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Summary: A clear view of what was right and wrong in Vietnam.
Review: Moore and Galloway write a concise report on ground combat in the early years of the southeast asian conflict.
It also clearly and most proficiently points out the fallicy that this war could be controlled by the REMF command
that so swiveled their way around desks from the late 40's to the late 50's. If you can get a copy, I highly suggest
getting a copy of the CBS special that took Moore back to the Ia Drang with some of his troops to revisit the site.
North Vietnamese are also interviewed in the documentary. Truly a gut wrenching account of what it was like to 18,
and having a serious weapon by your side.
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Summary: The best book written about on-the-ground combat in Vietnam.
Review: This is by far the best book yet written about battle during the Vietnam War. The book is co-authored by two men who were on the scene during the battle of the Ia Drang Valley during November 1965. Lieutenant General Harold G. Moore was a battalion commander of the 1st Battalion, 2nd Cavalry, 1st Air Cavalry Division and veteran correspondent Joseph Galloway was with the 1st Cav at the time of the action. A superb book, excellently researched, and a proud testament to the valiant troops who fought in one of the earliest phases of the Vietnam War
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Summary: Read it now before the Movie!
Review: 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!
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Summary: Impossible to put down...
Review: This book, about one of the first battles of the Vietnam War using large-scale deployment of US forces, is impossible to put down. The book expertly details the battle for the Ia Drang Valley which took place in the fall of 1965. It is absolutely astonishing to consider the struggle that took place there and the extreme difficulties placed upon our troops. Truly, the men who fought there are heroes, and their story deserved to be remembered and told. While the movie made about the book was quite good, and accurrate with regards to the book, the book gives much more detail and is highly readable. Highly recommended!
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Summary: We Were Soldiers Once... And Young
Review:
This book is a first-hand account of the first major battalion-scale operations in the Vietnam War. Written by Lt. General Harold Moore (retired) and a war correspondent, Joseph Galloway, who was the only journalist on the ground throughout the fighting, it tells a savage and bloody story. The two authors of this spent many years interviewing soldiers who fought in the Ia Drang Valley, and also the relatives of those who died in the battle and had journals and letters which were sent home.
In November of 1965, a Cavalry Battalion was dropped behind enemy lines using experimental helicopter tactics and was immediately surrounded by over two-thousand enemy soldiers. Three days later, and barely three miles away, a battalion in close relation to the ones first dropped in the initial landing zone was slaughtered.
An interesting credit to this book is that it is not only from the perspectives of the American battalions. The authors not only interviewed the American officers and troops, but also interviewed the North Vietnamese commanders, who offer their opinions and perspectives, making the battle seem all the more real to the reader. Without these perspectives, it would have seemed like someone was trying to paint a picture but was missing many of his materials.
Although sometimes it seems dryly written, there is no exciting way to describe such a terrible and seemingly one-sided battle. Although the Lieutenant Colonel writes it
to be more of a black and white documentary than the dramatic and colorful movie interpretation, it is not difficult to see the leadership in the officers on the ground and the bravery of every soldier on the ground. Many of the people in this book were not able to read it, because they sacrificed their lives to make it.
The authors go into extensive detail in many areas of the book. This can obviously be credited to the fact that these two men were on the ground with the troops while the battle was going on. Many authors of books that are similar to this or are included in its genre are limited to what the authors could research. This is not the case in We Were Soldiers Once... And Young, because the authors can also include their own experiences throughout the three day battle for Landing Zone X-Ray. Although sometimes the details can become wearisome, they provide the information necessary to completely understand the situation. This book is more to understand the happenings of the Vietnam War and its first major conflict than to be entertained. The movie was meant to be entertaining; the book is clearly more informative.
However, its blandness at points does not mean it is always dull. There are many chapters full of stories of the brave men who fought and died in the Ia Drang Valley. It basically alternates between the two men's hind-sight of the events and then what the men who were fighting in different areas were going through. This makes it interesting because the authors offer their opinions on what happened, as well as what they had thought at the time.
This book is a magnificent retelling of the events happening during the battle for the Ia Drang Valley, and it belongs on every person's shelf who has ever pondered what it must have been like fighting in that bloody war. It is full of tales of sacrifice, determination and heroism, on the parts of both forces. This compelling account of bravery was an astonishing read and a true eye-opener to the events occurring during these battles and what the soldiers had to go through. This book is a credit to every American soldier and is an absolute must-read.
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Summary: My Father was one of the last to leave ALBANY
Review: My Father's helicopter picked up the last men to leave ALBANY.
He was enlisted into the 11th Airmobile Division as a CH47 helicopter mechanic when the division was formed. He deployed to Vietnam with the renamed 1st Cav as assistant crew chief on a CH47. During the Battle of LZXRAY his helicopter flew non-stop resupply missions for three days to the firebases supporting the 1/7 and 2/7. Neither him nor any of the crew ever shut down the CH47 nor did they get much sleep.
