Hal Moore received the Distinguished Service Cross for the Ia Drang battle. He fought for years to get Bruce Crandall and Ed Freeman the Medal of Honor for their constant resupply and evacuation of wounded, under fire, throughout the battle. They both finally received it the Medal of Honor.
the medal of honor is the highest honor any soldier can receive ......i salute the vets of past wars and nam the vets of nam went through hell pure hell a hell no american can understand.......but i understand that hell ....and im not a vet.
@@tomhirons7475 the movie actually makes a point to show that the north vietnamese were not just monsters and that they too suffered great losses and fought with strategy and tactics showing how the Vietnamese fought off the french before fighting the americans. Even today veterans from both sides of this conflict meet and talk in vietnam. Of all the vietnam war movies this is one of the few that tried to show the conflict partly from their perspective through the eyes of the Vietnamese general and the soldier who died charging Hal moore (mel gibson) in a deleted scene from the movie it shows Hal Moore having the diary of that Vietnamese soldier returned to loved his loved ones.
@@Wilderwolfman Not to take this any further, but the POWs at Hoa Lo and the approximately 1+ million statistically proven Vietnamese, Laotian, and Cambodians killed by the regime after the war would definitely see them as monsters. Yes, the South was corrupt, but Communism does mass murder like Joe Biden does gaffes- constantly to the point of habitual indifference.
What makes Hal Moore an amazing combat leader was that he kept true to what he vowed. He was the first to set foot on the battlefield, the last to step off. And he left none of his fallen soldiers behind. He was what every leader should aspire to.
I was stationed at Ft Benning in 2001 when they filmed this. Two things I remember are the car haulers with 2 dozen pristine 1960s cars and meeting Mel Gibson. He came out to the Malone ranges to fire some weapons but it had been raining all day and the prone firing positions had about 2 inches of muddy water on them. Mr Gibson arrives in a grey suit and proceeded to dive into the puddle to grab the M240B machine gun we had set up for him to fire with a huge smile on his face.
Funny, I live on base, with my parents from 1960 - 1964 on Eames Ave. I still have pictures of Victor Morrow, starring role in the 1960s ABC television series Combat, while he was filming on base.
The "Leave no man behind," thing isn't just about retrieving bodies, it's also about not abandoning anyone until you're certain that there's nothing left to do for them. If there's even a small chance that they're still alive and you could potentially help them, you always keep trying as long as it's still possible to keep trying.
And a soldier's family doesn't want his remains left on some foreign battlefield as though his body meant nothing. They want to give their loved one a proper burial at home.
The haunting air at the end is Sgt Mackenzie. Dedicated to a soldier bayonated to death defending a fallen comrade. The epitome of not leaving anyone behind 🏴🏴🏴
The 7th Cavalry was General Custer's unit. This was the unit that was wiped out at the battle of Little Bighorn. History could have easily repeated itself in the Ia drang Valley were it not for the unimaginable courage and determination of those men to fight for each other. I served in the 1st Cavalry Division during the first Gulf War. We went on several combat missions with elements of the 7th Cav(Gary Owen). Nothing we experienced was anywhere near the ferocity and duration of what the brave men of the Vietnam War dealt with. They were not treated as they should have been when they came home but I am here to say that they were and are some of the bravest who ever lived.
Shortly before my retirement, I had the opportunity to meet with Lt. Col Crandall and Joe Galloway. They were both incredible individuals. As a 1st Cav veteran myself, I was thrilled to speak with them.
The Napalm/Broken arrow scene still seems as horrific as it did in the cinema in 2002... Excerpt from Joe Galloway’s book, “A Reporter’s Journal From Hell”: SPC Jimmy Nakayama was 21 years old from Rigby, Idaho. His wife, Trudie, had given birth to their first child, a daughter named Nikki, on November 7. Jimmy died in an Army hospital two days later, on November 17.
They interview the photographer that put Nakayama on the helicopter in the documentary Vietnam in HD and he talks about that scene in specific where the skin on his ankles just peels off.
Moore's wife actually didn't assume responsibility of the telegrams as depicted in this film. In fact, what she did instead was she rode with the taxi drivers and went with them to meet with wives and families. She, along with the taxi drivers grieved and mourned with them. Her actions got noticed by the Army and they actually established more teams and officers to handle notifications of fallen soldiers to their families or closest relatives.
But it is a fair change if it makes the movie more engaging. Would I have preferred the true events here? yes please I feel THAT would have been even more impactful, cabdriver maybe breaking down, not wanting to do any more of the work, Moore's wife consoling him and giving with him, etc. Or just went with him without the drama added. It still needs to make an engaging movie.
This is an amazing movie and true story as told in the book coauthored by General Moore and Joe Galaway. The movie only tells half the story of the book though. There was an additional two days of battle after this known as LZ Albany. One of the men who fought in this battle lost his life saving almost every employee of the company he worked for in the south tower of the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11th 2001.
I saw Joe Galaway telling the story of of that young man he carried that was hit by the napalm. It was just a couple of years before he died. It was notable for it being exactly like it happened in the movie, but the part that really affected me was all those decades later, as he recounted the event, he was still rubbing his hands as if he was trying to wipe them clean.
