6. ACG : You and Galloway are writing another book. Can you tell our readers about it?Â
GEN. MOORE: It’s going to be a series of chapters dealing with subjects such as my postwar talk with General Vo Nguyen Giap and the North Vietnamese commander who opposed me in the battle. Another chapter will be about going back to Vietnam with an ABC TV documentary team and spending a night on the battlefield. There also will be a chapter on General William Westmoreland and one on Rick Rescorla, who fought at the Ia Drang and later died at the World Trade Center attack on September 11. Another chapter will be about my wife, Julie, and one on my three-day visit to the Dien Bien Phu battlefield.Â
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January 1966. Moore (on the radio) leads his troops of the 3d Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. Image Credit: ART ZICH
7. ACG : What do you think of Vietnam today? Â
GEN. MOORE: I’ve been back to Vietnam seven times since the war. From my perspective, I see a country that has come from misery to a booming economy. Much of this occurred because Americans were there, and hopefully our increased diplomatic relations with Vietnam will also provide more clarity about the fate of our MIAs. Â
8. ACG : Do you believe the Vietnam War was a military “win” and a civilian “loss”?Â
GEN. MOORE: I’ve never really thought much about that, and I never concluded that we had won a victory in Vietnam . Giap told me that they were determined to get us out, however long it took. He said, “We were prepared to fight you for 10, 20, or 30 years.” One has to understand they all had bitter memories of the French, and to the Vietnamese there was no difference between the French and the Americans.Â
 
October 1965. Moore (left) and Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley at the 1st Cavalry base camp in Vietnam. Image Credit: COURTESY, HAL MOORE We Were Soldiers (Paramount Pictures, 2002). Image Credit: PARAMOUNT PICTURES
9. ACG : Do you see parallels between Vietnam and the war in Iraq? Â
GEN. MOORE: In Vietnam, we were fighting a highly organized North Vietnamese army and a semi-organized Viet Cong element, which consisted of main force Viet Cong but also individual insurgents. As the war progressed, it assumed a different kind of personality. We were trying to create a democratic country in one that had no concept of democracy. We tried to build a South Vietnamese army in the image of the American Army, and the same with the Vietnamese air force, navy and coast guard. In the end, it didn’t matter because the enemy knew that all they had to do was outlast us.
In Iraq , we went in and ousted Saddam Hussein and expected the Iraqi people to throw us flowers and chocolates. There may have been some of that, but mostly it was hand grenades. We are repeating history, trying to create an Iraqi army in the image of the American Army and an Iraqi police force in the image of New York ‘s police force. In Baghdad , in particular, we are trying to chase rabbits with a herd of elephants. I really don’t see how we can get the different Islamic elements to make peace with each other – the Sunnis and the Shiites have been separatists for centuries.
So yes, there are some parallels. Frankly, I hope that in the near future the American government will declare that we think the Iraqi army and police are capable of taking care of things themselves, and then we get the hell out.Â
10. ACG : Can you boil down your leadership philosophy to a few words?Â
GEN. MOORE: My leadership philosophy, which I employed in the military and also for years in the civilian sector, can be summarized as “power down.” I pushed the authority to make decisions down to company commanders and told them to push the power down to their squad leaders and the individual Soldiers in the ranks. I told my people, “If you feel you are qualified to make a decision or to take action, do it. Otherwise, move it up a notch for a decision.”
Brian Sobel conducted this interview for ARMCHAIR GENERAL. Â
Here is an outstanding leader. I retired from a metro plice department and this type of leadership is in short supply.
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.
Will General Moore receive visitors at his home in Kentucky?
Having been a soldier once and young I have read much of what has been said by servicemen on thier commanders, I have yet to discover a sheer loving for a man even after a time when death was a constant companion.
Seargent Major Basil Plumley would have been commissioned into our forces here in the UK and allowed to reach the rank of Lt.Colonel, as for General Moore ? Clearly the Lord made a special child the day he entered the world.