His aircraft later policed the ALBANY battlefield which means they flew out equipment and US Dead. He said his aircraft flew out four loads of dead wrapped in ponchos laid out 30-40 per load on the deck of the aircraft. And then they picked up the security element on their last flight.
He has read the book many times and watched the movie several times with myself and my brothers, two of us are former Sergeants in the Army. The movie still gives him goose bumps, especially during the loading and LZ landing scenes.
He served three tours in Vietnam with the 1st Cav. Because of his position as a helicopter crewman, crewchief, 1st Sergeant, and then BN Maint Supervisor, he saw action in just about every battle in the Highlands as well as outside Vietnam. He can recall verbatim many of the operations he was involved in. He has read many books on Vietnam, and has annotated the errors in them.
His copy of this book has virtually no annotations which is a tribute to Hal Moore and Joe Galloway's devotion to the men of the 1/7 and 2/7. This book and the movie will stand the test of time as it has stood the test of one of the best men to serve on a CH47.
The book and movie should be required for all young men ( and women) who are considering joining the military. It is a sobering look at the hard realities of infantry battle during a meeting engagement. And it is a tribute to the leadership qualities and superior fighting spirit of the US Soldier.
Hal Moore is a superior role model for young leaders. His leadership lessons are timeless and apply to all ranks and to all spheres of human endeavor. He shows that brains, courage, and brawn have to work together to win.
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Summary: The Whole History of the Vietnam War Told thourgh One Battle
Review: This book is a rarity. It sticks stricly to facts, but it is overwhelmingly moving. It is both an account of a battle and a sweeping microcosm of the the whole war at the same time. Gen. Moore and journalist Galloway were participants in the first large scale battle of the Vietnam war. They tell the story, primary through the voice of then Lt. Col. Moore, in a strictly factual style, in keeping with the best military writing. But this is no dry "after action" report. Moore loved his men, and they loved him back. The reader mourns every death, just as the commander did. Moore was, as he promised his men, to first man in and the last man out, and he left behind no one, dead or alive. The result is a gripping drama of real Americans caught up in the confusion of Vietnam's steaming jungles and nationalistic fervor. This is page turning history. But this book is so much more than just a great war story. By highlighting specific command decisions at the brigade, division and political levels, Moore elevates this single battle into a compelling depiction of both the military and political strategies of the US in Vietnam. While the battalion and company level focus of the book cannot begin to represent a comprehensive treatment of the American experience in Vietnam, the reader is permitted to see the consequences of the tactical frustration caused by the political decisions of the higher brass and the Johnson Administration, such as respecting the Cambodian border when the beaten NVA retreated accross it with the Americans in hot pursuit. Even the home front impact of the war is dramatized by a chapter devoted to Moore's wife personally delivering death notices to the wives of men killed in the battle--this history is truly heartbreaking. Perhaps the best service done by this book is the portray the truth about the American fighting man in Vietnam. Despite the bad image the media perpetuates, the truth is that Americans fought and died in Vietnam with the best of intentions and with great military results. We killed 10 NVA for every American that died. The American failure in Vietnam was political, not military. We underestimated the depth and resiliency of Vietnamese nationalism and we possibly overestimated the threat of Vietnamese Communism. But don't blame Hal Moore or the men of the 7th Air Cavalry. They fought with guts, beat the odds and answered the call of their country. We need to choose our friends and our battles more wisely, but we cannot hope to do better than to count on men like Hal Moore and the troopers of the 7th Cavalry.
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Summary: Good Read
Review: I found this book hard to put down. It was riveting and very informative. If you are interested in the Vietnam War and what it was like to be involved in one of the early battles read this book.
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Summary: Can't say enough about how moving this book is
Review: I sat down to read this book, and put it back up, I did this several times before comitting to it. I have read several books on Vietnam, but normally prefer to read WWII books.
This one really touched me and helped me to see the dedication men have in battle. When you are reading about men that are shot and have their gun blown out of there hands, so they shoot left handed rather than right, are shot in the throat and can not speak, and still they fight. I was just overcome and moved deeply by the sacrifices these men have continually made.
This book has given me such a deep appreciation for our vets, and makes me realize the importance of honoring there sacrifices. These men were amazing and heroic, and I am glad this book shows a true picture of war for all of those who will never have 1st hand experience, but plenty of opinions.
Thank you for your sacrifices!!! And P.S., should any of you go to the Vietnam Wall Memorial in D.C., if you see litter, please stop and pick it up. Thanks.
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Summary: Proper lessons learned improperly
Review: An important resource for those who watched the movie and were horrified at the loss of life and lack of direction within the battle. In addition to telling a gripping story (the movie ends halfway through the actual events), General Moore and his collaborator provide excellent insights into the goals, tactics, successes and limitations of airmobile assault in the Vietnam conflict. Although the importance of the clashes in the Ia Drang valley in shaping the future course of the war are a continuing source of debate, the detail and immediacy of this account will inform and entertain readers interested in the first combat test of the airmobile concept and the first battle between U.S. forces and the North Vietnamese Army.
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