We Were Soldiers Once and Young. The Battle at Ia Drang, Vietnam - A Book Review

_{Photo of Combat operations at Ia Drang Valley, Vietnam, November 1965. Source:  US Army | Wikimedia Commons}

On November 14, 1965, 450 troops set down in Landing Zone X-Ray. Their objective: Find the enemy, and destroy them. What these troops didn't know was that there were 2,000 North Vietnamese waiting for them.

Unfortunately, 79 American troops were killed in action and 121 were wounded. Luckily, no Americans were missing in action.

The battles at Ia Drang Valley have gone down in the history books as the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War. This section of We Were Soldiers Once relates what happened to the survivors.

Told in their own words, the survivors, journalists and military figures give their stories in touching detail. Families of those killed in action tell what it was like to receive the news by telegram, and how their lives were changed in an instant. Military figures - both American and Vietnamese, relate the lessons they learned because of this battle. And the survivors? They tell wrenching stories of their experiences during the bloody battles, and how those events affect them today.

At the end of the book is the appendix, but it's not the usual bibliography or index that you'll find in most books. Instead, this is a listing of the survivors, and what they were doing at the time the book was published. It brings the story full circle, as you learned what they were doing before and during the war, and now you learn what happened to them afterwards.

I have read many books about the Vietnam War, and those who fought in it. We Were Soldiers Once...And Young is one of the best. Unlike many Vietnam War books, it tells the story from both the American and Vietnamese viewpoints.

This is a tragic book, and parts may shake your inner core and make you uncomfortable. Yet, that is what makes We Were Soldiers Once.. a gripping tale. It is real, and thought-provoking... and will make you proud to be an American!