We Were Soldiers Once… And Young

infobox Book |
name = We Were Soldiers Once… And Young
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = First edition title page
author = Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway
cover_artist =
country = United States of America
language = English
series =
subject = Vietnam, War
genre = Historical Non-fiction
publisher = Random House
release_date = October 20, 1992
media_type = Hardcover and Trade Paperback
pages = 432
isbn = 0679411585
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"We Were Soldiers Once… And Young" is a 1992 book by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) and war journalist Joseph L. Galloway about the Vietnam War. It focuses on the role of the First and Second Battalions of the 7th Cavalry Regiment in the Battle of Ia Drang. This battle was the United States' first large-unit battle of the Vietnam War; previous conflicts involved small units and patrols (squad, platoon, and company sized units).

Editions

*ISBN 0679411585; Published: October 20, 1992, Random House Publishing Group, 432 pages (Hardcover)
*ISBN 0060013257; Published: April 15, 2002, Harper Perennial, 528 pages (Trade Paperback)
*ISBN 078624495X; Published: August 1, 2002, Thorndike Press, 688 pages (Hardcover)
*ISBN 0345472640; Published: June 29, 2004, Random House, 535 pages (Mass Market Paperbound)
*ISBN 034547581X; Published: November 23, 2004, Presidio Press, 432 pages (Trade Paperback)

Film adaptation

The book was adapted into the movie "We Were Soldiers", directed by Randall Wallace and starring Mel Gibson as Moore. In the book, Moore complains that "Every damn Hollywood movie got it wrong"; Wallace has said he was inspired by this comment and became "determined to get it right this time."

In his final released movie Randall Wallace, though getting many of the small facts of the book presented onto film, the movie is not totally historically accurate in the portrayal of the historical events when compared with the events as explained in the book, much the same way as was done in "Black Hawk Down" by Ridley Scott vs. the book by the same name written by Mark Bowden. In this there are several ways that the American situation was falsely shown, among which is the heroic final preempted charge of Col Hal Moore at the end of the battle that destroyed the Vietnamese Reserve forces, and ending the battle in an American Victory, where in fact there was no heroic final charge in the book, nor were the forces of the North Vietnamese destroyed, and Lt Col Nguyen Huu An did not see the conclusion at LZ X-Ray as the end of combat, and the Battle of Ia Drang continued with combat action at LZ Albany where the 2/7th, with A Company 1/5th, found themselves in a fight for their lives against Lt Col Nguyen Huu An's reserve.

There are as well many other historical differences in the book vs. the movie; presumably to shorten the length of the movie. Some differences not shown would have demonstrated how desperate the American situation at Ia Drang was. For example, the seriousness of the overrun of C Company under the command of Capt Robert Edwards and the repulse of the final major North Vietnamese push at LZ X-Ray on the former C Company line which was then held by B Company 2/7th under the command of Capt Myron Diduryk, the Ukrainian Captain that Mel Gibson, as Col Moore, seems to claim is attached to the 1/7th. Also incorrect is the act of Capt. Ramon Nadal pushing forward and rescuing the stranded platoon of Lt. Henry Herrick, which according to the book was actually done not by one company of the 1/7th, but rather was a major push made by two companies of the 2/5th as well as B Company 1/7th.

References

*Moore, Harold G.; and Galloway, Joseph L. (1992) "We were Soldiers Once...And Young: Ia Drang--The Battle That Changed The War In Vietnam" (1^st ed.). Random House. ISBN 0-679-41158-5.

External links

* [http://www.princeton.edu/~ferguson/adw/vietnam.shtml Review by Andrew Ferguson]
* [http://www.lzxray.com/ Website about the book with background information and links]
* [http://www.pritzkermilitarylibrary.org/events/2005-10-08-frontandcenter.jsp Interview] with Joe Galloway and Hal Moore at the Pritzker Military Library
* [http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/crandall/ Medal of Honor site - Major Bruce Crandall]

ee also

* Hal Moore
* Joseph L. Galloway
* Battle of Ia Drang
* Mel Gibson