Category: (DVD)
1 new, starting at $19.95
Jack Smith, a veteran of the battle at Ia Drang, talks of the battle that would change the course of history and the lives of all the men who were in the battle. This is the story of the men who fought, of their remarkable heroism, and of their journey back to the battlefield, which, in a way, they never really left. In the Battle of la Drang, the U.S. 7th Cavalry, outnumbered and under siege, uses Huey helicopters for the first time and the strategic B-52 bombing becomes a battlefield standard.
The REAL story of We Were Soldiers Once And YoungReviewed by Michael S. Oster, 2009-12-20
I saw this Documentary when it originally aired years ago on ABC television. Many of the key figures from General Moore's and Joe Galloway's book and later movie "We were Soldiers Once and Young" were captured on film speaking frankly about their harrowing experiences in those terrible battles. The late Jack Smith, an ABC correspondent and veteran of the Landing Zone Albany battle shares his own emotional recollection of a desperate battle followed by a heart rending description of the horrible night on the battlefield that followed, listening to the enemy NVA soldiers moving about the battlefield in the dark, killing his fellow wounded soldiers. It is difficult for anyone who hasn't been in combat to understand what it really is, without the glorification and propaganda and it is documentaries such as this that manage to convey some of what it's really all about. I was very disappointed with the feature film that was made by Mel Gibson. I remember that he pledged to everyone that he would keep the film true to the book and he lied. While it was entertaining and had its moments, even General Moore lamented that his book got the "Hollywood" treatment in Gibson's movie. I am happy to see this documentary is available on DVD and will order it and I hope anyone who values the REAL story of these men will take the opportunity to purchase it as well- you won't regret it.
