In April 2002, Harp Peren Publishing released ‘We Were Soldiers Once…and Young: Ia Drang–The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam‘ the phenomenal book by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) (1922-2017) about the fierce battel between American troops and the People’s Army of Vietnam, often referred to as the North Vietnamese Army (“NVA”), in the la Drang Valley in November 1965. I have the paperback and the book is breathtaking. In 2002, it caught Hollywood’s attention and that year saw the release of the film of the same name starring Mel Gibson as the late Hal Moore. The film is good, and Gibson delives a solid performance. While searching for a new book to read, I saw this title which instantly caught my attention. I was unaware that Hal Moore and former solider Joseph Galloway (1941-2021) had written a follow-up to the initial best-selling book. Without hesitation I made the purchase and jumped right into the story about their return to Vietnam and the ground where their courage and sanity were pushed to the brink.

If you are a veteran of the war and fought in the la Drang Valley, this book will undoubtedly feel different to you compared to non-veterans. But I think that anyone who reads this book will find immense value in it, and a deeper appreciation for the soldiers who return home from combat. Before I began the book, I had to remind myself that the average age of an American soldier in Vietnam was between twenty-one and twenty-three years of age. And in November 1965, those young men found themselves in hell on earth as they came face to face with the NVA. Those men now much older would have to do one of the most challenging things in their lives in confronting the past and it becomes clear that the book will be a rollercoaster ride of emotions. It is not long in the story before they begin the journey across the globe to the Republic of Vietnam in search of veteran NVA officers whom they faced during the war to learn what they saw and to understand why our two countries engaged in war.

While reading I thought to myself that officials in Vietnam must have viewed Moore and Galloway with both suspicion and bewilderment when they requested to revisit the la Drang Valley and the areas where Landing Zone-Albany and Landing Zone-X-ray once stood and have sit-down meetings with high-ranking officers. They accomplish both and even secure an-person meeting with General Võ Nguyên Giáp (1911-2013) who earned fame as Vietnamese troops defeated the French Army at Dien Bien Phu in the spring of 1954. At each gathering, we see the men feel each other out while reconciling the past. But what is also paramount is that both sides suffered tremendously from the war with NVA suffering a significantly higher casualty count. The pain and hard lessons learned are explained in the stories of the Vietnamese officers, some of whom were still serving in the military at the time of the book’s publication. Sadly, one of them dies during the story but the authors pay their respects in one of the more emotional moments in the book.

The most haunting aspects of the book are the lessons which were learned too many years later. And when Giap relays his surprise that America enter the conflict following the French defeat, I thought of a former colleague who also served and had asked himself the same question. The reasons for the war and the decisions from the White House are topics for another book. Here, we tag along as the authors provide observations about current day Vietnam, their hotel lodgings, foods they eat and the people they encounter on their journey to make peace with all that was lost in the la Drang Valley. And from start to finish, this book is amazing. It does not glorify combat or denigrate the Vietnamese, the point here is to show how former enemies can finally make peace decades after a war which robbed all of them of their youth. They are all older, but the horrors of the Vietnam War remain with the veterans who are still with us and that should never be overlooked.

As the years pass the number of veterans from the Vietnam War unfortunately becomes smaller, but their lives and stories can and should stay with us. This follow-up to the 2002 best-seller about the battles in the la Drang Valley is equally as good and highlights the enormous price to be paid when nations go to war. If you liked ‘We Were Soldiers‘ either in printed or motion picture format, this book is for you. Highly recommended.

“There’s never been a noble war except in the history books and propaganda movies. It’s a bloody, dirty, cruel, costly mistake in almost every case, as it was in this war that would end so badly. But the young soldiers can be and often are noble, selfless, and honorable. They don’t fight for a flag or a president or mom and apple pie. When it comes down to it they fight and die for each other, and that is reason enough for them, and for me.” – Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.)

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0013TPUV6
Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins e-books
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 6, 2009