A lot of men stayed allive for his sheer ability to read the unreadable to understand the impossible .
dear sir, I wouldn’t (nessiccerily) want to go to your although it would be a true honor,what I would like to tell you is that I was drafted in sept oct 1969 what I remember was every night while eating dinner with my mom and dad watching the news every night 6:00p.m. it was being shown clearly vietnam was someplace you didn,t want to go. with no education other than high school the front is where most were going by 1969 things did not go so good for us ,at this point I had just invested alot of money in buying a gasoline station , my physical did not go so well and my prayers were answered 4F blood was not good . well in august of 71 I was in a motorcycle accident and it was a bad one I eventually had my arm amputated I think all the time if I had gone there I wouldn’t have come home but I don’t know. I really feel guitly of the fact that I got out of it and so many others died I’m 61 now and it will bother me for ever I think that if I were older and I got drafted in 66 when we maybe still had a chance things would have been different . Anyway my total respect goes out to you and joe galloway. thanks for reading. 1/16/12
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.
Wow nate… im using him as a subject for a history day project as well… and thats pretty cool
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.
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
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
general hal moore was a great general in the movie We Were Soldiers and in real life
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.
Please pass on to General Moore my sincere appreciation for his service and his leadership. I have the utmost respect for his refusal to leave his men in the middle of the battle. That is a man worth serving under. He and his men went above and beyond the call and gave their all for a country that showed so little appreciation for what these men did. I am very proud on all of them and as a Vet that served in Vietnam, I know the price many paid to answer their countries call. I honor all the men and women that serve in our armed forces and put their life on the line so that we sleep well, at night. God Bless all of them and may they return safely to their famlies.
Does the General agree with current troop deployment in Iraq and Afganistan as to the rotation of Battalions in and out of the theatre and its confusion created by constant retraining of the troops?
Also does the General have any thoughts about the instant communication between troops and their families back home and the effect on the troops physchologically as compared to other actions such as WWII, Korea and Viet Nam.
I was an Airman Second Class in the United States Air Force assigned to Tan Son Nhut Air Base as an Air Policeman and was one of the gunners that flew with the U.S. Army on UH1D helicopters gunships. We took off that day on a routine four hour mission and returned 3 days later after we were diverted to the Ia Drang valley into that battle. It was the most fierce and awsome display of American will to win and never give up I have ever seen or ever will see. The bravery of the soldiers under General Moore’s command and his leadership have lived in my heart and mind since that day and although I have rarely ever spoken to many of it, I can never forget what I saw there. It has been and always will be the most significant event in my life. By the second day of landing in the hot LZ and evacuating wounded I thought our next mission might be our last and questioned my wisdom in volunteering, but never thought of not returning for another run. I have often thanked God for those men and sparing me my life. I saw General moore only briefly while he was commanding the forces that day but never forgot that image. I always wanted to meet him and thank him, but I guess I was too low in the chain for that. I was so inspired by that event that even though I was wounded in March 1966, I went on to retire from the Air Force in 1982 but never stopped thinking of those 2 to 3 days that tested me along with those Soldiers. It also tested my relationship with my Vietnamese wife to be at the time when I didn’t return that day she was sure I was one that also perished. We have now been married for 45 years. We both cried when we saw that movie and the memories it stirred.
I sincerely hope General Moore and his family are fine and continued to be blessed. A deserving Officer and a gentleman whom I always will admire.
By John A. Cappel, Msgt, USAF Retired
April 10, 2010
I am studying American History at college, part of it relates to the Vietnam War, it was suggested we watch films related to this dreadful war, I choose to watch `We were Soldiers’ as it was based on true events. After viewing the film it gave me a greater understanding of what the people went through. I was moved by how brave these soldiers were and horrified by how many people died as a result of the war and the horrors of the war itself. The men that so bravely fought this war will forever be heros and a lot of them unrecognised heros. Thak you for giving the world an insight to this dreadful period of time.
You will always be admired by this lady all the way
over in the United Kingdom
I would like to send LTG Harold Moore an e-mail. I know him from t-day plannning.
I would gladly follow Col Moore, General Swarzkopf, or General Patton to the gates of Hell if required. Never has there been a true American hero like Colonel Moore who loved his trrops as he did.
Although I served in Vietnam as a Marine in Da Nang (VMA-(AW)-242, MAG-11, 1st MAW) in 1969 and 1970, I never knew such a leader as Colonel Moore. God bless Colonel Moore and the brave soldiers who served with him during the Ia Drang Campaign. They are all American heroes that will never be forgotten.
