and illustrates what harm a poor commander can do to his men. The Americans were slaughtered.

  This is a book on tactics and on leadership. But it reads like a novel and will have you riveted to your seat!!! (Moore has quotes from many of his men and the tales they recount make you want to cheer and then cry.) After reading this book (in one night -- I couldn't put it down! -- I recalled the line by Frederick March after William Holden's death in the movie, "Bridges at Toko-Ri". March asked himself, "Where do we get such men? Where do we get such men?"

  This is a GREAT book. Get it!!
  
  

• Superb
  By ADNB55CTSX30C on 2003-04-17
  Without doubt, this is one of the best accounts of military history that I have ever read.

  'We Were Soldiers' describes two separate engagements between the NVA and American forces in the Ia Drang valley in Vietnam. This battle, fought in 1965, was one of the first 'real' encounters between US and NVA forces, and it changed the Vietnam War from a political exercise to full fledged conflict.

  Essentially, the book is divided into two stories, that of the soldiers that fought at Landing Zone (LZ) X-Ray, and that of the soldiers that fought at LZ Albany, two locations in the Ia Drang valley.

  The book is frighteningly honest about the harsh realities of war, and does an excellent job at showing the human cost of war. Lt. General Harold 'Hal' Moore writes in a very forthright and honest manner, and it is obvious he is someone that does not mince words, and I believe that every word in this book is truth.

  The book isn't easy to read, and it certainly isn't a light, entertaining story. If anything, the book is closer to a history text, rich in detail and thoroughly referenced, but that doesn't mean it isn't a fascinating read.

  But overall, what I admired so much about this book was the honesty of it. Nothing is withheld, all is told, typical of 'Hal' Moore. After reading this book, it is obvious to me that Hal is a man of the highest integrity and earned every star on his shoulder.

  I am an Australian, and although the men at Ia Drang weren't from my country, I was still deeply moved after reading this book. Every man that served in that valley was a hero, and I admire them greatly. I recommend all Americans read this book, young and old.
  
  

• I was a Reviewer Once... And Young
  By A9L6L5H9BPEBO on 2006-06-09
  Even though part of the title reads more like an afterthought, I had a lot of thoughts about this book since I read it a few years ago, and none of them were second thoughts.
  
  This book is about daring and superb leadership. If there had been anyone other than LTC Hal Moore running his battalion, it most assuredly would have been been overrun in the first major battle of the Vietnam War between North Vietnamese (NVA) and Americans. This was also a story about poor leadership because the book tells about a follow-up battle at Landing Zone (LZ) Albany where the North Vietnamese launch a horrific ambush against another American battalion led by an inexperienced and ineffective commander. The difference provides a sharp contrast of consequences between battalions, and the role of leadership in battle. After this ambush the NVA walk among the wounded GI's during the night executing them while they are calling for mercy or their mothers. The story briefly mentions Spec 4 Howard K. Smith Jr. the nightly news reporter and son of Howard K. Smith, who pretended to be dead in the elephant grass, and survived. Incidentally, poor leadership continued in Vietnam as officers kept changing commands to get their "tickets punched." By the time they were beginning to lead effectively, it was time to turn command over to someone else. Hal Moore kept his command protesting the practice, but eventually had to relinquish command to the policy of the day.
  
  The Battle of the Ia Drang pits two highly skilled leaders against each other. Moore's tactical skill enables him to predict where and when the NVA commander will strike at every turn. As a result, his unit decimates the North Vietnamese division they landed right next to.
  
  Moore is able to make you feel the excitement from the very beginning, before they leave for Vietnam. Reading about the battle, you actually feel what it is like to be hungry, thirsty, out of ammunition, or wondering if your wounds will be treated. You feel comfortable with a commander who promises that he will leave no man behind, and will be the last to leave the field of battle.
  
  Equally interesting, is what the author added at the end of the book, a "Where are they today?" part. It is nice to know what eventually happened to all of them who fought this horrific battle and cheated death.
  
  This is primarily a man's story. It is probably even more important for those who served, maybe more so for those who served in Vietnam. But for anyone, especially for those who may think battle is glamorous or glorious, it is a story worth reading.
  
  It was a fight for survival.
  
  
  
