We Are Soldiers Still: A Journey Back to the Battlefields of Vietnam

Amazon ^ | 7/19/08

[XR7]

In their stunning follow-up to the classic bestseller, We Were Soldiers Once...and Young, Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and Joe Galloway return to Vietnam and reflect on how the war changed them, their men, their enemies, and both countries—often with surprising results.

More than fifteen years since its original publication, the number one New York Times bestseller, We Were Soldiers Once...and Young is still required reading in all branches of the military. Now Moore and Galloway revisit their relationships with ten American veterans of the battle—men such as Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley and helicopter pilot Bruce "Old Snake" Crandall—as well as Lt. Gen. Nguyen Hu An, who commanded the North Vietnamese Army troops on the other side, and two of his old company commanders. These men and their countries have all changed dramatically since the first head-on collision between the two great armies back in November 1965.

Traveling back to the red-dirt battlefields, commanders and veterans from both sides make the long and difficult journey from old enemies to new friends. After a trip in a Russian-made helicopter to the Ia Drang Valley in the Central Highlands, with the Vietnamese pilots using Moore's vintage U.S. Army maps and Galloway's Boy Scout compass to guide them, they reach the hallowed ground where so many died. All the men are astonished at how nature has reclaimed the land once scarred by bullets, napalm, and blood. As darkness falls, the unthinkable happens—the authors and many of their old comrades are stranded overnight, alone, left to confront the ghosts of the departed among the termite hills and creek bed.

Moore and Galloway combine gritty and vivid detail with reverence and respect for their comrades. Their ability to capture man's sense of heroism and brotherhood, their love for their men and their former enemies, and their fascination with the history of this enigmatic country make for riveting reading. With sixteen pages of photos, tributes to departed friends and loved ones, and General Moore's reflections on lessons learned throughout his military career, We Are Soldiers Still puts a human face on warfare in a way that will not soon be forgotten.

[DieHard the Hunter]

> As an Infantry guy, the ANZAC, Limey, and GI’s now are much better than we were,

It may be so, but what I do know is that, as a young kid in school, I used to watch the newsreels awestruck and amazed, every Wednesday afternoon after lunch hour, of what you guys were doing in Vietnam.

I think that, perhaps, the newsreels had the opposite effect on me than what our teachers wanted them to have: they were hippies and commies thru-and-thru. Anyrate, I left those brainwashing sessions with the firm conviction that soldiers were Good Guys and Heroes.

> I think that Galloway and The Hack, David Hackworth, for that matter, were and are stuck in a 40 year old mind set,

I used to enjoy reading The Hack, it is a shame that he’s dead now. He was always onto the “perfumed Princes” and styled himself as a champion of the average soldier. That said, he didn’t seem to have too much nice to say for the modern army. I recall a couple of his articles that were fairly blistering over modern entrance requirements and training standards.

> It isn’t that Gi’s, Diggers, and Squadies haven’t done the job they are paid for it is the Bagless Pols.

Politicians these days are all ball-less wonders and they seem Hell-bent on snatching Defeat from the jaws of Victory. It makes no sense to me: why would anyone want to see their country lose a war??

[Iron Munro]

IMO Sam Elliot stole the show as Basil L Plumley. Unforgettable.

Watched the movie again last night on cable.

It is a fantastic effort to recreate the feel of really being in a firefight.

Sam Elliot owns any scene he is in.

They say that smart people learn from their experiences but the really smart people learn from the expeiences of others. I'm afraid we have too many of the former and not enough of the later because we are seeing some of the same erroneous assumptions at high levels that cost us so much in 'nam.

Semper Fi brothers And God bless all vets and active military

[ALOHA RONNIE]

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MEL’s -PASSION- sparked by -WE WERE SOLDIERS-

http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1085111/posts

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[ALOHA RONNIE]

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See Actor SAM ELLIOTT Photo:

RONNIE GUYER PHOTO COLLECTION

http://www.lzxray.com/guyer_collection.htm

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[ALOHA RONNIE]

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See “ALOHA RONNIE” Guyer photos personally taken in the Valley of Death known as the IA DRANG Valley of Novermber 1965 - Landing Zone Falcon, 3 air minutes out from Landing Zone X-Ray:

http://www.lzxray.com/guyer_set1.htm

http://www.lzxray.com/guyer_set2.htm

http://www.lzxray.com/guyer_set3.htm

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[ALOHA RONNIE]

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For...

...WE ARE SOLDIERS STILL:

http://www.ArmchairGeneral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55092

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[freema]

Ping

[SuziQ]

Bump for later reading.

[XR7]

Love that pic of you and Teddy before Chippaquiddick.
He was a lot slimmer then...and young.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

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Sen. TED KENNEDY toured a then Free South Vietnam in the Fall of 1965 to personally see for himself precisely what the fight for Freedom was really all about there. The proof is in the photo of the two of us taken in the Vientam Central Highlands’ 1st Cavalry Divsion (Airmobile) Headquarters.

http://www.lzxray.com/guyer_set1.htm

In other words, Sen. TED KENNEDY just knew better than to lead a post-Watergate Democrat Congress into cutting off all our funding for the then Free South Vietnamese to fight for their own Freedom with against a Communist invasion from the North.

Bringing down on so very many poor S.E. Asian souls a most horrid:

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..”JOURNEY from the FALL”..

http://www.JourneyFromTheFall.com

http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1806248/posts

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NEVER ever AGAIN!!!

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[ALOHA RONNIE]

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A full chapter of this new MOORE/GALLOWAY collaboration is entirely devoted to 9/11 Lifesaver RICK RESCORLA, R.I.P.

http://www.RickRescorla.com

http://www.RickRescorla.com/The%20Statue.htm

http://www.ArmchairGeneral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24361

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[ALOHA RONNIE]

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New books about Vietnam

http://www.ArmchairGeneral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=961108

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[ALOHA RONNIE]

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CLARITY =

First hand Stories (Truly unforgettable combat soldier drawings)

http://www.ArmchairGeneral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65452

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[Calpernia]

By Average John
More at link

[smoothsailing]

Tonk is our brother, Ronnie, NEVER FORGET,

[ALOHA RONNIE]

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NEVER FORGET

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For...

..’WE ARE SOLDIERS STILL’.. The Website

http://www.WeAreSoldiersStill.com

(Book Release Date - August 19th, 2008)

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For...

...more on the Battle of IA DRANG-1965

http://www.lzxray.com

(See ..’Ia Drang - Interest’.. Section)

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NEVER FORGET

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[Dick Bachert]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WDrbbtaO0E

[ALOHA RONNIE]

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NEVER FORGET

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Saddleback College Plans Memorial Day completion of new monument
(F/R’s Aloha Ronnie sings ‘Mansions of the Lord’)

http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982490/posts

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NEVER FORGET

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[ALOHA RONNIE]

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NEVER FORGET

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CLARITY =

The Best Vietnam War Movie Poll

http://www.ArmchairGeneral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52281

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NEVER FORGET

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[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

Thanks for the ping.

Look forward to reading the book.