Some of this movie was shot at Fort Benning, my home. The Sergeant Major loved one block away from my work. Sam Elliot, who played the Sergeant Major, called every week till he passed. Sam even came to the memorial service at Benning to pay his respects. I served 8 years at Benning and have been in the reserves there for another 8 and still serving. I love this movie and the people who fought in this “impossible” battle.
Im sure you know General Moore (Lt general) lived in Auburn for ~30+yrs until he passed in 2017...there were services in Auburn and of course at Ft Benning...an Amazing Man
Read the book “We Were Soldiers Once…and Young.” Incredible read. And the reason they were cutting that soldiers face was because he was hit with White Phosphorus, a chemical that should be used to destroy artillery by melting the metal. It can still burn even under water and the only way to save a victim of “Willie Pete” as its nickname, is to cut out the pieces out. And with the press, the Vietnam War was the first war that the press had incredible access. There is a saying, “Vietnam wasn’t lost on the battlefield or the jungles, but on the television at home.” And also “the politicians lost the war, not the soldiers”.
It's like a chemical, self-burning substance sort of related to Napalm as well in function if not content. Real nasty stuff, also highly illegal to use against human targets in war by International Law.
I met Hal Moore and his beautiful wife while shooting this movie. They were a beautiful couple and how much they loved each other was obvious. it was so nice to see!
The brilliance of this movie is in not just telling the story from the side of the American soldiers, but also of the toll it took on the their wives - as well as the view from the 'enemies' vantage point. Gives a lot more emotion to a tragic battle.
that is called the ''home front'' since the word has been used by some authors to refer to the events and life inside the country that is fighting, in several wars. In the case of the americans inside the US the Vietnam war probably was seen as a tragic war in asia, very distant in space but close in feelings. In the case of the Vietnamise, for both south and north probably the first line and the homefront were almost together since the whole country as a mess for decades. First a 10-year war with France, and then another 20 year war with the coalition led by US. And that was not even the end.
As a military member myself this always hit me. The part where the daughter is talking to Mel Gibson before he leave it felt like my daughter talking to me
The scene when he leaves the house and walks down the street reminds me of leaving for basic. The stakes weren't as high for me at that point, but that incredible alone feeling and the sense that you're leaving your entire world/life behind still hits me in the gut almost 50 years alter.
I was a single mother when I went to Iraq. So, having to explain to my son (8 )and daughter(4) the reasons I was leaving them was extremely hard. My sister who was my family care plan provider said he would cry every time he saw anything on the news about a soldier dying in the Iraq war.
A combat deployment nowadays is numbing in multiple parts. You leave home for the pre-deployment training, then from there to the forward staging area on a base in another country, then to the combat zone, then to whatever base you're assigned to. And each move takes place in that cold, pre-dawn moment that just makes your whole body shake
@@MisterW0lfe is that how it is now cause in 2006 when I went we didn't do any of that hell right after I got to my first duty station we were shipped out less than a month later.
"What is absurd and monstrous about war is that men who have no personal quarrel should be trained to murder one another in cold blood." - Aldous Huxley
Americans dont leave our dead on the Battlefield. We just dont, It goes again our creed. US Army Vet here. This is the full soldier's creed. I am an American Soldier. I am a warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values. I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade. I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself. I am an expert and I am a professional. I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat. I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life. I am an American Soldier.
There are some cases when we couldn’t retrieve our dead, but not one case that suggest we didn’t at least try. No matter how long it takes, those guys will one day come home.
And whenever a chance to recover our dead occurs our leaders in the military always jump at the chance from what I'm told bringing long lost brothers home builds morale like nothing else
I heard u say you wouldn’t want your brothers to collect your body, the part of the reason why they can go into that is because they know that their brothers will take them home, bring them back to the family, dead or alive. I love these people I was a combat medic in the army I never saw Combat, my wife is a disabled US Army veteran who died of her injuries and her flag does a folder that her funeral sits on my wall of my house. These people are amazing to me, and I am so grateful to them.
Theres a tribute for the 25 year anniversary, if they can't watch the movie this hits as hard, not even my country but last time I was proud to wear the uniform
I can't watch Blackhawk Down... the rage becomes too intense. The only question after that is whether I'd rather nuke Mogadishu or the Clinton administration.
Ellie water doesn't help with fires caused by napalm. Napalm contains an oxidizing agent, making it more difficult to put out once ignited, as well as white phosphorus. I actually know a man who was a door gunner on helicopters in Vietnam. He's the most decorated soldier I know. He's missing 4 medals that the US gave out until the end of his time in the US Army.
@@alaneskew2664 we actually can make greek fire, we can get the effect from several methods, what we dont know is which of those methods the byzantines used
This is a very true story...the real Hal Moore was on set with Mel the whole time. He showed how to stand , talk, move.... The enemy commander when he was allowed to fly to u. S. Looked up Hal and they were best friends rest of lives...
Ellie has such a tremendous, loving heart. The downside is it can cause alot of pain so to anyone close to her that may read this, be sure to give her lots of hugs, love and support 'cause she will need it all through her life.
"I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade." -Warrior Ethos, US Army. It's legitimate doctrine.
@@tomhirons7475 So you’re saying we’ve never tried to get them back? Keep spitting, because that’s all people see, worthless spit. Funny how all those “abandoned” bodies then get buried in American soil.
