Battle of Ia Drang - Intense combat footage

[2495]

"I cannot promise you that I will bring you all home alive, but this I swear: I will be the first one to set foot on the field, and the last to step off, and I will leave no man behind. Dead or alive, we all come home together".

Lt-Gen. Harold Gregory Moore Jr.

http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/NENXQSjvNwY

The footage really speaks for itself - a bloody, hard fought battle over two long days and nights, and the first major contact between US and NVA ground forces. reason for posting is that all too often, wars such as Korea and Vietnam go forgotten by all but those who served in them at the time or their loved ones.

[FlintHillBilly]

ThaNKS. Great video. This is probably the most interesting and most awesome battle in Vietnam. Anything related to this battle, in my opinion, is truly inspiring and is a great read. Good thing we had men like Harold Moore and brave soldiers in this battle.

[commanding]

Hal Moore was the commanding general of Fort Ord when I was in basic there. Never saw the guy there of course...:)

[FlintHillBilly]

Hal Moore was the commanding general of Fort Ord when I was in basic there. Never saw the guy there of course...:)

Dang thats too bad! He is one person i wish i could meet. I have a book of his laying around somewhere i think. I should probably read it!

[Zoomie]

Hal Moore was the commanding general of Fort Ord when I was in basic there. Never saw the guy there of course...:)
I've been fortunate enough to have met him once, when I was attending a memorial service for a fallen Marine in the battle for Fallujah, and he just so happened to be there speaking on behalf of the family. He was a quiet, low key guy, but he immediately commanded your respect from the way he taked and was humble about his role in the Battle of Ia Drang.

[2495]

ThaNKS. Great video. This is probably the most interesting and most awesome battle in Vietnam. Anything related to this battle, in my opinion, is truly inspiring and is a great read. Good thing we had men like Harold Moore and brave soldiers in this battle.

Had it not been for the almost super human effort of the pilots combined with the sheer dogged determination of the troops on the ground, it could of turned into a massacre. Outnumbered 7-1, the US Troops went down into the history books with those odds stacked against them.

To a man, balls of steel 2 feet wide.


Hal Moore was the commanding general of Fort Ord when I was in basic there. Never saw the guy there of course...:)

hahaha, to of been in his office would of meant one of two things - the biggest brown nose on camp, or in the deepest sh1t imaginable. Glad to hear it was neither.

[commanding]

I've been fortunate enough to have met him once, when I was attending a memorial service for a fallen Marine in the battle for Fallujah, and he just so happened to be there speaking on behalf of the family. He was a quiet, low key guy, but he immediately commanded your respect from the way he taked and was humble about his role in the Battle of Ia Drang.

he certainly appeared to be low key and humble in his interviews on television's "60 minutes" a few years ago.

[2495]

National Geographic did an amazing piece on the whole battle. A must see in my opinion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/iLyBazkpUFQ

[commanding]

http://i36.tinypic.com/2u8jsl2.jpg
pic and blurb on General Moore from the fort Ord basic training cycle book from 1971

[2495]

^^ My God! He was at Hill 255 as well? .... that is just some thing I cannot get my head around. That was a viscious fight over many many months and at one point involved a sustained, 8000 round Chinese artillery round pounding.

Balls of steel.

[Givati575]

i see in some of the footage the huey's door gunners' m60 is held up by a bungie cord?

[2495]

i see in some of the footage the huey's door gunners' m60 is held up by a bungie cord?

http://www.dtroop.com/gunnerweapons.htm

Yes indeed. Allowed massive arcs of fire and was used on early 'C' model Huey's.
The dedicated craft had fixed mounts.

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/9484/m60bungee.jpg

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/3128/uh1m60d.jpg

[Givati575]

Looks a bit.... unsafe no?

[James]

Looks a bit.... unsafe no?

I'm fairly certain that the gunner kept his hands on the gun.

[Elbs]

There is a great picture from the early stages of the war that shows a gunner completely out in the airstream, blasting away and attached to the Huey by a strap or two.

Big cojones on those fellas

[goat89]

I'm fairly certain that the gunner kept his hands on the gun.
Still, it would have been god damn scary... ><
You ever rode in one James?
When I was a boy, we had an old yank come in to talk to us about God. You know, one of them special guests talk? Bear in mind, I was bought up in a Methodist school for 10 years. He talked to us about life and death and brotherhood. It was only at the last part that he flew Hueys in Vietnam. My jaw dropped. Thinking back, I wonder what he saw in Vietnam. Something that I will never understand and would best not try to.

[khalifah]

Big cojones on those fellas
QFT

that footage was haunting, i cant think of a better word for it. To fight and live through that is simply amazing...

[I can't think of a name]

Ia Drang beats the notion that many have that Vietnam was some sort of insurgency.

Even as early in the war as 1965 the US was fighting a regular army that was in RVN in large numbers.

Also Rick Rescora was a Platoon Leader at Ia Drang. He is the soldier on the cover of Hal Moores book. Rescora was head of security for Morgan Stanley in the world trade center. He died on 911.

I also think Project Delta was in the area and something happened that caused animosity between Hal More and Beckwith.

[Tapper]

Whats that big blast in 5.45? Daisy Cutter? Looked like small A bomb.

[Givati575]

I'm fairly certain that the gunner kept his hands on the gun.

that's why the word precaution was invented

[2495]

Whats that big blast in 5.45? Daisy Cutter? Looked like small A bomb.

Nah thats 'just' a 1000 lb'er detonating over water and in a humid atmospheric condition.

Some of the Operation Linebacker footage shows the same vapour shock wave.

[2495]

http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/dIhGYu5Uc08

B-52 doing the wild thing over Vietnam. Those shockwaves are so visible because of the heat, humidity and water vapour in the air.

[Warden]

Dang thats too bad! He is one person i wish i could meet. I have a book of his laying around somewhere i think. I should probably read it!

Which one? We Where Soldiers Once..and Young, or We Are Soldiers Still

Both great reads.

[Walker-69]

I suppose that the movie "We were soldiers", starring Mel Gibson, was based on these events? I like Mel Gibson as an actor but he is not 100% believable as an Army Grunt.

[California Joe]

I can tell you're an observant guy. I bet your friends all flock to you for your insight.

[Rugal09]

Fantastic footage. Too many people have all but forgotten the hard fought battles and sacrifices made during the Vietnam war.

I honestly think that the tactics used in Vietnam would be better suited for the conflict in Afghanistan (using extensive air cavalry coupled with close support aircraft- fixed wing or prop).The Taliban do not have any extensive air defense network and travelling by air would reduce IED casualties.

Just my 0.02.

[Martial]

Rick Rescorla was in that fight as well. Better known as "the man who predicted 9/11" and who is credited with saving a lot of lives before he perished.on 9/11/2001.