An exclusive interview with the hero of the Vietnam War’s 1965 Battle of the Ia Drang Valley and co-author of We Were Soldiers Once … and Young.
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1. ACG: Why did you and Joe Galloway decide to write We were Soldiers Once … and Young?
GEN. MOORE: It goes back to the battlefield. Joe, a journalist, came into the [Ia Drang/LZ X-ray] action on the first night and stayed with us for the rest of the fight. He wrote a hell of a story, which came out in the Columbus Ledger Inquirer on the day after we pulled out of LZ X-ray. Just before we left, we stood looking at each other … and the tears were coming down our cheeks. I told Joe, “I want you to go back to Saigon and tell the American people what great Soldiers these are. Tell them what a great job they did and what a great Army we have.”
(left) Moore stands in a South Vietnamese field in December 1965. He believes Vietnam is a better place today because of U.S. actions there. Image Credit: COURTESY, HAL MOORE (right) Moore commanded the troops of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment as they fought off a vastly superior North Vietnamese force in the Ia Drang Valley. Image Credit: COURTESY, HAL MOORE
2. ACG : Why do you think the book is so popular?
GEN. MOORE: Because of the detailed research, the extensive interviews with the troopers, and the quotations in the book. If one looks at the chapter notes alone, they convey the amount of research we did. On the weekend it was published, it was reviewed on the front page of the New York Times book review section. We knew then it was going to be big, and we quickly received calls from producers who wanted to make it into a movie.
3. ACG : Did the film accurately capture the battle’s horror?
GEN. MOORE: The movie version was very accurate. For example, it captured the fact that Soldiers in battle fight, kill and die for one another. It also properly recorded the respect that I had for the capabilities of the enemy we fought against.
However, the film failed to capture the factual account of the telegrams arriving home dealing with the deaths of our troopers. At the time, the Army did not have a system set up like it has now, and the telegrams were being delivered by taxicab drivers. My wife, Julie, found out and raised hell with the Fort Benning post commander. From then on, Julie followed the taxicab to the home and was on the scene when the widow got the message. Soon, the Army devised a system to have the telegrams delivered by a chaplain and another officer in uniform – that was all because of Julie.
Moore poses in front of the "termite hill" at LZ X-ray during a 1997 visit. This location, now completely overgrown, is where he set up his command post during the battle 32 years earlier. Image Credit: COURTESY, HAL MOORE
4. ACG : What were your emotions when you first saw the film?
GEN. MOORE: The first time we saw the movie, we were quite moved. The motion picture was extremely well done. It really captured the essence of battle, especially the scenes dealing with everything that was happening at the command post. That really happened, and it was accurately depicted.
5. ACG : What did it mean to have actors like Mel Gibson and Sam Elliott tell your story on film?
GEN. MOORE: Mel did a great job. My daughters tell me that when he was talking in the movie, they could shut their eyes and hear me. Sam Elliott also did a beautiful job playing Sergeant Major Basil Plumley – he should have received an Oscar.
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10 Comments to “10 Questions for General Hal Moore”
Here is an outstanding leader. I retired from a metro plice department and this type of leadership is in short supply.
By Alex on Jul 21, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I am currently deployed as a member of the Federal Government
in Speicher Iraq. Having severed 24 yrs. in America’s military I
was lucky enough to find a copy of “A General’s Spritual Journey”
left behind by a former service member. I enjoyed the book, cover
to cover and will ensure it gets passed on to those that take over
this post.
By Richard Brock Hall on Nov 4, 2008 at 9:12 am
Will General Moore receive visitors at his home in Kentucky?
By Bill Mapp on Nov 19, 2008 at 8:00 pm
I am using Hal Moore as the subject of a school project called History day, and recently discovered, Hal Moore is related to me. But would like to know the name of whoever wrote this article, I need the name for an annotated bibliography.
By Nate Moore on Jan 3, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Wow nate… im using him as a subject for a history day project as well… and thats pretty cool
By Jamie Sele on Feb 5, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Dear General Moore,
I teach a course in the Civil War at an adult learning center here in Seattle. On the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Col. Johusa Chamberlain ordered his 20th Maine to fix bayonets and at his order, come out of their defensive positions on Little Round Top and charged down the hill to the complete surprise of Confederate Col Oates and his 15th and 47th Alabama. The result was the capture of 400 prisioners and the resulting safety of the Union left flank.
My understanding of the last day at the Ia Drang Valley is that your troops performed the same or similar maneuver. To me the comparisons appear to be more than co-incidence, as Chamberlain’s tactic of the small unit in defense is still taught in most of the major war colleges in the world. I would sincerely appreciate your comments and my sincere thanks for your contributions and service to our country.
By Pete Mazza on Feb 12, 2009 at 6:42 pm
In the movie there is a scene showing you reading a book “les Guerres de L’indochine” How does one get a hold of a copie of this book & is this the correct name of the book. Thank you for your help on this matter… Pierre Labelle
By Pierre Labelle on Mar 3, 2009 at 3:46 pm
10 Questions for General Hal Moore
Brian Sobel | September 21, 2007 | 7 comments | Print | E-mail
An exclusive interview with the hero of the Vietnam War’s 1965 Battle of the Ia Drang Valley and co-author of We Were Soldiers Once … and Young.
There is a photo of General Moore in his combat fatigues in this article that is labeled “Image Credit: Courtesy of Hal Moore.” Can you please tell me how I can contact General Moore to seek permission to use this photograph on a banner depicting images from Vietnam? Thank you, Sandra Bushnell
By Sandra Bushnell on Apr 3, 2009 at 6:56 pm
general hal moore was a great general in the movie We Were Soldiers and in real life
By austin stidham on Jun 10, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Can u please tell me how to contact Gen. Moore –
to seek permission for use of some of his leadership principles quotes, and perhaps his image as well for a motivational poster business I wish to start.
Thank you.
By John Adair on Jul 24, 2009 at 5:56 pm