"If the choppers stop coming, we all get slaughtered", this is the truest statement ever made about combat in Vietnam. As good as our armed forces were many battles that were won would not have been won if it were not for the helicopter. Those Huey's enabled us to move massive amounts of troops to a landing zone, provide close air support, re-supply, evacuate the wounded and dead and bring in reinforcements. Thank god for those heroic chopper pilots who flew into hell for us.
My Dad served in Vietnam. He was awarded The Bronze Star Medal for Valor for saving two Americans who were injured. He carried them out one by one. He also was awarded two Purple Hearts for the injuries he suffered in battle. He told me that he dealt with hand to hand combat against the North Vietnamese on several occasions and his only option was to kill or be killed. He lived a great life afterwards and unfortunately passed away in 2014 due to Alzheimer’s, which our family suspects was brain damage due to Agent Orange, constant concussions and hand to hand combat. ❤️❤️❤️
Hal Moore was not only an amazing leader but a remarkable human...Highest of integrity, honor, humility, compassion, courage, intellect, faith, etc...He retired and lived in the small college town where I graduated years ago, Auburn, AL where Auburn University is located....which ironically, is also where Eugene Sledge of the mini-series, THE PACIFIC, attended and lived. General Moore was a TRUE AMERICAN HERO...with the term Hero not being diluted as it is so often these days. He passed away in 2017. RIP Sir...
First time I saw this movie was with my grandfather, who was the engineer company commander for Hal Moore's battalion during the Ira Drang battle. Jimmy Nakayama was one of his soldiers. I've seen my grandfather cry twice in his life. Second was when my grandmother died. The first was when my grandfather saw Jimmy burn.
I had a hard time watching this . I am a combat veteran ( Vietnam 1965/1966 ) You can have no idea of the good you have just done. thank you both for this and God bless you both
What I, as a 26-year veteran, found was one of the best part of the movie was the flashbacks to the families at home and the ways they tried to deal with husbands and lovers fighting to survive
It is crazy when you look at how many big name actors show up in this for a second. Chris Klein, Marc Blucas, Clark Gregg, Jon Hamm, Desmond Harrington, Dylan Walsh etc. It's not an easy movie to watch since it's one long battle scene. Even Saving Private Ryan had breaks in the action.
This is the best Vietnam War movie. In that same battle, a UK immigrant, recently made lieutenant, survived, and later was chief of security for the Twin Towers and died on 9/11. We should honor all men and women who fight, friend or foe. I have known some US veterans, the survivors being scarred for life, including my older brother and older cousin, who were in-county in Vietnam.
He did constant fire drills predicted the first and second attacks on the tower. Told the company they should move. They didn't believe him but due to his drills they got all his people out except for one person who was handicap..he is also the person on the cover of the book
Joe Galloway the reporter wrote a book which was the basis of this movie. Gen Hal Moore was present during filming along with one of the widow's. The mortar man that was hit by the napalm strike sadly died at the hospital. Joe Galloway notes that he is his nightmare PTSD from his time in Vietnam. This is the 1st movie that I can recall addressing the cost not only on the battlefield but also at home. I had a similar experience returning home from Afghanistan while wearing my uniform in the airport. A mother with a child pulled them closer as I went bye. I don't know why that reaction but it happened.
@@iceman4311 nice to find someone who served in the forgotten wars. Operations Joint Endeavor, Forge, Guard, and Guardian myself. I've got my SFOR and KFOR badges somewhere in storage. Let alone the iterations of Afghanistan and Iraq. Take care!
Another good war movie is Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan (Released 2019), Its about part of Australia and New Zealand's involvement in the Vietnam war
I got to see this before it officially came out in theaters I went with a bunch of Vietnam veterans because my Dad fought in Vietnam with the Marines and it was so emotional... they were all having a very difficult time watching it. During some of the explosions they would cover their face like they were expecting it to be very hot, My dad said at 1 point during the movie "when in doubt use your helmet" which meant he beat a man to death with his helmet during the war he ran out of ammo, the war changed my Dad in a lot of ways. a lot of the veterans in there were hugging after the movie and I was sobbing, I had to leave the theatre for a moment... but my dad said he was scared every second he was in Vietnam... he was 18 years old and he said he was terrified the whole time. He was my hero. He died from old war injuries 4 years ago.
Every family deserves to have their loved one back home to say good bye as they see fit. And for the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines can send their brother/sister home to their family and say their good byes in their own way. I know that when I had to send off a member of my unit home... it still haunts me to this day. They are brothers by fire. No deeper love have I ever really felt than that.
