During the early 90s I was in Washington DC on a business trip and as I had forgotten take some books to read, ended up in buying a couple from a book store, near to my hotel. One book with a story that I have never forgotten (I can’t remember what the other book was about) was ‘We were Soldiers Once… and Young’. The story of the beginning of a catastrophic military adventure in the mid 60s into a foreign part of the world that was in the end, to be the wasting of 10’s of thousands of young mens’ lives, given up ‘for their country’!
That period of world history (and particularly USA history) has always fascinated me throughout my life. The 60’s have been described as many things; swinging, optimistic as society emerged from the somewhat austere 50’s and also the beginning of individual political thought.
For me it was also the decade when I joined the UK Royal Navy, in fact one year (albeit 10 days – 24th Nov. 1964) before that fateful landing at LZ X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley by members of the US 7th(and other) Cavalry units. Throughout my early days in the Navy, I was on ships that made a number of deployments (post 1967) to the Far East and although the UK was not(thank God) formally involved in the conflict, we did sail and work with US naval forces in various exercises around the whole of South-East Asia.
During those ‘trips’, I also had a chance to meet some of the people that had been directly involved in the fighting when we visited US bases in the Philippines, Thailand and Japan. Did we sit down a talk about the philosophical aspects of the conflict? No we were just 19 & 20 year olds doing what servicemen seemed to do, drink, drink and … yes drink some more. But I do remember some of the stories that came out their experience and I was grateful that we were not involved.
What brings back the memories of this book and that period in my life? About three days ago I recorded the film version of the book and last night I watched what for me was another masterful explanation of the futility of war and its aftermath for all sides, both military for the people directly involved, and human, for those that have to remain at home, unaware of the horror and carnage that their loved ones are experiencing, (yes there are inaccuracies in film, but I guess that’s film making).
I sat and could not believe how ‘effectively’ the written words (of Harold Moore and Joseph Galloway) had been transferred to the visual senses. It was an experience that after two hours left me feeling drained of emotion on every level.
This is not a film for everyone, but like a few of the UK second world war veterans that I heard talk about the film ‘Saving Private Ryan‘ and how they felt, that for them it was one of the most ‘realistic’ films that they had seen. I can only imagine that ‘We were Soldier Once… and Young’ must have been equally as ‘realistic’ and traumatic for any Vietnam veterans that may have watched it.
I have gone to my book boxes in the attic and retrieved my copy to read again. Perhaps in 20 years time, someone will write a book about the ongoing ‘adventures’ in the latest foreign ‘field’, and we’ll look back and wonder how it all happened so quickly and easily, again!
If you want to read the book, you can find it here, as well as the DVD.
If you just want to pause for a thought; then this is probably the place to do it.
Beasley's Place 
