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Summary: BACK TO THE FUTURE
Comment: This is a great read for every age. Young and old need to better understand the Vietnam War.
I served in NAM as an infantry platoon leader with the First Infantry Division in 1969-1970. The book brought back many memories.
Of particular interest was the last chapter on War. the authors make it clear that the pre-emptive invasion of Iraq by "W" is not on their list of acolades for the President. Who would better understand this than a Vietnam Veteran.
Read this book and share it with your children and grandchildren.
Author of Mr. NewHeart (New Heart): Heart Attack to Transplant and Beyond
Preview my next book "The Face of War" when you Google "David Hollar's Storefront." It is my memoir of my year in Vietnam and how I came to be a wager of peace
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Summary: RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "GO TELL AMERICA WHAT THESE BRAVE MEN DID HERE; TELL THEM HOW THEIR SONS DIED."
Comment: On November 13th 1965 in the Ia Drang Valley an American battalion of only 450 men engaged three regiments of North Vietnamese soldiers in the first major battle between American and Vietnamese forces. The Americans were outnumbered by TWELVE-TO-ONE! "Over the next four days and nights 234 American soldiers perished in desperate hand-to-hand combat along with THOUSANDS of attacking North Vietnamese troops." This battle was "the bloodiest of the entire Viet Nam War." The co-author's Lieutenant General (Ret) Moore who was a Lieutenant Colonel at the time and Joseph Galloway a reporter at the time (and by force of necessity and courage, became a soldier during that battle) were also the author's of the now infamous book "We Were Soldiers Once... and Young", which was also made into a big name Hollywood movie. The basis of this follow up book... was to have some of the remaining survivor's from the American side... not only go back to the actual physical battlefield where the ghosts and souls of their fallen comrades remain... but to meet face to face their counterparts from the North Vietnamese Army.
Completing this story to the satisfaction of the author's, entailed multiple trips back to Vietnam, and the overcoming of multiple hurdles made of red tape. There were many gut-wrenching situations that included tears and overcoming deeply engrained biases, that festered for four decades. It is amazing the mutual respect that was shown between the two countries commanders... and the eventual friendship... between two men... whose only goal in 1965 was to kill each other... and kill everybody associated with them. There were many lessons learned... that were learned too late to save thousands of lives. As a Vietnam era veteran myself... what was rewarding for me... as well... I believe... as for the loved ones of all the departed... was the utmost respect each commander had, not only for the bravery and courage of their own troops... but that each held the same opinion of the opposing soldiers. Both men stated in their own words, that after post battle intel was discussed... both commanders collaborated, that so many of the dead from both sides... were literally intertwined... so fierce was the "HAND-TO-HAND-COMBAT".
There are very detailed and interesting historical discussions regarding the Battle of Dien Bien Phu where the French were defeated by the Vietnamese in 1954. Vietnamese Senior General Giap said: "that he simply didn't understand why the Americans had not carefully studied the French war in Vietnam and the Battle Of Dien Bien Phu, particularly since, by the end, the United States was financing more than 70 per cent of the cost of the French military actions and providing much of the equipment and ammunition in that war. He told us if we Americans had studied what happened to the French surely we would never have come halfway around the world to take their place in Vietnam and pursue a long bloody war that ended just as badly for us as it had for the French."
On November 8, 2003 at one of the annual Ia Drang reunions in Washington, D.C. one of the survivor's Jack Smith gave a speech:
"AT ONE POINT IN THE AWFUL AFTERNOON AT ALBANY AS MY BATTALION WAS BEING CUT TO PIECES, A SMALL GROUP OF ENEMY CAME UPON ME AND THINKING I HAD BEEN KILLED (I WAS COVERED IN OTHER PEOPLE'S BLOOD), PROCEEDED TO USE ME AS A SANDBAG FOR THEIR MACHINE GUN, I PRETENDED TO BE DEAD. I REMEMBER THAT THE GUNNER HAD BONY KNEES THAT PRESSED AGAINST MY SIDE. HE DIDN'T DISCOVER THAT I WAS ALIVE BECAUSE HE WAS TREMBLING MORE THAN I WAS. HE WAS, LIKE ME, JUST A TEENAGER.
THE GUNNER BEGAN FIRING INTO THE REMNANTS OF MY COMPANY. MY BUDDIES BEGAN FIRING BACK WITH RIFLE GRENADES-M79'S TO THOSE OF YOU WHO KNOW ABOUT THEM. I REMEMBER THINKING: OH MY G-D, IF I STAND UP THE NORTH VIETNAMESE WILL KILL ME, AND IF I STAY LYING DOWN MY BUDDIES WILL GET ME. BEFORE I WENT COMPLETELY MAD, A VOLLEY OF GRENADES EXPLODED ON TOP OF ME, KILLING THE ENEMY BOY AND INJURING ME. IT WENT ON LIKE THIS ALL DAY AND MUCH OF THE NIGHT. I WAS WOUNDED TWICE AND THOUGHT MYSELF DEAD. MY COMPANY SUFFERED NINETY-THREE PERCENT CASUALTIES... NINETY-THREE PERCENT!"