Just a few notes about the movie and a couple of the scenes .. this is one of the most realistic war movies.. So much so that it took my dad a very long time to watch it all the way through .. the first time he tried to watch it, he had to turn it off... He had flashbacks for two weeks after ... This movie breaks my heart for him and for every other soldier and what they went through... It was 1998 or 1999 before my dad got his first "welcome home" ... I'll never forget it... First time I'd ever seen my dad cry. When he came home in 1970, he was spat on and called horrible names... In the book a lot of the interviewed soldiers commented on just how bloody the battle was. They were talking about the new concept of HALO (High Altitude, Low Opening) parachutes that are still used today. The movie doesn't show it, but in the book, when he gives up his seat because the other guy was hurt worse... that helicopter was so overloaded that they almost didn't make it out. the rotor blades were cutting tree tops trying to climb out of the landing zone. That's a WP - white phosphorus or "willy pete" - grenade. It causes a chemical reaction... my dad saw it over there and said the only way to stop the reaction and the burning was to cut it out of the skin. Napalm is essentially jellied gasoline, water would only make it spread more. Jimmy Nakayama died two days after... Those are all actually photographs from the battle that Joe Galloway took. In the book they tell that a lot of those men were awake for 81 hours or more by the end of the battle. It isn't how the story actually ended... but when asked about if this scene was accurate, Hal Moore himself said "no... it's how it should have ended" The Air Force dropped over 200 tons of bombs all along that area after the battle from the B-52 bombers. Throughout this movie, Mel Gibson got the little details in... "three strikes and you're not out" ... "there's always something more you can do" ... "there's nothing wrong except there's nothing wrong" ... these are all quotes that Hal Moore himself taught in leadership training. On another note... one of the Lieutenants, Rick Rescorla, survived this battle and later became the lead security officer at the World Trade Center... he is credited with saving 2700 lives before the second tower collapsed. He was fighting terminal cancer and died in the collapse... His last known words were a phone call to his wife: “Stop crying. I have to get these people out safely. If something should happen to me, I want you to know I've never been happier. You made my life.” To really appreciate this movie, you have got to either read the book or listen to the audio book "We Were Soldiers Once... and Young" by Joe Galloway, the reporter that flew in during the battle.
I held through the majority of the movie, but at the end when his voice trembles and he talked about losing his men, I broke up. Also, when the names of the men were shown I couldn't help but cry a little. God bless those men who were there in Vietnam. "If you don't get blown up, you get to go home in a body bag!"- my commanding officer.
The most chilling order - "Fix Bayonets". At West Point, in the early 70s, we were taught that was the last order you may ever give or get. A fixed bayonet is a very last ditch weapon. It meant that the S... was about to hit the fan and you were going to get up close and personal with a powerful opponent and only one of you was going to be alive afterwards. Chilling.
This is what Mel Gibson movies do to you. Tear on your heart.... Also love Ellie for her emotions. Usually a super happy energetic upbeat person, but if you can swing that high in happyness, it also means you must swing same level into sadness. Only if you know sadness you can feel happiness :) And Ellie is so interesting to watch watching movies, because she picks up on the emotions instantly. Poor guy has to hold back and being a man. I know bro, we gotta watch these movies alone in order to feel them ;)
My favorite scenes of this movie- seeing Colonel Moore being the first to step on to the battlefield and being the last to step off, just like he promised he would.
Lieutenant General Harold Gregory "Hal" Moore jr. is died on 10 february 2017, 94 y.o. on 1992 with his friend Joseph Galloway (the photo-journalist also in this movie) they wrote "WE WERE SOLDIERS... AND YOUNG" which this movie is based on. The actor Barry Pepper (Joseph Galloway in this movie) was also Private Jackson in Saving Private Ryan and also Dean Stenton in The Green Mile.
Good adaptation of a fascinating book, that tells the stories of two engagements with very different leadership decisions. The real Hal Moore was not at all as soppy as Gibson's portrayal...real footage of him is the very definition of a 'gung ho patriot'...he was an incredible soldier and leader of men....full of praise and confidence in the American fighting man.
The grenade that burned the flesh of the soldiers was an incendiary grenade, it’s designed to keep burning phosphorus on any surface it lands on. The only way to stop damage is to cut the fragments out with a knife. The model grenade is - TH3 Incendiary Grenade AM-M14. This was used in the Vietnam war
Out of all the death scenes, Jimmy is by far the most heartbreaking death scene since he only thought of his wife and child even as he was in extreme pain. The only scene that made me cry so hard that I couldn’t even hold it in 😭😭😭
This was a tuff one. True, horrible, but True. Robert E. Lee put it best; "To be a Good Solder one must Love the army. To be a Good Commander, one must be willing to order the Death of what he Loves". My Dad went to Nam three years after this battle and joined this same unit working out of Saigon. He was there for the pull out. He made it home but he had Asian Orange syndrome and PTSD. He was a gentle man who loved his country but went to war for Me as I was born with medical issues so to cover the bills and give me a fighting chance he joined up as a Helicopter Flight Tech and Door Gunner. He was not the same man coming home and was treated horribly by civilians who knew Nothing of the war, for doing what he Had to. Despite this, He Never betrayed his love of Country or the men he served with by blaming any one but the Chines for the entire mess. If your do not have an antagonist, We do not need to fight. Any way, Thank you for sharing this. If you want History and War that is a bit less Heart wrenching might I recommend, "George Washington" 1984 mini series. It was well made and did a good job covering the American Revaluation from all points of view from When Washington was fighting With the British against the French, to the end of the war.
