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We Were Soldiers Once... and Young

Ia Drang – The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam

Audiobook
13 of 13 copies available
13 of 13 copies available
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 the landing zones X-Ray and Albany constituted one of the most savage and significant battles of the Vietnam War.
How these men persevered—sacrificed themselves for their comrades and never gave up—makes a vivid portrait of war at its most inspiring and devastating. General Moore and Joseph Galloway, the only journalist on the ground throughout the fighting, have interviewed hundreds of men who fought there, including the North Vietnamese commanders. This devastating account 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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    • AudioFile Magazine
      For buffs of military history who like lots of action with descriptions of ground tactics, weapons, bleeding wounds, and pure terror, this discussion of the first engagement between American troops and the Viet Cong in 1965 will not disappoint. Johnny Heller's sandy voice keeps up with the action in all respects, and the pace keeps building with the casualties. Heller can be understood easily and is well suited to a story made of many smaller ones. The grammar lacks sophistication ("He was hit bad."), and the delivery tends to be simple, but we feel lucky to be hearing the exact remembrances in elegant detail of combatants who survived a four-day battle that not many walked away from. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      Jonathan Davis gives a splendid narration of this war story, which was adapted for the big screen by Mel Gibson. It covers what is considered to be the first battle between United States troops and those of North Vietnam. Then Lieutenant-Colonel Moore, who was commander of the U.S. troops in this battle, and Galloway, who was the only journalist on the ground throughout, provide a vivid and riveting story of the fighting. Davis's baritone is resonant, his pacing deliberate but by no means plodding, and his pronunciation clear and precise. He subtly changes his voice for quotes and keeps the listener's attention for the duration. M.T.F. 2019 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 19, 1992
      On Nov. 14, 1965, the 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry, commanded by Lt. Col. Moore and accompanied by UPI reporter Galloway, helicoptered into Vietnam's remote Ia Drang Valley and found itself surrounded by a numerically superior force of North Vietnamese regulars. Moore and Galloway here offer a detailed account, based on interviews with participants and on their own recollections, of what happened during the four-day battle. Much more than a conventional battle study, the book is a frank record of the emotional reactions of the GIs to the terror and horror of this violent and bloody encounter. Both sides claimed victory, the U.S. calling it a validation of the newly developed doctrine of airmobile warfare. Supplemented with maps, the memoir is a vivid re-creation of the first major ground battle of the Vietnam War. Photos.

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  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

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  • English

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