We Were Soldiers Once....And Young Ia Drang-the Battle That Changed the War In Vietnam

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We Were Soldiers Once . And Young is an illustrative work by Lt . Gen Harold G . Moore (Ret ) Joseph L . Galloway about the Vietnam War . It was first published in 1992 . It takes into account the role and struggle of the American army during the Vietnam War in general and in the Battle of Ia Drang This Battle was U .S . military 's first major engagements in Vietnam between October 23 and November 26 1965 . Earlier U .S . military was engaged in patrolling

and small ambushes . in particular . Book highlights the achievements of 1st and 2nd battalion of the Seventh Cavalry Regiment . It provides a first hand account of the battlefield with power illustrations of the engagement . Both were directly involved in the battle as Harold Moore was the commander of the 1st Battalion whereas Galloway was the only news-reporter who covered the minute details of the battle . Additionally , writer does not rely on their memories only but also relied on the interviews of survived army personnel from both sides i .e . United States Army and Viet Cong . The account is moving as it takes into consideration the pathos and miseries of the soldiers

Beside the plain narration of the battle field events in details and producing spine-chilling effect , he also analyzes the whole saga and tries to locate certain issue and patterns that can be helpful for other soldiers . His objective is not didactic and his methodology of narration is not educational , he only goes on to put the lessons learnt from battlefield into plain words . General Moore also considers various elements that paved the way for the American army . Gen . Moore consider the leadership as the most effective and necessary tool that helped American to retaliate with minimum causalities and augmented the courage and bravery of his soldiers for 34 days . Moore narrates that although he trained equipped his fellow soldiers with the techniques of guerilla warfare but due certain policies and constraints , when he ventured for the battlefield , he was left out with inexperienced soldiers as experienced and trained were sent to other fronts one after the other Book displays how Moore encourages his inexperienced soldiers . In the absence of proper training , his leadership abilities kept on moving his soldiers psychologically and emotionally . He capitalized on their ideas and energies instead of experience . He applied the rules and policies flexibly . He said to his soldiers that all decision-making would not make by him only and his soldiers should do whatever they feel necessary according to the situation . Decentralization of power and decision making helped in survival in the tough times and in achieving the ultimate objective of success

Beside his leadership qualities as army-man , the book also manifests his humane and caring nature as a human being . Galloway describes certain events that are manifestation of Moore 's care for his soldiers . This care does not originate from any professional or planned necessity but it seems that it was...