We Were Soldiers Once...And Young

There are plenty of war memoirs out there but Lt Gen Moore's account of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry's fierce battles in the Ia Drang valley in Vietnam stands out as a polished, intense and informative piece of work. The subject material is fascinating in itself. Moore's unit was involved in the first major clash between Viet Cong and US forces, as the two sides faced up to each other and tried to learn the tactics that would bring them victory. Unfortunately for Moore's unit, this meant dropping by helicopter into a Viet Cong infested area in November 1965, becoming completely surrounded, and being forced to fight for survival against superior enemy forces. Drawing mainly on Moore's recollections, official documents and reports and the memories of dozens of US and Vietnamese soldiers and officers, the finer details of weapons and tactics will satisfy the serious military historian looking to study infantry combat. But it is the human stories that draw the reader's attention. Oral histories, which play such a major role in compiling combat studies, are intriguing by their very personal nature, and the recollections of American and Vietnamese soldiers are used here to great effect to highlight key moments of the fighting. The book successfully conveys something of the terror and exhilaration of being a young soldier in combat against a determined foe. Countless tales of heroism and fear are the real heart of this book, along with gruesome details of injury and death. The level of detail, large array of personalities and fast-moving action make reading this book difficult at times. Although they occasionally lapse into jingoism, Moore and Galloway deserve credit for meticulous research and for making an effort to study the wider political context of the fighting and events from the enemy's point of view. (Kirkus UK)