  
• No one ever told us the truth.
  By A2WN51UK82TYJZ on 2002-11-16
  I was 15 at the time this action took place.We were told that we were fighting for democracy in South Vietnam.As it turns out that was an ideal that only the men that brought the war to the NVA really embraced.Like most young boys of my generation we were brought up on such films as Iwo Jima,Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo,The Flying Tigers ect. ect.It seemed to be the right of passage that each generation was defined by the conflict that they fought in. In a way I couldn't wait to take my turn.Through this book and many others somewhat like it the courage and heroism shown by many of those sent to Vietnam many of them exactly my age in 68 when things really went from bad to disgraceful the year I registered for the draft.The reports I was getting from friends and others just back from thier own private hell in Vietnam somewhat dimmed my enthusiasum for fufilling my right of passage and passing on college and signing up and shouldering a rifle and standing a post.One only needs to read the Lost Battalion by Charles A. Krohn to see that by 68 things were headed,if you can exuse the expresson,south and at twice double time.The first time I read this book I found myself daydreaming that if there was a time an place I would have liked to put my... on the line it would have been with Col. Moore and his men.I know thats patently absurd who in there right mind would ever say that if they had to hop into a meatgrinder a particular one was much more suitable than another.Remember I was brought up on Audie Murphy and John Wayne they never died or made it look damn good when they did.What this book pounded into my thick scull was that there is no glory in war.Only death gore and the memories of the friends that were killed and the manner of thier death for the ones who survived.I know this doesn't make much sense.Yet does taking a helo ride into hell sound like sound advice? What I don't get when the 2nd Battalion renforced the 1st on the third day and had the NVA in full retreat why in the hell didn't they go an finish the job.And whoever ordered those men to march to LZ Albany I would imagine that the spirit of those troopers slaughtered there haunted him the rest of his life.Or at least I hoped they did my god what a trajedy.I am more than humbled by the narative and the stone cold way it is dilivered.God bless those 79 men who never made it home.I echo many who have written here this should be mandatory reading for high school civics students.
  
  
• I Was There
  By A3CYRI9CVAT04A on 2005-10-12
  I was in the Battle of the Ia Drang and the book is an accurate description of the battle.
  
  
• An incredible memorial to the men lost at landing zone X-Ray
  By A2O5TLE802NTA8 on 2002-02-28
  We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: IA Drang--the Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam is an extraordinary account of one of first major engagements in the Ia Drang Valley in the infancy of the Vietnam War. This book written by General Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway is just an incredible book that tells the story of 450 men of the 1st Battalion, 7th cavalry, under the command of Lt. Col. Hal Moore. They were dropped into a small clearing in the la Drang Valley where they were immediately surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers where one of the fiercest and significant battles of the Vietnam War was fought.

  I've had the pleasure of meeting General Moore and hearing him speak several times ... about this book and the battle and it instantly becomes apparent why he is a legend and how lucky his men were to have him as their commander. His affection for the men under his command is very apparent and NY Times said it best when they said 'the men who fought and died in Ia Drang could have no finer memorial than this one'.

  If you're looking for a book that glorifies war, this is not that book. I think the authors want to portray the realities of war and all of the death and destructions that it lays in its path. General Moore also wants to highlight the American spirit and how the friendship and love soldiers in the field develop for each other and how it keeps them going and fighting.

  This book has also been turned into a movie called We Were Soldiers staring Mel Gibson.
  
  

• Hal Moore is not Emerson, but it'll do
  By A22ZJTTFZFCUTV on 2002-09-19
  I admit, the book does not flow well. In fact, it reminds me slightly of Catch-22 in that is seems to jump around, even though it doesn't, even though Catch-22 did, and now I've gone cross-eyed. The point is, it reads like a report to a general. And that's probably more what it is. Hal Moore is not an author, he's a retired Lt. General. Galloway was a reporter, not a novelist. They aren't going to write a nice neat book like Tom Clancy. The reality of the battle is to me reflected in the reality of how the book was written, namely in a manner I expect from a soldier, not a writer. The book is compelling because it's real, and it's never been told this way before. A must read in my opinion for anyone curious about Vietnam.
  
  
• Where the rubber meets the road . . . . .
  By A3T2DSNN70ZOMB on 1998-05-20
  I arrived in Viet Nam in March of 1966 and was assigned as a pilot to 1st Cav's 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion (Stacked Deck). I carried the 7th Cav into various battles and never questioned Col Moore's analysis of the situation. We always knew that if Col Moore would go there, we would go. We all did our job as best we could and often under fire. He darn sure fully and accurately assessed McNamara. If you ever have the honor of saluting Hal Moore, do it with pride. He's as good as they get. Don Estes (KIA), who is mentioned in the book, was a personal friend of mine. I saw him die . . . but that's another story.
  
  
• General (ret.) Norman Schwarzkopf Said it All
  By A30AKMJ069UQI0 on 2002-09-11
  I was interested in this book because of the movie previews (I read the book first, then decided to watch the movie because of the book), but what made me buy the book was a quote from now-retired General Norman Schwarzkopf: "Anyone who wants to know what the Vietnam war (or any war) was really like should read this book."

  I respect his opinion even more since I read the book. I was in the Army (also, one of my brothers was in the Vietnam war, and another was in the Persian Gulf war), so I may be a little biased and I can see how this book could be a little boring or dry to some people. But, if you can get past that and really read the entire book to understand what is being described, it tells an incredible story.

  Much of what was written in this book, I've never heard before (possibly because I was born in 1970 and really grew up after the war) and it changed my perspective of the war. Don't get me wrong, my wife is Vietnamese and I've been to Vietnam twice in the past 3 years, so I've instinctively done a lot of research on the war and Vietnamese people. But, since everything I know about it is not from personal experience, I've always depended on what others have written, and there were many things I read in this book that I've never read before.

