We Are Soldiers Still: A Journey Back to the Battlefields of Vietnam
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lack of war experience, 195
Presidential Library in Dallas, 195
C-123, 63, 77
Cambodia, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 68, 97
Camp Holloway, Pleiku, 3, 6, 10, 122, 123, 206
Caravelle Hotel, Saigon, 150–51
Carrerra, Robert, 78
Catecka Tea Plantation, Brigade Headquarters, 9
Chandler, A. B. “Happy,” 158, 159–60
Cheney, Dick, 191
China, 151
Communism/Communists in, 2
human-wave tactics, 45
Korean War and, 131–32, 138
trade with Vietnam, 151–52
Vietnam War and, 132
Chu Dreh Pass, 147–48
Civil War, 190
Pickett’s Charge, 171
Clinton, Bill, 27
Collins, Capt. B. T., 201
Communism/Communists
death of, 2, 43
in Vietnam, 2, 43, 151–52
Compton, Captain and Mrs. Louis J., 216–17, 224
Congressional Medal of Honor, xvii, 200
Continental Hotel, Saigon, 151
Cox, Eugene E., 160
Crandall, Maj. Bruce, xvii, 3, 10, 42, 47, 61, 63, 78, 86–87, 200, 227
Creal, Ed, 160, 161
Crittenden, Jules, 116–18
Cronkite, Walter, 151
Custer, Col. George Armstrong, 8–9, 67, 185
Dang, Minh Van, 99
Day One (TV program), 5, 22, 41, 42, 228
de Castries, Brig. Gen. Christian, 134–36, 140
Diduryk, Capt. Myron, 205
Diduryk, Delores, 200
Dien Bien Phu, 22, 31, 33, 34, 42, 44–47, 67, 85, 132, 133–42
casualties, 130, 140
French prisoners taken, 140
French strongpoints, naming of, 139, 141–42
lessons of, 130, 132–33
studies of, 129
today, 139–40
Dillon, Capt. Greg “Matt,” 9, 79, 171
Drucker, Peter, 166
Eade, Sgt. John, 118–21
Edwards, Capt. Bob, 106
8th Army, 173, 177–78
82nd Airborne Division, 76, 217, 220
11th Airborne Division, 76
Elliott, Sam, 76–77, 221
Erasmus, 195
Esper, George, 55–56
Evans, Harry, 17
F-100
fighters, 107
Fall, Bernard, 129
5th Cavalry
5th Cavalry, 1st Battalion, 42, 113
5th Cavalry, 2nd Battalion, 11, 206
1st Cavalry Division, 3, 6, 11, 15, 29, 31, 36, 63, 65, 149
Airmobile, 3, 28, 123, 182
3rd Battalion, 6
3rd Brigade, 12, 13, 62, 78–79
Hueys available to, 6, 28
1st Cavalry Division Foundation, 229–30
Fonda, Jane, 179
Forrest, Lt. Col. George, 42, 47, 50–51, 99, 103, 110, 113, 115, 121, 124, 227
Fort Belvoir, 218
Fort Benning, Georgia, 6, 47, 74, 76, 106, 184, 208, 218, 219, 220, 223–24
cemetery, 223–24, 225
Infantry Museum, 212
Martin Army Hospital, 47, 80, 217
Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 217, 220
Fort Leavenworth, 218
Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, 221
Fort Myer, Virginia, 218, 220
Fort Ord, California, 178–81, 218, 220
Fort Sill, Oklahoma, 216
France
Americans’ contempt for French fighters, 130
cemetery in Vietnam, 67
colonialism of Indochina, 22, 25, 60, 189
end of rule in Indochina, 22, 30, 44, 45, 68, 133 (see also
Dien Bien Phu)
Groupe Mobile 100 in Korea, 67
Indochina War (see
Indochina War)
influence on Vietnamese culture, 60
public pressure to end Indochina War, 135
Freeman, Capt. Ed, xvii, 200
Fuck the Army (FTA), 179
Galloway, Joseph L., 93–94
battle at Ia Drang, xviii, 9–10, 78, 107
Bengali proverb, 192
career post-Vietnam, xviii, 14–17
confrontation with Gen.