What made General Moore such a great leader, he did NOT micro-manage……Thanks General…..Sorry to hear about Julie……..God bless y’all
Gen. Moore, My husband is a VN vet. He was told that, using the proceeds from your book and speaking engagements, you have set up a scholarship fund for the children and grandchildren of VN vets. If this is correct, how can we apply for it for our grandchildren? Thank you from the wife of a hero to another hero. God Bless you
Gen. Moore:
I saw the movie: We were soldiers – Mel Gibson. It was an excellent movie. You are a great Leader. God Bless You Angie
General Hal Moore Your speech on Leadership.Thank you for passing on your secrets of sucess..your speech has help me.
God Bless You Angie
LEADERSHIP: I USED APART OF YOUR SPEECH – THE GAME OF BASEBALL 3 STRIKES YOUR OUT………BUT THERE IS ALWAYS ONE MORE THING YOU CAN DO…..I USED YOUR WORDS TO HELP ME WITH SOMETHING I CAN NOT FIX..THANK YOU AGAIN
.GOD BLESS YOU ANGIE
General Hal Moore I was a child when the Vietnam War was going on..I saw the war on T.V.
Today I saw this peom.. I would like to share what I found on the computer:
Black and White
Black and White fim footage
Taken 29 years ago
Vietnam 1969
Gunts on Patrol
A soldier crosses the field
He nears the camera
Turns his head
Look towards the lens
My Heart Stops!!!
Hi! John
Carolyn Paker
Sister of John Parker B/1/501/101
KIA May 1969
Share your story Angie
General Hal Moore
I was an Officer Cadet in the Reserve 1979-1980 Canadian Armed Forces ( I’m a nurse…..I left to work in a Hospital)
I would like to share a tradition ..we do here. Display a Yellow Ribbon on a tree for ones away in the Military or welcome them home….I have a Yellow Ribbon on my tree
It came from the Classic 1949 Movie with John Wayne “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” ( I think John Wayne did a Vietnam movie too….Green Beret.) Angie
General Hal Moore
I found another poem I would like to share:
Our Vietnam Veterans
Who’s price was so high
That they have to fight and so many to die
They showed us courage of men tho they were young boys
The 58,00 will speak no more their hearts will be with us forever
more
Yes our Vietnam Veterans both dead and alive payed the price for you and I. Tom Hayes B/1/501
I found a site on the computer: The L Z Sally Poetry Page, has alot of good poems from Veterans..
God Bless Angie
Integrity, loyalty, honour, courage and selfless commitment. Words with meaning to those who answer the call of duty.
Enough Said
General Moore
I had the honor and the privilege to serve with the First Cav based in An Khe from December 1965 to December 1966. Unfortunately, our paths never crossed which I regret. I served with the 11th Aviation Group and actually ran the radio relay operations which as you know allowed for proper transmissions to be made from forward position back to AnKhe. It was a job that basically ostracized me from my fellow mates both then and to this day when we speak at any sort of group function. I pretty much spent my time with two other Americans and a squad of South KOREAN soldiers that were our security. I still deal with issues to this day but always am thankful I served with the finest people ever created. Thank you for all that you gave and also thank you to Mrs. Moore for all that she gave as well. I have tried to contact Joe Galloway, MSGT Plumley and Brad Crandall as well to just say I am grateful to have shared the same planet with them. God bless you.
Bob Carnesi
SERVED WITH THE 17TH CAV AT GERRY OWEN KOREA, WAS AN HONER TO SERVE WITH SUCH A STORIED UNIT,SCOUTS OUT
thankyou for seving my brother in arms!
watching movie right now-amc.one hell of a masterful depiction of the battle. great acting and all the best to all of our brave soldiers-then and now in afghanistan and iraq.
General, as many have i as a desert storm veteran found it hard to sit and watch. I relived so much knowing the accounts portrayed were so factual. I do honestly thankyou sir, keeping this spirit alive is so important. I would have followed you in heart and deed. May the God of our fathers bless you and sir…i thank you for my freedom.
Sgt. D.J.Duplantis
NATO/USAFE
CNA New Amsterdamn
32 TFS/ F-15 Eagle 810065
I consider the story of Ia Drang, in which Colonel Hal Moore and 395 men held off an entire division of NVA soldiers and Viet Cong soldiers, to be one of the greatest stories in all of world military history.
I know not how, even though I have read the story, Moore and his companions did what they did. Every time the movie about the battle is on TV, I end up watching it. The battle of Ia Drang shows once again the unbelievable tenacity of the American spirit. Is it possible that the American spirit derives from the strength of spirit of the original European-Americans, who came to the continent to escape what they felt certain was tyranny, and that that strength of spirit had a genetic component? I don’t know, but I have seen Americans do things impossible so many times that I have begun to suspect it.
