Rating: 
Summary: Almost Makes the Movie Unnecessary
Review: This book is a stunning accomplishment written by the on scene American commander of the first major combat engagement in VietNam in late 1965 at the Ia Drang Valley. It threads the line masterfully between human interest story and gripping actual war story. It is quick to read, but also remarkably detailed. It is not a "literary" masterpiece, but it is in no way a "dumbed down" book. This 560 page paperback tells the story of the formation and first time use of what would become a standard image of the war in VietNam, Air Assault by helicopter. The book opens with a number of pages telling how portions of the 1st Cavalry Division were being converted by technology and need from old style mobile ground infantry into highly mobile, helicopter-bourne shock troops for use in the hostile territory and hostile terrain of the growing conflict in South East Asia. We follow many of the participants from their training in the United States over to deployment "on the cheap" in South VietNam. Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore was the battalion commander and Joe Galloway was the UPI reporter who found themselves dropped right into a massive hornet's nest of eager for battle North Vietnamese Army regulars massively outnumbering the Americans at Landing Zone X-Ray. The details of the battle from BOTH SIDES are described in vivid detail giving the reader a harrowing image of the horror that combat actually is. The main battle rages on day and night for a couple days as every bit of the new training and tactics taught to the battalion are put to desperate use. New tactics are developed on the spot as American soldiers frantically fight to save themselves and their buddies. The history of the embattled unit (the 7th Cavalry of General Custer's last stand at Little Big Horn) weighs heavily on the Americans as they fight to prevent being overrun again nearly 90 years later half-way around the world. The value of Hal Moore's excellent leadership during the X-Ray battle is vividly illustrated later when poor leadership gets the unit's sister battalion decimated nearby at Landing Zone Albany. This book is well worth reading even to the casual reader. It is not a "flag-waver" or an anti-war book. It simply tells the true story of relatively ordinary humans who find themselves mixed up in "a new kind of war" that seems destined to get all of them killed brutally. "We Were Soldiers" is expertly presented and researched. Many of the American survivors of the battle meet each year in remembrance and the authors have used these gatherings to make sure they got the details and full stories right. The authors also met the North Vietnamese commander of the battle at length when writing this book who gave them fine insight into the perspective from the "other side". You can smell the sweat, and the fear, everywhere. This book is not to be missed by any human being who wants to understand (and hopefully avoid) what war is like. It is sobering and very much worth your effort.
Rating:
Summary: Company Commander at X-Ray
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A Superb Work
Review: I own 20-30 books written about the Veitnam War. This is without a doubt one of best I have ever had the pleasure of reading.
I got the true feeling of what it must have been like to be completly surrounded by NVA soldiers on LZ's X-Ray and Albany.
The many interviews and first hand accounts of the fierce fighting in these two battles really helps the reader get an understanding of just what these men went through.
Harold Moore and Joe Galloway have written a superb book.
Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Life is nothing much to lose, but young men think it is ...
Review: 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."
Rating:
Summary: Overlooked Valor
Review: American soldiers in Vietnam were similar to American soldiers in wars prior and since. They fought with dedication, loyalty and skill. They were motivated, well led and informed. They knew for what they were fighting and why and recognized the importance of their contribution and sacrifice. Yet the popular mythology is very different.
General Moore and correspondent Galloway have made an invaluable contribution to the truth by publishing this most unusual joint memoir - how often do soldiers and journalists team up? Together they have produced one of the classic battle books of all times. Though written in a self-deprecating manner it is impossible to read this excellent book and not be completely in awe of the leadership abilities and dedication of then Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore.
Moore took his new battalion - then an experimental airmobile unit - into what turned out to be an incredibly one-sided battle against seasoned, tough North Vietnamese regular forces. The Americans won that battle due in part to their supporting air and artillery but mostly on the shoulders of the soldiers and their leaders, from Colonel Moore all the way down to the squad and fire teams.
We Were Soldiers goes a long way to restoring the rightful pride that Americans ought to feel about our soldiers in Vietnam. This is a book that belongs on every American's shelf and is one that you will want to go back to and contemplate from time to time. It is an absolute must read.
Rating: 
Summary: Dry Yet Accurate
Review: Well I have to say this book definately was an accurate account
of what occured in Vietnam. The brutality and anguish the soldiers went through was accurately told but was dry as the Sahara desert. For a true war lover, or for somebody who wants an accurate account of war in Vietnam from people who were there it's good, otherwise I suggest the movie or a book that doesn't drag on.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Joe Galloway and Hal Moore have written a wonderful book. Anyone remotely interested in military history should read it.
Rating:
Summary: The Image Of Vietnam
Review: We Were Soldiers is the best book on Vietnam. The story of LT./COL. Harold Moore and a group of Air-Cavalry troops that went into the IA Drang Valley and desimated a large number of PAVN troops. The book is well written with maps and photos do draw in the reaader. Anyone who is American should read this book
Rating:
Summary: Intense Reading
Review: I saw the movie first before reading the book. However, I found the book is full of details that the movie couldn't bring. You will feel the elephant grass around you as you read this book and truly appreciate those who have served in order protect our freedom.
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