Knowles, 123
desire to talk with North Vietnamese commanders, 20–21
evolution of book, 14–17, 101–2
friendship with Col. Thuoc, 144–45
Iraq War and, 193–97
in Jakarta, 59
Julia Moore’s death and, 223
Man and, 144
meets Giap, 31–33, 44–47, 130
meets Moore, 9–10
National Magazine Award, 16–17
night on battlefield (1993), 99, 102–3, 105
Persian Gulf War and, xi, xviii, 17, 220
Plumley and, 6, 7, 77–78, 88–89, 95
reports on battle at LZ X-Ray, 10
reports on Vietnam War, 14
return to Ia Drang (1993), 1–4, 22, 41–69, 86, 96, 147–51, 155
return to Pleiku (1993), 83–86
return to Vietnam (1990), 15–16, 20–33
return to Vietnam (1991), 22, 33–40
return to Vietnam (1999), 22, 130, 134–45
return to Vietnam (2005), 22, 153–54
Schwarzkopf and, xii
U.S. News & World Report
cover article on Ia Drang, 2, 5
visit to An’s widow, 142–44
visit to Dien Bien Phu (1999), 130
war, beliefs about, 187–88
weapons carried by, 10, 31, 78
wife’s death, 223
Galloway, Joshua, 229
Galloway, Lee, 229
Galloway, Theresa Null, 223
Gell, Sgt. Jack, 224
Geoghegan, Lt. Jack, 106, 200
family of, 106
George Washington University, 159
Giap, Gen. Vo Nguyen, 16, 30, 33, 42, 130, 134, 142, 189
at Dien Bien Phu, 22, 42, 44–47, 130–31, 135, 138, 140–41
meeting with, 1990, 21, 25, 30–33
meeting with, 1993, 44–47
meeting with, 1999, 22
thirtieth anniversary of fall of Saigon and, 154
Gibson, Mel, 221
Godboldt, PFC Willie, 106
Grant, Gen. Ulysses S., 187
Greene, Graham, 151
Grella, Don, 87
Gwin, Lt. Larry (later Capt.), 42, 47, 63–64, 67, 96, 99, 102, 105, 109, 113, 115, 121, 122, 227
C-123 crash and, 63
Hanoi, 2, 49, 20–33
B-52 bombing raids, Christmas, 1972, 40
building and corruption in, 152
changes and growth, 42–43, 152, 154
dikes, 152
Hotel Metropole, 51
Hao, Col. Tran Minh, 53, 91, 96, 97, 109–10, 122, 126–27, 149, 228
helicopters, 6, 28. See also 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile)
Bell UH-1 Iroquois (Huey), 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 87, 133
first deployment, Ap Bac (1962), 31–32
NVA reaction to, 29
Soviet-made Hind, 2–3, 86, 89, 99, 110, 113
229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 10
Hell in a Very Small Place (Fall), 129
Herren, Capt. John (later Col.), 7, 8, 42, 47, 90, 97, 227
Hmong tribes, 152
Ho Chi Minh, 30, 31, 135
Ho Chi Minh Trail, xv, 4, 22, 28, 37, 85, 136
“How to Fight the Americans” (Phuong), 29
Huey. See Bell UH-1 Iroquois (Huey)
Hussein, Saddam, xviii–xix, 195
Ia Drang Scholarship Fund, 229–30
Ia Drang Valley, battles of, xv–xvi, 7–13
1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), 11
5th Cavalry, 1st Battalion, 42, 113
5th Cavalry, 2nd Battalion, 11, 206
7th Cavalry, 1st Battalion, Alpha (A) Company, 8, 38, 41–42
7th Cavalry, 1st Battalion, Charlie (C) Company, 78, 96, 105–6, 172–73
7th Cavalry, 2nd Battalion, 11–13, 39, 42, 122, 206
7th Cavalry, 2nd Battalion, Alpha (A) Company, 63, 64, 113, 118
7th Cavalry, 2nd Battalion, Bravo (B) Company, 77, 90–92, 205–7
7th Cavalry, 2nd Battalion, Charlie (C) Company, 86, 113, 124, 125
ABC television documentary, 5, 22, 41–42, 63, 95–96, 115, 155, 228
air support, fighter-bombers, U.S., 9, 11, 36
An’s command post, 38, 39
B-52 bombers sent to saturate Chu Pong Massif, 11, 36
as bloodiest battle in Vietnam War, xvi
casualties, American, xv, xvi, 3, 9, 12, 17, 90, 91, 101–2, 106, 108–9, 115, 116, 123, 124, 172–73, 184, 200, 205, 206