For those that don't know what "Napalm" is, it's jellied gasoline. You mix gasoline/diesel fuel, preferably gas and mix with a binder and a chemical agent that turns it into a gooey, slimey and sticky mix. Napalm has the consistency of snot and because of the chemicals it burns at 3000 degrees and sticks to everything
49:04 the audible happiness from both of you seeing his wife open the door to his face was awesome. 🙂 Larry was right, they didn’t have bullet proof vests in Vietnam, they had flack jackets which were vests that were suppose to help but did jsut about nothing. We were fighting a determined enemy that had seemingly endless supply of man power in tens of thousands of miles of tunnels they’d built over the past 100+ years for conflicts and even residency of some type or another, fighting in constant jungle they knew like the back of their hands . Our soldiers so often never saw the enemy as they’d dig bunkers and even rabbit holes they’d cover with slits to shoot from ,..everywhere! It was a war we were destined to lose and I think it’s part of what finally got our troops out of Afghanistan, recently, 20 years of war there and within months of our withdrawal it’s already heading right back to where it was. So sad these wars take so many lives on both sides. 💔
Something to add regarding the guy cutting his friends face after that grenade: That was a White Phosphorous grenade, which burns on contact with the air and due to the powdery nature of the chemical has a nasty tendency of penetrating into the pores of skin and (in limited capacity) through clothing. The only way to limit its damage and lethality is to smother the chemical (water, damp cloth, etc.) and/or to separate it from the victim. I believe, as a temporary solution, the guy cutting his buddy's face was attempting the latter. White Phosphorus-based weapons have an increased lethality due to toxic build-up of the chemical in the body which can cause Heart, Liver and Kidney damage, as well as multiple organ failure.
The United States military won every major engagement of the Vietnam war. The "disastrous" Tet offensive cost us 15,000 men. According to their own estimates... it cost the Vietcong 300,000 men, virtually wiping them out and eliminating them as a serious factor in the rest of the war. From then on, the US primarily fought North Vietnamese (NVA) regulars supplied and trained by Soviets and Chinese. When the U.S. pulled out after the Paris Peace Accords, we promised we would continue to supply the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). We further promised that if the North invaded, we would return to defend our allies. The communist sympathetic Congress of the US almost immediately cut funding for ARVN. Supplies got to the point that ARVN soldiers were issued 20 rounds of ammunition and two hand grenades. North Vietnam invaded with four armored corps... that's more men than the Allies used for the Normandy invasion of WWII. President Ford begged the communist-sympathetic Congress to allow us to return as we'd promised, and rescue our allies who had trusted us. The communist-sympathetic Congress said no. ARVN held on as long as they could, out-fighting the NVA, but they ran out of supplies and were overwhelmed. Then the north won, and a million people took to the seas on whatever debris they could find, to escape the tender mercies of communist Vietnam. One doctor was not so lucky. In a search of his house, a lieutenant discovered a French-Vietnamese dictionary. He asked the doctor to explain what it was. Subsequently, the doctor and his wife were arrested and sent to a re-education camp. As a kindness, the lieutenant made out a warrant for the arrest of their 3 week old child, on the spot... so that he could accompany his mother to the camp. I blame every Democrat politician in America at the time; I blame every left-wing communist-loving sack of suet who threw dogshit on our returning soldiers at the time. Mostly I blame the lying news media who used their position and influence to give the America they hated a black eye, and aid their communist brethren. But our military won every major engagement. They didn't lose. Our traitorous politicians lost.
Actually we lost alot due to having politicians run the war General were try to do the right thing in alot of places but there was politics in the military too at the time it was about numbers and casualties counts. It wasn't just left wing the right wing had a part in this as well
No man left behind! Period! As someone who has seen combat first hand. Face to face, Hand to hand. Round for round. I will say that this is a true statement as to the spirit of every fighting man I have ever had the honor of serving with. And seeing the emotion and comments from the two of you reactors. I wish everyone everywhere in this world could understand the horrors of war so that we never have to face such things ever again.
Concerning the journalist Joey Galloway, " In 1998, Galloway became the only American civilian to receive the Bronze Star Medal with "V" for heroism during the Vietnam War. It recognizes his heroism on Nov. 15, 1965, during the Battle of Ia Drang, the first major battle by U.S. and North Vietnamese troops in Vietnam."
The Deer Hunter is a much greater movie. Unfortunately it's also extremely long, and I don't envy the person who has to edit down that movie for a reaction video! Especially the first hour! And let's face it: the first hour is a little hard to get through, even for me, and I love that movie. I'm assuming that's why there are no reaction videos for "The Deer Hunter", at least none that I can find. I'll bet half of them turn it off after 45 minutes, figuring nothing's going to happen! That's one movie where I WOULD recommend not going in totally blind, and knowing that you just have to hang on, and it will all make sense by the end. I just rewatched it the other day, coincidentally, and was thinking how Cimino could have shaved probably 20 minutes from the first hour and still have the same effect.
I watched it as a kid(not recommended) and didn’t fully grasp the movie and what it was portraying until I viewed it again as an adult. I cried multiple times in this movie. My Grandpa served in Vietnam and never talked about it. This movie really shows why many who served don’t speak of it. 🙏
Rick Rescorla (who was the radio operator in the movie) was also the man who was responsible for evacuating the twin towers on 9/11. He was a British paratrooper during the Cyprus emergency and a commissioned officer in the US military during the Vietnam war.
He wasn’t the radio operator. He was a platoon leader who was, apparently, written out of the movie. However, by all accounts he was a soldier’s soldier and a man to be admired.
He did constant fire drills predicted the first and second attacks on the tower. Told the company they should move. They didn't believe him but due to his drills they got all his people out except for one person who was handicap..he is also the person on the cover of the book
You can see here on TH-cam veterans of this battle that revisited the battle ground some years back. One of the Vets found a Helmet belonging to one of his comrades. He was very emotional when he found it.