  The bottom line is that if you are Vietnamese or know any Vietnamese people, you were in the Vietnam war or anyone close to you was in it, or you were in the regular U.S. military or you're close to someone who is, this book will move you as it did me. Even if none of the above conditions applies to you, if you read this book you will have a good understanding of what the Vietnam war, people, and wars in general are truly like.
  
  

• The author brings the reader to the valley.
  By on 1999-11-01
  In 1965 I was with the 5th Division on Colorado after returning from Korea. I was to be assigned to an engineer battalion as fate had it, the army's way, I had been promoted to E4 out of my MOS and they reassigned to HQ & Band Support Command, working for the division transportation officer, I was really a cat operator, sitting behind a desk. My first task in the summer of 1965 was to take away the equipment of several companies, and two battalions and get them ready to ship. I did not know where, or why. They went around the base saluting officers with " Garry Owen" I had no clue what these guys were forming up to be. I later came up on orders for Viet Nam but had only 6 months left on my hitch and re-upping was not a high priority. I have always felt "fate" played a hand in keeping me alive, I know not for what, and I missed something very bad in Viet Nam. I read this book, which is the story or the Air Cavs arrival in Viet Nam, the same troops I had help ship out months earlier. The book ripped my heart out, it was as if I was there and knew everyone of the guys mentioned in the book, I didnt really, but we all knew people just like them. Not a day goes by that I dont thank God that I am still alive, and I think of those who died in Viet Nam, and in particular this particular battle. Very common men (boys) with a mountain of courage. This is a story that has to be told, and often, lest we forget. I went to the memorial and it brought me to tears, it still does, as does the memories of those who died in this encounter. Some for the right reasons, others due to the stupidity of military command. To those who survived this battle, my hat is off to you, I doubt many could have survived the test.
  
  
• We were soldiers once and young
  By A2ZP20C4OGYGGD on 2002-02-13
  This is one of the best books any Vietnam veteran can have on his bookshelf. Unfortunately, it was one of the worst experiences to have, if you got over there with the Cav during the opening years of the war. Gen. Moore did a superb job saving the day, but it is obvious the North Vietnamese were learning about our military tactics as well as we were learning about theirs. As Harold Moore insists at the end of the battle, nothing happened here at this moment, that didn't happen over and over again. The NVA just hopped over into their Cambodian sanctuaries to regroup and fight us all over again. The stories of the young officers reminded me of the many young infantry lieutenants and captains that wanted so much to get into the thick of this tropical war back in 1965; the pictures of them with their wives and children show that so much. Who would believe it today??
  I'm looking forward to the movie, and recommend Larry Gwin's book BAPTISM on the following days of the Ia Drang massacre which he experienced. For me, I was glad to be a helicopter pilot in the Delta a few years later with the Outlaws, and miss all this jungle warfare with the Cav; my flight school buddies of the class of 66-14 sure didn't however. We fleshed out the Cav with our class rather completely!
  
  
• Excellent and to my first hand knowledge very accurate
  By A2BAJ3B55EGNHY on 1999-10-28
  Attached to 1st of the 7th Cavalry's "B" Company from HHQ, I was in Ia Drang Valley with Gen. Moore and can verify much of what occurred with "B" Company.

  The story told by the authors is true, even more happened, which was not included. Gen. Harold Moore and Joe Galloway did a remarkable job of reciting the facts as they actually happened.

  If you want to get a good close-up look into what actual combat in a foreign land was, this book gives you facts.

  It depicts many heroic acts and some character flaws in humans. One black M-60 machine-gunner I saw whom, without hesitation, gun blazing, pressed forward in the heat of battle.

  Omitted from the book was the actual odor of hundreds, dead and dying, in the extreme heat of Ia Drang Valley; a smell unlike I had ever experienced and the picture of bodies wrapped in ponchos stacked like cord wood at Pleiku.

  By the Grace of God and many prayers I survived... and yet, this does not mean those who died did not have God's Grace. This book cannot answer the "why" question but it will help you better understand the real consequences of war. Is war worth the supreme sacrifice and ultimate casualties?

  The book could provoke you to think that if we must engage in combat how can we accomplish our goals and minimize the casualties and are those goals worth the cost?

  Many Americans who saw only quiet tense young soldiers (yet somehow mysteriously different) return home can now understand the great trauma that some went through in Viet Nam (as with other wars).

  How do you tell a man that had taken several rounds in the chest, pleading "Please Doc don't let me die", that it's okay.

  "If war could make a man than life should be better... but war can mold the soul that makes the man... W.K."

  This book is well worth reading for the emotionally stable. If you have a sensitive nature consider buying the book for someone else.
  
  

• Military Innovation in the Interwar Period
• The Cambridge Illustrated History of Warfare (Cambridge Illustrated Histories)
• Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War
• We Were Soldiers (Widescreen Edition)
• Bush at War