To undertake this trip... to not only go back to the battlefield your friends were killed on... as you killed the enemy... to keep from being killed yourself... but to meet and befriend that same enemy... I can tell you from first-hand experience... that takes a unique-different individual... and not everyone on this earth who's been through war... could come to grips with that. I know I still have too much inside of me... in hidden... and un-hidden chambers... of my very soul... to want to take such a journey. G-d bless America... and an extra blessing deservedly goes to all of us who have served.
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Summary: ...These Wounds I had On Crispin's Day
Comment: I was a member of the original cast of their first book. Today we are met in Franklin, Tennessee, to remember the 17th November of '65, the happy few who made it out of Albany, the second part of the Ia Drang Valley battle that Randall Wallace would not film about. I'm sure that this book will be as good as the one I had the great honor though maybe not the pleasure of participating in its making. I only heard that it was finally out in print today and as many of those of us who are here gathered rushed to acquire an early copy. When I have read it, I shall send a sequel review and though I'll have to wait til my return home to peruse it, I highly recommend it, cite unseen.
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Summary: Written with honesty.
Comment: I think the title We Are Soldiers Still is most fitting. It is pretty commonly felt by most vets that the experiences of youth while in uniform never really leave us. The old saying "once a Marine" is true for most folks who have served in the military. "Once a sailor", "once a soldier", etc. That Harold Moore, Lt. Gen (Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway, a former correspondent chose to write We Are Soldiers Still in the way they did is a tribute to their honesty and integrity that many authors today could learn from.
We Are Soldiers Still is not really about war. Instead it is about old warriors, both American and Vietnamese, finding it within them to put out old fires and bury old hatreds and travel to the site of one of the most intense battles of the entire Vietnam War; a crucible where brave boys on both sides gave all.
In November of 1965 the 1st Battalion of the 7th U. S. Cavalry, about 450 troopers landed in a small clearing in the central highlands near the Cambodian border. In the area were three regiments of the PAVN (Peoples Army of Vietnam); 66th, 32nd, and 33rd. What ensued was a battle to the death that tested the metal of young boys in both armies. In the end the American were the victors. Victory is always a relative thing, however. 305 casualties for the Americans and an estimated 3000 to 5000 for the PAVN.
The battle for the Ia Drang valley was the first head on engagement with regular army troops on both sides. The participants were highly trained and highly motivated. This battle was one of the few times that the North Vietnam Army stood toe to toe with the Americans and slugged it out. No hit and run tactics here. The results were expensive.
Harold Moore, Joe Galloway along with Sgt. Major Plumley, Bruce Crandall, Lt. Gen. Nguyen Hu An and Chu Huy Man, and others make the trip to Landing Zone X-Ray. Old enemies become new friends and the killing ground simply didn't look the same.
For those interested in the war in Vietnam We Are Soldiers Still is moving and insightful and is a must read. As others will point out the world in 2008 is a far different place than it was in 1965 and countries that once fought each other are now trading partners. It is fitting that men who once tried to kill each other should become friends. That's really a strong part of We Are Soldiers Still.
I highly recommend.
Semper Fi
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Summary: wistful and weepy
Comment: Hal Moore sums up his interesting life in this short book. It's only partially tied to the 1965 battle in the Ia Drang Valley. Still, he describes moving events in 1993 when he, Joe Galloway, a few veterans and a couple of former North Vietmanese officers meet to reflect, re-live and celebrate sacrifice on both sides. They even hold hands and pray.
The book is more about the important events in Moore's life: how he got to West Point,side-trip to Dien Bien Phu, assignments to Korea, leadership lessons and views on warfare.
One of the problems I had reading the preface is I couldn't figure out who wrote it. I also question why the authors characterize the war as good nationalists driving out the bad foreign invader,namely the United States. Moore seems to say in the end, the good guys won: "...they (the North Vietnamese) were fighting so hard because, like America's own revolutionaries, they had a burning desire to drive foreigners out of their native land...and now that the guns had fallen silent and peace had return to their land they proved to be proud fathers, good husbands, loyal citizens, and, yes, good friends."
My impression was and is the North Vietnamese were fighting to unify the country under an NVA banner. The real losers were not the Americans but the South Vietnamese. After the NVA victory an estimated 100,000 South Vietnamese were executed, others died in reducation camps and at sea. Despite what Moore/Galloway write, I don't think there's any moral equivalency between us and the North Vietnamese on one side, the South Vietnamese on the other.
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