My Daddy told me before he passed away that this was the one film about vietnam that was more accurate to the point that he felt he was back there again. It tore him up and he made me promise to show it to my boys and to never hide war from them.
For me, the most significant image in this film, other than the wives having to deliver the bad news to each other, is the rookie Sgt. Savage. He keeps telling the old Chief, "It's a beautiful day!" to which he responds, "What the hell would you know about that!" And then when he is rescued and brought back to the line, the old Chief says to him, "That's a beautiful day, Sargeant Savage." You have to earn that shit.
So, within reason, this is a pretty accurate portrayal of the battle of Ia Drang, based on the book written by Jo Galloway (the reporter), and General (Lt Col at the time) Hal Moore. As the beginning of the film narration describes, but easy to miss the significance of, most of the fighting that the North Vietnamese Army did was guerrilla warfare. Ambushes, booby traps, surprise attacks, small engagements. The battle of Ia Drang is unique in that it was pretty much the only time that the opposing forces met in significant numbers, in conventional warfare (manoeuvre warfare, flanking attacks, artillery support, mortars etc). It was also the first real test of the new concept of Air Cavalry, using the Huey helicopters to drop troops pretty much directly into the battle. One of the major disadvantages, made worse by the lack of intelligence of the actual numbers of the North Vietnamese, was the short time on the ground before the first engagement and the need for reinforcements. If the flight time is 30 minutes, then from the time of first boots on the ground, 30 minutes back to camp, refuel, load up, and fly back, you're looking at 80 to 90 minutes before additional troops can reinforce the lines and that can be a hell of a long time in a dynamic battle, especially when you're outnumbered. This exposed one of the major weaknesses of this approach. Of note is that one of the Majors (Company Commander) featured in the book is Norman Schwartzkopf, who a few decades later would be General in charge of the Allied forces in the gulf war/liberation of Kuwait in 1991. A lot has changed since the 60's as you might imagine, particularly the NOTICAS (notification of casualties) and how it is handled. It's difficult to understand quite how it was ever allowed to be a telegram delivered by a cab company with no organised Unit personnel, the welfare officer, the Unit padre/vicar/priest and support services. It is appropriate that the Colonel's wife played such a role in helping the other wives, a tradition which continues to this day to those who want it. Some wives/partners are more involved in the military system than others. In summary, a well told story of actual events, that pulls no punches about the reality of war.
Ia Drang battle was the first major battle fought by US ground troops since their arrive in march 1965, leaving aside Opertation Starlite in august. The battle lasted a couple of days according to most sources, and the stage for it came from previous encounters with the VC. As the movie shows, the US forces leaders were looking for the VC and particularly that great battle that involved big masses of enemies and that could be decisive; a logic scenario since US could show their conventional power. Instead the VC did not compromise more forces than the necesary, as would do the rest of the war, except when was almost over about the early 1970s. Since the technological point of view, it is interesting the use by the US of helicopters both as transport and attack (whose pilot's participation is not new, us airmen were involved as early as 1961). However as would soon discover, the first line use of these machines was not adequate as any sniper could do damage; since then the armies of the world would learn the lesson; US exported succesfully the UH-1H model shown in the film and pretty much that is the same in all cases; those countries who risked using it in first line operations, would suffer from sniper fire.
36:53 Napalm is an oil like substance which cannot be put out by water, it will burn on with no hesitation. Depriving it of oxygen would help... Napalm was so efficient and brutal, they banned it in the 90s i think.
Ellie, you have such a tender heart, don't ever change. Larry, get used to it.... she's going to make you cry every time. You're a tougher man than me. My Father did one tour during the Korean war and 2 tours during the Vietnam war. Ellie is right, it's not only hard on the soldiers, but also it is hell on the families that must wait at home. The Vietnam War was not supported by everyone in the U.S., mostly it was a political war and unfortunately many soldiers were not treated well when they returned home.
This movie has sentimental value to the people where I live. The man Mel Gibson is playing (Hal Moore) was the Commanding General of the Army Training Center at Fort Ord here in Monterey. The hourglass patches everyone is wearing in the film is the insignia of the 7th Infantry Regiment that was first activated here in 1917. It's actually the wrong patch for them to be wearing since he was the Lieutenant Colonel of the 7th Cavalry Regiment during Vietnam, not the 7th Infantry Regiment.
Actually that is the 7th Infantry Division patch that Hal was wearing. It's called a combat patch and he wears it because that was the unit he fought in during the Korean War.
In writing the book. Hal Moore and Joe Galloway went to Vietnam and met with Nguyen Huu An. Who was the commander of the North Vietnamese Army that he fought against in the La Drang battle. To get his side and perspective of this story for the book.
When I worked corrections, I worked a man, Curtis Klock, he was there, down to 3 rounds of ammo bayonet out and surrounded! His stories scared the hell out me! One chapter in old video footage showed all the men shave their head in Mohawks! It scared the living hell out of the VC!
This was one of the hardest movies I ever watched. The scene with the guy who got burned up was a real thing that happened and he didn't make it. He died after 3 days in the hospital.
The reporter in this movie was in Ken Burns "Vietnam" documentary. He talks about Jimmy and when he picked him up from the legs all the skin and muscle just fell off to the bone. Jimmy died a few days later, unfortunately.
