To understand war one has to be willing to understand the concept of premature death, or to at least question its validity in reality. The book We Were Soldiers Once…and Young gives a historical account of the first major war, a truly iconic war between the USA and North Vietnam in the perspective of the men in green – quite simply, those who fought the war in November 1965. It clearly and painfully narrates the fragility of life as well as its resilient nature. Just when one thinks life will go on it doesn’t, and when one thinks it will end it is not at all lost.
Specialist Dorman: “We were all on the ground now and if you moved you got hit. Our training really showed then. We shifted into defense…”
The soldiers recalled landing at the base of Chu Pong mountain, having to navigate the tricky landscape.
Life in itself is completely misunderstood by those who live it. Those who have seen war, though they may have survived and seen others survive, face the possibility of living the remainder of their days dreading the very fact that they survived. They may have survived having dived out on the ground from about six feet up in the air when the pilots had some trouble getting much lower. They may have survived landing under fire, being shot at and not even seeing where the shots were coming from because the enemy disguised himself like a chameleon – looking like the trees and the grass. “
Sergeant Ruben Thompson was struck by a bullet above his heart that exited under his left arm; bleeding heavily, he grabbed a rifle and fought on.”
Surviving grenades, the constant noise of machine guns and rifles may be nothing compared to fighting against the lack of will to continue living after losing people in a war situation.
The book is unlike the Ken Burns documentary which essentially captured the layman’s view and feelings at the time of the war; those who were awaiting the return of the soldiers. In the words of the civilian survivor and journalist Joe Galloway and the lieutenant Hal Moore (later promoted to General), theirs was a “love story” experience. They fought for each other and killed for each other because of love. They wept for each other. They loved one another like brothers. For them it was not about the politics which led them there to the dangerous and bloody battlefield. They were all quite young. Most of them were between the ages of 22 – 26.
Some insisted that ultimately the war was an American victory primarily due to aerial artillery and medevacs. The fire support was an important aspect of the war which Hal Moore appreciated since his predecessor Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer lacked close to nine years earlier. Meanwhile the North Vietnamese claimed their victory too because they had way more men who charged to fight the American soldiers.
In reality it’s true what is said about war – that there is no one who is right and there is no one who can claim victory as theirs. There are just many lives which are lost.
Other books to read alongside this one are: Hal Moore: A Soldier Once…And Always by Mike Guardia and We Are Soldiers Still: A Journey Back to the Battlefields of Vietnam by Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway.
