We Were Soldiers Once...and Young: Ia Drang--The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam

In November 1965, some 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 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers. Three days later, only two and a half miles away, a sister battalion was chopped to pieces. Together these actions constituted one of the most savage and significant battles of the Vietnam War.

The story of how these men persevered paints 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, interviewed hundreds of men who fought there, including the North Vietnamese commanders. This devastating 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, as rarely before, man's most heroic and horrendous endeavor.

The authors of this book have done an incredible job gathering information from their fellow soldiers (and in some cases those soldiers families) in order to convey and portray what can only be described as an incredibly poignant account of their experiences.

I know that this will be a story I will one day recommend that my own children read in an effort to improve their understanding of the sacrafices such brave people have made for the sake of our continued freedom.


On The Ground At Landing Zone X-ray   September 23, 2002
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

I wasn't quite old enough to fight in Vietnam, but after reading this book and listening to this tape, it's as though I had been there. The book was absolutely gripping and the tape ... well ... for those of you who saw the recent movie, Joseph L. Galloway is the on-scene reporter. His rough, unpolished voice is PERFECT for this tape. It's Hal Moore's story recounted by the reporter who flew into battle with him. A priceless, classic combination. I've worn out the tape already ... time to reorder. (Hint: Make sure you get the Galloway edition. The CD has a slick Hollywood-type doing the narration. It's not the same.)