We Were Soldiers Once...And Young

(Paperback)

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Description

In November 1965, 450 men of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, under the command of Lt.Col. Hal Moore, were dropped by helicopter into a small clearing in the Ia Drang Valley. They were immediately surrounded by 2000 North Vietnamese soldiers. Three days later, only two and a half miles away, a sister battalion was chopped to pieces. Together, these actions at the landing zones X-Ray and Albany constituted one of the most savage and significant battles of the Vietnam War. How these men persevered - sacrificed themselves for their comrades and never gave up - makes a vivid portrait of war at its most inspiring and devastating. General Moore and Joseph Galloway, the only journalist on the ground throughout the fighting, have interviewed hundreds of men who fought there, including the North Vietnamese commanders. This account rises above the specific ordeal it chronicles to present a picture of men facing the ultimate challenge, dealing with it in ways they would have found unimaginable only a few hours earlier. It reveals to us man's most heroic and horrendous endeavour. In this history of one of the most violent periods of the 20th century, the author relates the personal experiences of men on the brink of death for a cause they didn't understand. The book has been adapted for film, starring, amongst others, Mel Gibson.

Reviews

Between experiencing combat and reading about it lies a vast chasm. This book makes you almost smell it * Wall Street Journal *
A stunning achievement... I read it and thought of The Red Badge of Courage, the highest compliment I can think of -- David Halberstam
The best account of infantry combat I have ever read, and the most significant book to come out of the Vietnam War -- Colonel David Hackworth
There are stories here that freeze the blood... The men who fought at Ia Drang could have no finer memorial * The New York Times Book Review *
If you want to know what is was like to go to Vietnam as a young American... and find yourself caught in ferocious, remorseless combat with an enemy as courageous and idealistic as you were, then you must read this book. Moore and Galloway have captured the terror and exhilaration, the comradeship and self-sacrifice, the brutality and compassion that are the dark heart of war * The Times *

Author Bio

Lt General Harold G Moore (Author) Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore retired from the Army as a 3 Star General in 1977 with over 32 years active service. Commissioned a 2nd Lt of Infantry in 1945, he served and commanded at all levels from Platoon through Division. After his retirement from active duty in 1977, Hal became the Executive Vice President of the Crested Butte Ski Area in Crested Butte, CO. During the '80s and early '90s, he researched and wrote a book, We Were Soldiers Once...and Young with his co-author, Joe Galloway then of US News and World Report. The book covers the first major battle of the Vietnam War, the Ia Drang Battle, in which both men participated. Hal was the Battalion Commander on the ground and Joe was a UPI correspondent. Joseph L. Galloway (Author) Joe Galloway is a native Texan. At seventeen, he was a reporter on a daily newspaper, at nineteen a bureau chief for United Press International. he spent fifteen years as a foreign and war correspondent based in Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Singapore, and the Soviet Union. After UPI service in Los Angeles, he spent several years as a feature and Senior Writer in Washington, DC with US News and World Report.