The first time I watched this movie I HATED it because somebody told me it was a comedy, and I thought it was the unfunniest comedy I had ever seen. Then when it was over they said "Ha ha, I was just kidding--it isn't really a comedy" and when I watched it again, I really liked it.
Hal Moore received the Distinguished Service Cross for the Ia Drang battle. He fought for years to get Bruce Crandall and Ed Freeman the Medal of Honor for their constant resupply and evacuation of wounded, under fire, throughout the battle. They both finally received it the Medal of Honor.
Sgt. Savage was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, too.
Crandall had the best callsign I've ever heard of for an aviator: "Snakeshit."
the medal of honor is the highest honor any soldier can receive ......i salute the vets of past wars and nam the vets of nam went through hell pure hell a hell no american can understand.......but i understand that hell ....and im not a vet.
@@Kingrobledojrmy grandpa was a Green Beret in Vietnam did Marksman training at Fort Knox Kentucky where most of my family is from
@@Dragondeez990 from Kentucky myself dad was a Vietnam vet and grandpa ww2
This one's underrated, never gets talked about as one of the best war movies. It's my personal fave war movie.
Is it really good
At the end, when the Colonel says; I’ll never forgive myself
This is a good one - it will be remembered
Yea this is definitely one of my favorite movies
It definitely ages well too. I may like it even more now than I did when I saw it in the theater.
The soldier who got hit by friendly fire was Pfc Jimmy Nakayama of Rigby, Idaho. He died two days later and became a father the week of his death.
Joe Galloway spent years trying to find his family until the movie came out and they reached out to him.
@@ForgottenHonor0 and i think many Vietnamese had families also eh ???.
@@tomhirons7475 No one said the Vietnamese don’t feel or have not lost people. So nice try bud. No one asked for your “politics”.
@@tomhirons7475 the movie actually makes a point to show that the north vietnamese were not just monsters and that they too suffered great losses and fought with strategy and tactics showing how the Vietnamese fought off the french before fighting the americans.
Even today veterans from both sides of this conflict meet and talk in vietnam.
Of all the vietnam war movies this is one of the few that tried to show the conflict partly from their perspective through the eyes of the Vietnamese general and the soldier who died charging Hal moore (mel gibson) in a deleted scene from the movie it shows Hal Moore having the diary of that Vietnamese soldier returned to loved his loved ones.
@@Wilderwolfman Not to take this any further, but the POWs at Hoa Lo and the approximately 1+ million statistically proven Vietnamese, Laotian, and Cambodians killed by the regime after the war would definitely see them as monsters. Yes, the South was corrupt, but Communism does mass murder like Joe Biden does gaffes- constantly to the point of habitual indifference.
What makes Hal Moore an amazing combat leader was that he kept true to what he vowed. He was the first to set foot on the battlefield, the last to step off. And he left none of his fallen soldiers behind. He was what every leader should aspire to.
I was stationed at Ft Benning in 2001 when they filmed this. Two things I remember are the car haulers with 2 dozen pristine 1960s cars and meeting Mel Gibson. He came out to the Malone ranges to fire some weapons but it had been raining all day and the prone firing positions had about 2 inches of muddy water on them. Mr Gibson arrives in a grey suit and proceeded to dive into the puddle to grab the M240B machine gun we had set up for him to fire with a huge smile on his face.
Funny, I live on base, with my parents from 1960 - 1964 on Eames Ave. I still have pictures of Victor Morrow, starring role in the 1960s ABC television series Combat, while he was filming on base.
The "Leave no man behind," thing isn't just about retrieving bodies, it's also about not abandoning anyone until you're certain that there's nothing left to do for them. If there's even a small chance that they're still alive and you could potentially help them, you always keep trying as long as it's still possible to keep trying.
And a soldier's family doesn't want his remains left on some foreign battlefield as though his body meant nothing. They want to give their loved one a proper burial at home.
All facts
The haunting air at the end is Sgt Mackenzie. Dedicated to a soldier bayonated to death defending a fallen comrade. The epitome of not leaving anyone behind
🏴🏴🏴
Larry: "god dammit Ellie you are going to make me cry before the fighting starts" LOL
Ellie is my favorite...honest emotions
Yeah, that's what I said lol. "Damn you gone make me cry and they haven't even left home yet."
Someone treat that girl for dehydration... she leaked about 2 gallons of water out of her tear ducts !!!
I was so sure Larry was gonna break down on this one.
The 7th Cavalry was General Custer's unit.
This was the unit that was wiped out at the battle of Little Bighorn. History could have easily repeated itself in the Ia drang Valley were it not for the unimaginable courage and determination of those men to fight for each other.
I served in the 1st Cavalry Division during the first Gulf War. We went on several combat missions with elements of the 7th Cav(Gary Owen).
Nothing we experienced was anywhere near the ferocity and duration of what the brave men of the Vietnam War dealt with.
They were not treated as they should have been when they came home but I am here to say that they were and are some of the bravest who ever lived.
Shortly before my retirement, I had the opportunity to meet with Lt. Col Crandall and Joe Galloway. They were both incredible individuals. As a 1st Cav veteran myself, I was thrilled to speak with them.
The Napalm/Broken arrow scene still seems as horrific as it did in the cinema in 2002...
Excerpt from Joe Galloway’s book, “A Reporter’s Journal From Hell”: SPC Jimmy Nakayama was 21 years old from Rigby, Idaho. His wife, Trudie, had given birth to their first child, a daughter named Nikki, on November 7. Jimmy died in an Army hospital two days later, on November 17.
