We Were Soldiers Once...And Young

This is a truly extraordinary war story that narrates the stark reality of combat action with vivid details and great depth. The fact that this is a real life account written by a war hero who lived to tell this story to the world, lends it a strain of unwavering honesty. No rigors of military training can ever prepare men for the reality of war. Finally it is the incredible human valor and commitment that takes over those who are in the midst of the battle, transforming them in unimaginable ways. The gore of raging battle weaves in with this glorious human spirit in every page of the book.This book is not an easy read. War action is described in great details in the 400 pages. The author does service to every individual from the battalion who faught the La Drang battle by mentioning their part in the action, which makes it a complex reading experience. It takes some patience and even perseverance to stay with the story till the end, but it is worth it.

Nice detailed book especially for those who are interested in reading US-Vietnam warfare. Not for lighthearted as contains gruesome details straight from the battlefield. Seems the author had meticulous memory of all the events in the battle as if it happened yesterday only.

Nice book, Loved it.

lovely book on start of Viet war.costly mistakes and life long leanings.Leadership demonstrated at its best.

Ok

One of the most intimate accounts of a battle ever written. A story of great courage and sacrifice. And of death of course. It brought me to tears by the end of the last chapter. It’s a tribute as well to the soldiers of 1st Battalion 7th Cav. Brilliant just brilliant. Overwhelming real.

In November 1965 I was twelve-years-old and had recently absconded from a training college for Catholic priests. I was always outdoors and was probably wandering around in the early Scottish winter happily unaware that 6,000 miles south east of me Lt.Col. Hal Moore and his soldiers were jumping from helicopters in a clearing in the Ia Drang valley, Vietnam. A number of his men would have been just seven years older than I was.Hal Moore knew that the Landing Zone X-Ray where the helicopters put him and his men down was just east of the Chu Pong hills; the troops could see that long massif clearly from their camp. What they couldn't see was the massive presence in those hills of North Vietnamese troops, who initially outnumbered them 10-1. Moore's men were given no time to settle and over the next forty-eight hours Hell bubbled up and broke through the earth's core at LZ X-Ray.What followed - in the battle and in the years and decades after it - is logged and listed in this book; sometimes in such detail that I found myself shifting my limbs to remind myself what it feels like to still have all of them attached. And the lists . . .Joe Galloway, who was there, the journalist who put this book together along with Hal Moore, has gone to great pains to mention by name, by town, by state, every soldier who features in this story. Some might complain that this hampers the narrative drive of the book, but come the end, I would not have had it any other way. The story is of people more than it is about war. It is about courage and fear and love and discovery of what can be inside a person that nobody, not even that person, would have discovered but for their time in the torment of Ia Drang valley.At 63 now, I often reflect on how lucky my generation has been; no wars that drew us in: relative prosperity: the witnessing of major historical moments, fabulous sporting achievements, wonderful music...how lucky I have been, and many of my contemporaries. How fortunate I was back then to be the age I was and a UK citizen with no need to fear the draft. But I missed something too. We all did who had no need to fight to keep our friends alive. We were lucky once and young. They were soldiers once and young. Salute them all, the living and the dead.

We were asked to view and read this by our American friends we met in a Russian holiday. Both the husbands had been helicopter pilots in Vietnam where their role had been to deliver soldiers and evacuate the wounded from enemy lines. Despite minor injuries they just got on with their jobs and amazingly survived both physically and mentally. The book in particular also describes what had happened from the Vietnamese side. They were all victims of politicians. A harrowing read but it makes for gripping reading.

This book is such an important read to learn about the early era of the Nam War. America made so many bad decisions throughout this war, and committed so many war crimes that it should have been held more accountable for. The amount of destruction the USA poured onto that country, only to walk away and leave it to its fate years later. The veteran I am friends with who served 2 tours in what he calls “the nightmare war” , said if you want to watch a movie that is close to the life lived in those days, you watch Platoon or Casulties of War. He said that’s as close to the horror you would see daily!My heart goes out to every soldier in that war. I’m sorry for what you went through.

This book is the amazing feat of Colonel Hal Moore and what was the first helicopter insertion onto the battlefield. It is a detailed accou t of mot only what happened at the drop zone bit also the other drop zones and rendezvous points in the area. It details not only Hal Moore's career but also his tactical astuteness on the battlefield.Whilst the film was absolutely brilliant the book is by and far so much better. I would recommend to anyone who has seen this flim to also read the book and then watch the film again. There is alot of information about rhe battle that was missing although I would imagine time constraints of the film were a lot to do with this. This had to be one of the best factual books that I have read and I would without a doubt recommend this to any avid military fan.

A friend sent me a veterans report on the 10th anniversary of 911 focusing on the role that Rescoria played in saving all but 6 of 2700 staff under his HSE care - you can see his youthful picture on the front of version of the book carrying the M16. "We were soldiers once" contains a wonderful summary of this [British] leader's influence on the battle and the people around him, but I'll leave you to discover this and give a more general comment."Soldiers Once" is a no description barred story of two battles between the USA and North Vietnamese. It somewhat resembles the Illiad in its descriptions of the soldiers, their ages, backgrounds, frequency (and story) of death. I cannot imagine how terrible this must have been for their relatives to read as many of these young men die screaming. It also contains perspectives from all ranks and although it is light on Vietnamese perspectives some of their commanders are included. It is a wonderful insight into a terrible conflict and I recommend it strongly.Two thoughts. Consider reading chapter 25, "The secretary of the army regrets ..." first. It gives depth to the people that die and as these are readily recognisable throughout the prose by their lack of speaking parts it would make the book that much more poignant for its early inclusion. For myself, I was unable to buy the more modern version of this book that contains shots from the movie on the front page so I reached out for a second hand version that arrived quickly, in good condition and at low cost. I know that it is being too sensitive, but I was just not able to bring into my home such a fine story with a picture of Mel Gibeson on the front.