Hal Moore: From Kentucky boyhood to very good soldier at West Point

A little boy by the name of Hal Moore was born on Feb. 13, 1922, and reared in Bardstown, Ky. He had a different DNA â€“ a leadership DNA. Although the family home was in the town, his home was surrounded by nearby woods.

This boy loved nature, the woods and even the stars. Often at night, he would lie on his back and watch the stars dance. He practiced throwing his favorite knife into a tree aiming for the exact spot. In shooting a rifle, he never missed his target. As a teenager, he enjoyed competed in shooting contests. A sharpshooter he was, a skill that would serve him and America well in the years to come.

In his teens, his attention was given to reading, to his faith, and to accepting what obedience meant. There were many times when his knuckles were rapped with a ruler as a student at St. Joe Prep in Bardstown. But he loved school, and once said, â€œThe librarian told me that I had read every book in the library. Through reading I learned to spell.â€

A man among men. Glad he and Joe Galloway told his story — and that of all those who fought and perished at Ia Drang in a “war” the politicians saw fit to lose with ROEs that seem to be little changed today. Only God knows how many of our soldiers died needlessly.
Shortly after I first saw “We Were Soldiers”, I had the following email exchange with 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.
One fellow instructor is memorialized here: http://www.virtualwall.org/ds/ShimpAH01a.htm
There must NEVER be another Viet Nam (or Somalia! - thank you, Bill Clinton) - EVER!

God bless you and General Moore for helping those of us who have never seen combat better understand the horror and sacrifice of war and the love between the men who
are consigned to it 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 be 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

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