I've served a combat tour in Vietnam in the same "AO" that this takes place and learned to depend on the ability of our forces to airlift everything from reinforcements to fuel and water.
This saga was really interesting to me to see how recent the advent of the air cavalry was and how it effected the battle. I witnessed it firsthand and enjoyed reading it even more.

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most excellant account of the early Ia Drang campaign

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In November 1965, some 450 men of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, under the command of Lt. Col. Hal Moore, were dropped by helicopter into a small clearing in the Ia Drang Valley. They were immediately surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers. Three days later, only two and a half miles away, a sister battalion was chopped to pieces. Together, these actions at landing zones X-Ray and Albany constitute one of the most savage and significant battles of the Vietnam War.

The Americans faces what seemed to be certain destruction. How these men perservered-sacrificed themselves for their comrades and never gave up-makes a vivid portrait of war at its most inspiring and devastating. General Moore and Joe Galloway, the only journalist on the ground throughout the fighting, have interviewed hundreds of men who fought there, including the North Vietnamese commanders. The result is a story of unparalleled human interest.


We Were Soldiers Once...and Young also brings the war back home with unforgettable stories of those who lost family members to combat. This devastating accout rises above the specific ordeal it chronicles to present a picture of men facing the ultimate challenge, dealing with it in ways they would have found unimaginable only a few hours earlier. It reveals to us, as rarely before, man's most heroic and horrendous endeavor.

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If you only read one book on the war in Vietnam, read this one. It's impossible to capture the reality of combat on the pages of a book, but this is as good as it gets because the author was there and experienced it. A sad, but inspirational tribute to the American soldiers who survived and died on that worthless patch of ground nearly 50 years ago. This is a classic that will always be on my bookshelf.

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A very powerful story that hits home because it's real, not fiction. Having seen the movie, and knowing books are able to cover much more depth, I decided to read it. I was not disappointed. Being a Vietnam era veteran ('66 - '70) but never stationed in country, reading this was a way for me to try and better understand what our troops went through on the ground. The bravery shown by all involved really came through. I later read a 9/11 related book called "Heart of a Soldier" written about the efforts of Mr. Rick Rescorla who was responsible for saving so many of his co-workers lives that day only to lose his own. Mr. Rescorla fought in the battle of Ia Drang valley and is the soldier shown on the cover of We were Soldiers.

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