I am not a “love it or leave it” American, But I do believe that if someone really truly does not love our country, they might help themselves if they really consider, calmly and dispassionately, if they might be happier by going somewhere else.
At a company lunch one day, I sat around a table with workers of all ranks, and discussion turned to Viet Nam, and everybody agreed it was a mistake. I stated that I thought it was OK to believe that, but I hoped they would always remember that when the Americans finally left once and for all, the South Vietnamese jumped into the water and swam after the ships.
I’m grateful to be an American. I’m grateful that the Americans tried to free the South Vietnamese once and for all. In trying to effect what I believe was a noble goal, the United States military lost just under 58,400 people. The enemy lost approximately one million persons. And the story of Colonel Hal Moore and his 395 combatants speaks loudly and clearly for the whole world the message that if Americans go anywhere in defense of freedom, freedom in the form of government of the people, by the people, and for the people, will be well defended. At the same time, I hope we always try to exercise better judgment in choosing whom we decide to fight, and that we utilize diplomacy until nothing is left to use but “diplomacy by other means” (ie, war).
I enlisted in the Army 10/29/1971 en-route to Fort Ord, Ca. For Basic Training. H-4-3 while there Major General Harold G. Moore was Commanding General of fort ord. After basic training and a.i.t. I was en-route to Vietnam, but at Oakland Ca. Deverted to the Berlin Brigade B-4-18 Inf. Well not to change the subject, prior to this. My brother was in Vietnam in 1965, arrived on the U.S.N.S. Geiger in September. Unit, D-2-19 Artillery later B-2-8 Cav. while in this company,my brother Salvador H Ledesma private/ R.T.O. and Sgt. Harold Sund and a Lt. en-route to special forces camp Plei Me with supply and re-inforcement they were ambushed by the n.v.a. 10-18-1965 The attack on the special forces camp was on 10-19-1965 all this happen before the Battle of Ia Drang Valley.
Dear Gen Moore
As a Iraqi and Afghanistan Vet I thank you for defending our freedom and leaving no one behind which is now part of the Army Values that I retired from in 2010. You are a inspiration to all of us Anericans of someone who never gave up and never accepted the three strikes and you are out. GARRY OWEN GENERAL and GOD bless you and your late wife Ms. Jullie who because of her the Army set up the family support groups that exist today!
e um homem formidavel e um heroi para o povo americano e um exemplo de lideranca
(e a formidable man and a hero for the American people and an example of leadership)
sou de alfenas mg brasil um fanatico pelas batalhas da guerra do vietnam
(I am of privets mg Brazil a fanatic one for the battles of the war of the Vietnam)
I have a very good friend that is a retired Navy enlisted man. I would like to give him an autographed copy of the book. I would be glad to send it to you if you would sign it for me.
Thank you for your service and your consideration for my request.
Judy
I will forever be greatful for the men that have faught for our freedom and others. I was just a kid of 7years old at the time these men were fighting. I thank you all for a wonderful life, your my heros.
I salute to you sir
no man live behind SIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dear Gen Hal Moore,
Sir, would you do me the Great Honour of looking at my son’s website. Kevin is only 10 years old and live in the UK, last year he made a website about the “Huey” helicopter, the feedback from Vietnam Veterans was fantastic. This inspired him to make a 2nd website, to honor Vietnam Veterans.
Kevin is also a ” Honorary Assistant Crew Member” on the only flying “Huey” in the UK.
My son’s website is http://lz-vietnam.weebly.com/
Kevin would be “Over the Moon” if you looked at his website, and if you was to contact him via the website…….well, he would be in “Heaven”.
God Bless.
Thank you for your service sir and welcome home…
Thanks to La Drang battle I was able to go to Vietnam as a Medic. My dad was career Army and I was a gun-ho Army Brat… I was in the service at the time and in Aug. of ’65 I went to my squadron commander to volunteer to go to Nan. He got back to me and said I would have to Reenlist, I had 10 months left in my enlistment… he said it would take 18 months to rotated. I told him I would’nt reenlist to go to nam… well after the battle at La Drang they needed Medics so Lt De Long got back to me and off I went TDY to the 3rd Field Hospital in Saigon VN. My time in VN has made me forever young…. 8th Air Force 811th Medivac 65-66
God Bless