Replies

Shortly after the release of “We Were Soldiers,” I had the following email exchange with co-writer Joe Galloway.

Dear Joe,
Thank you and Gen. Moore for allowing the film to be made and for working with Gibson
- one of the few people in Hollywood I trust - to keep the story as close to events as
was possible. How Hollywood COULD embellish la Drang is beyond me.
I spent nearly 4 years training young troopers to be Combat Engineers at Fort Belvoir
between ‘62 and ‘66. Some of THEIR names grace that black monolith on the Mall.
There must NEVER be another Viet Nam (or Somalia! - thank you, Bill Clinton) -
EVERI
God bless you and General Moore for helping those of us who have never seen combat
to better understand the horror and sacrifice of war and the love between the men who
are consigned to them by politicians who send them off to misadventures like Nam with one
arm tied behind their backs.
McNamara popped up on the book tour circuit a while back promoting his mea culpa on
Viet Nam. Through clenched teeth, I watched him weep during one TV interview as he
declared that he KNEW the entire exercise was wrong as it unfolded - but did
NOTHING to try to stop it.
They are excavating a new, lower level of Hell for McNamara as you read this. It is just
above LBJ’s.
With a silent prayer for ALL those who fight and die for this country, I extend warmest
personal regards to you and General Moore. May you both enjoy the remainder of what
I pray will long and peaceful lives.
Unlike most of us, you have earned them.

Reply from Joe Galloway of 10-21 -02

Dick:
Nope, They are putting McNamara right in the same level with LBJ, and boy is LBJ pissed at him for all this whining around he’s been doing. He can bend his ear for all eternity, while they fan each other......

Thanks for your kind words about the book and the movie, I will share them with Gen Moore.
Joe