We Were Soldiers Once...and Young: la Drang - The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam 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 the Ia Drang Valley, the United States's first large-unit battle of the Vietnam War; previous engagements involved small units and patrols (squad, platoon, and company sized units). It was adapted into the 2002 film We Were Soldiers.[1][2][3][4]
 First edition cover, featuring Lt. Rick Rescorla | |
| Author | Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Vietnam, War |
| Genre | Historical Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | October 20, 1992 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Hardcover and Trade Paperback |
| Pages | 432 |
| ISBN | 0-679-41158-5 |
| OCLC | 25832046 |
| 959.704/342 20 | |
| LC Class | DS557.8.I18 M66 1992 |
The cover features Lt. Rick Rescorla, a British-American Vietnam War veteran who served for both countries during the war. Rescorla was uncomfortable about being portrayed as a war hero and chose not to read it when he saw that its cover featured a combat photograph of him. When he learned that the book was being made into a film starring Mel Gibson, he told his wife Susan that he had no intention of seeing it, as he felt uncomfortable with anything that portrayed him or other survivors as war heroes, commenting, "The real heroes are dead."[5] Rescorla later served as the director of security for Morgan Stanley and is credited with saving nearly 2,700 lives during the September 11 attacks, dying in the process.[6]
Reception
editThe book was a New York Times best-seller. David Halberstam called it, "A stunning achievement—paper and words with the permanence of marble. I read it and thought of The Red Badge of Courage, the highest compliment I can think of."
General H. Norman Schwarzkopf said, "We Were Soldiers Once...and Young is a great book of military history, written the way military history should be written."[7]
Since at least 1993, the book has been on the Marine Corps Commandant's Reading List for Career Level Enlisted.[8][9]
Further reading
edit- Kingseed, Cole C. (1994). "Reviewed work: Giap: The Victor in Vietnam, Peter Macdonald; We Were Soldiers Once... And Young, Harold G. Moore, Joseph L. Galloway; After Tet: The Bloodiest Year in Vietnam, Ronald H. Spector". Naval War College Review. 47 (3): 144–147. JSTOR 44637340.
- Fitzgerald, John J. (2004). "The Battle of the Ia Drang Valley: A Comparative Analysis of Generals, the Media, and the Soldiers". OAH Magazine of History. 18 (5): 37–43. doi:10.1093/maghis/18.5.37. JSTOR 25163721.
Editions
edit- Moore, Harold G.; Galloway, Joseph L. (October 20, 1992). We Were Soldiers Once… And Young (Hardcover ed.). Random House Publishing Group. pp. 432. ISBN 0679411585.
- Moore, Harold G.; Galloway, Joseph L. (April 15, 2002). We Were Soldiers Once… And Young (Trade Paperback ed.). Harper Perennial. pp. 528. ISBN 0060013257.
- Moore, Harold G.; Galloway, Joseph L. (August 1, 2002). We Were Soldiers Once… And Young (Hardcover ed.). Thorndike Press. p. 688. ISBN 078624495X.
- Moore, Harold G.; Galloway, Joseph L. (June 29, 2004). We Were Soldiers Once… And Young (Mass Market Paperback ed.). Random House. p. 535. ISBN 0345472640.
- Moore, Harold G.; Galloway, Joseph L. (November 23, 2004). We Were Soldiers Once… And Young (Trade Paperback ed.). Presidio Press. pp. 432. ISBN 034547581X.
References
edit- ^ Proffitt, Nicholas (8 November 1992). "Pride and Anguish". The New York Times.
- ^ Vorbach, Joseph E. (1995). "Reviewed work: We Were Soldiers Once... And Young, Harold G. Moore, Joseph L. Galloway". The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs. 19 (1): 189–194. JSTOR 45288931.
- ^ Harris, Jonathan B. (1993). "Reviewed work: We Were Soldiers Once and Young: La Drang—The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam, Harold G. Moore, Joseph L. Galloway". Sais Review (1989-2003). 13 (2): 157–161. doi:10.1353/sais.1993.0037. JSTOR 45345614. S2CID 153408536.
- ^ Hughes, Wayne P. (1993). "Reviewed work: We Were Soldiers Once...And Young, Harold G. Moore, Joseph L. Galloway". Phalanx. 26 (2): 11–12. JSTOR 43961930.
- ^ Stewart, James B. (February 11, 2002). "The Real Heroes Are Dead". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on September 12, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
- ^ "The Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience". Homeland Security. 2014-04-17. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
- ^ "Home Page | We Were Soldiers Once... and Young". LZ X-Ray.com. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
- ^ "REVISION OF THE COMMANDANTS PROFESSIONAL READING LIST". United States Marine Corps. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- ^ "The Commandant's Reading List from MarineParents.com: A Place to Connect & Share". MarineParents.com. Retrieved February 1, 2018.