casualties, North Vietnamese, xv–xvii, 3, 19, 98, 184, 205, 206
commander, North Vietnam (An), 4, 11, 21, 37, 38–39, 68, 91, 92
commander, North Vietnam (Man), 34–37
commander, U.S. (Moore), 4, 7–13, 19–20, 77–78, 170, 184–85
comparison of opponents, 4
conditions, 89–90, 115
Congressional Medal of Honor and other awards, xvii, 79, 200
draftees in battle, 4, 5, 78
firepower, U.S., 9
as Forest of the Screaming
Souls, xix, 17, 111
Galloway at, xviii, xix, 4, 9–10, 78
Hao’s poem, 126–27
historian Phuong, after-action report, 20, 28–29
Huey’s assigned to operation, 6
Huey transport of U.S. troops, 7, 8, 9, 10, 87, 133
Jack Smith’s account, 116–18
Landing Zone (LZ) Albany, xv, 7, 11, 11–13, 38–39, 63, 64, 113–27, 123, 124, 206–7
Landing Zone (LZ) Columbus, 11
Landing Zone (LZ) X-Ray, xv, 3, 4, 6–7, 10, 11, 12, 19, 29, 36, 38, 39, 50–51, 53, 77, 85–86, 88–99, 97, 101–11, 114, 121, 122, 124, 133–34, 170, 171, 172–73, 205–6, 212, 224
Landing Zone (LZ) Yankee, 88
location, 4, 5
“Lost Platoon,” 90–92, 97
monument planned, 149
Moore and Galloway’s return to (1993), xvii, 1–4, 17, 22, 41–69
Moore’s command post, 8, 95, 107
Moore’s orders, 5
napalm drop, 107, 120
night on battlefield (1993), 99, 101–11
non-commissioned officers, U.S., 5, 6
officers, North Vietnamese, 53
Plumley in, 6, 7, 77–78, 88, 95
psychological effects on survivors, xix–xx, 15, 50–51, 94–95, 110, 115, 116–18, 155, 201
recovery of bodies (1966), 12, 124
scouting of, U.S., 6
Sgt. Eade’s account, 118–21
song about, 67
tactics and strategy, North
Vietnamese, 35–37
troop strength, 4, 5, 6, 184–85
veteran reunions, 80–81, 116, 199–201
victory claimed, North Vietnamese, 36–37
Imploding Man, The: Back Home from Vietnam (Gwin), 64
improvised explosive devices (IED), xix
Indochina War, 34, 44, 55, 69
ambush at Mang Yang Pass, 67–68, 137
ambush of Group Mobile 100, Chu Dreh Pass, 147–48
American financing of, 45, 130–31
burial of soldiers, 68
Dien Bien Phu (see
Dien Bien Phu)
failure of French command to understand the enemy, 137
fort near Plei Me Camp, 6
French forts, 61
Giap’s analysis, 189
last engagement, 147–48
lessons of French to American leadership, 22, 26, 31, 45, 67–68, 130, 131
Moore’s study of, 45, 129–30
Iraq War, xviii–xix
casualties, American, 195
cost of, 194
as failure of leadership, xx, 191–92
getting out of, 192
as mistake, 193–97
risk caused by, 194
Jakarta, Indonesia, 59
Johns, Barbara Geoghegan, 200
Johnson, Lyndon, 32, 200
Johnson, Wilbert, 119
kairos, 211
Kennedy, Col. Glen, 200
Khmer Rouge, 2, 68, 97, 104
Kinnard, Maj. Gen. Harry W. O., 123
Kipling, Rudyard, 27–28
Knowles, Brig. Gen. Richard, 123
Korea
Moore in (1969) and situation with 7th Infantry, 173–78
postwar occupation, 79, 173–78
racial tensions and drug use, U.S. military, 174–78
Sukchon, 76
Tongduchon, 174–78
Korean War, 131–32
casualties, 190, 192
as failure of diplomacy, 192
French in, 67
Moore in, 69, 74, 131–32, 133, 165, 192, 217
Old Baldy, 192
Plumley in, 74, 75, 76
Pork Chop Hill, 139, 192
trench warfare, 131–32, 138
U.S. weapons captured by Chinese, 45
Larsen, Lt. Gen. Stanley “Swede,” 123–24
Lawrence, Lt. Jim, 67
leadership, 157–85, 189. See also war
choosing a commander in chief, 196–97
complacency and inattention, danger of, 172
constantly training and improving, 182–83