They interview the photographer that put Nakayama on the helicopter in the documentary Vietnam in HD and he talks about that scene in specific where the skin on his ankles just peels off.
@@joshuaortiz2031 Joe Galloway.
"Custer was a Pussy" LOL favorite line from Sam Elliot as Sgt Major Plumley
*Sam Elliott
Mine is 'GENTLEMEN, PREPARE TO DEFEND YOURSELVES!'
Hollywood spin...my recollection of the book is that the men, and Col Moore, were proud to carry on the legacy of Custer and the 7th Cavalry.
@@csw3287 oh shit LOL I had just watched Jurassic Park 3 before LOL ooooops
"you cant take any pictures down there sunny boy"
I knew Ellie was in trouble when she was already crying during the goodbyes.
Moore's wife actually didn't assume responsibility of the telegrams as depicted in this film. In fact, what she did instead was she rode with the taxi drivers and went with them to meet with wives and families. She, along with the taxi drivers grieved and mourned with them. Her actions got noticed by the Army and they actually established more teams and officers to handle notifications of fallen soldiers to their families or closest relatives.
But it is a fair change if it makes the movie more engaging. Would I have preferred the true events here? yes please I feel THAT would have been even more impactful, cabdriver maybe breaking down, not wanting to do any more of the work, Moore's wife consoling him and giving with him, etc. Or just went with him without the drama added.
It still needs to make an engaging movie.
This is an amazing movie and true story as told in the book coauthored by General Moore and Joe Galaway. The movie only tells half the story of the book though. There was an additional two days of battle after this known as LZ Albany. One of the men who fought in this battle lost his life saving almost every employee of the company he worked for in the south tower of the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11th 2001.
Captain Rick Riscorla
A hero to the end
I saw Joe Galaway telling the story of of that young man he carried that was hit by the napalm. It was just a couple of years before he died. It was notable for it being exactly like it happened in the movie, but the part that really affected me was all those decades later, as he recounted the event, he was still rubbing his hands as if he was trying to wipe them clean.
Some of this movie was shot at Fort Benning, my home. The Sergeant Major loved one block away from my work. Sam Elliot, who played the Sergeant Major, called every week till he passed. Sam even came to the memorial service at Benning to pay his respects. I served 8 years at Benning and have been in the reserves there for another 8 and still serving. I love this movie and the people who fought in this “impossible” battle.
Im sure you know General Moore (Lt general) lived in Auburn for ~30+yrs until he passed in 2017...there were services in Auburn and of course at Ft Benning...an Amazing Man
Plumly was a beast.
Read the book “We Were Soldiers Once…and Young.”
Incredible read.
And the reason they were cutting that soldiers face was because he was hit with White Phosphorus, a chemical that should be used to destroy artillery by melting the metal.
It can still burn even under water and the only way to save a victim of “Willie Pete” as its nickname, is to cut out the pieces out.
And with the press, the Vietnam War was the first war that the press had incredible access.
There is a saying, “Vietnam wasn’t lost on the battlefield or the jungles, but on the television at home.”
And also “the politicians lost the war, not the soldiers”.
It's like a chemical, self-burning substance sort of related to Napalm as well in function if not content. Real nasty stuff, also highly illegal to use against human targets in war by International Law.
phosphorous...no way to get the stuff off ya but cut it off..pack it with mud and get help..if ya aint dead.
I met Hal Moore and his beautiful wife while shooting this movie. They were a beautiful couple and how much they loved each other was obvious. it was so nice to see!
The brilliance of this movie is in not just telling the story from the side of the American soldiers, but also of the toll it took on the their wives - as well as the view from the 'enemies' vantage point. Gives a lot more emotion to a tragic battle.
that is called the ''home front'' since the word has been used by some authors to refer to the events and life inside the country that is fighting, in several wars. In the case of the americans inside the US the Vietnam war probably was seen as a tragic war in asia, very distant in space but close in feelings. In the case of the Vietnamise, for both south and north probably the first line and the homefront were almost together since the whole country as a mess for decades. First a 10-year war with France, and then another 20 year war with the coalition led by US. And that was not even the end.
I have always thought that wives and children pay the biggist price.
As a military member myself this always hit me. The part where the daughter is talking to Mel Gibson before he leave it felt like my daughter talking to me
The scene when he leaves the house and walks down the street reminds me of leaving for basic. The stakes weren't as high for me at that point, but that incredible alone feeling and the sense that you're leaving your entire world/life behind still hits me in the gut almost 50 years alter.
@@waterbeauty85 facts
I was a single mother when I went to Iraq. So, having to explain to my son (8 )and daughter(4) the reasons I was leaving them was extremely hard. My sister who was my family care plan provider said he would cry every time he saw anything on the news about a soldier dying in the Iraq war.
A combat deployment nowadays is numbing in multiple parts. You leave home for the pre-deployment training, then from there to the forward staging area on a base in another country, then to the combat zone, then to whatever base you're assigned to. And each move takes place in that cold, pre-dawn moment that just makes your whole body shake
@@MisterW0lfe is that how it is now cause in 2006 when I went we didn't do any of that hell right after I got to my first duty station we were shipped out less than a month later.
"What is absurd and monstrous about war is that men who have no personal quarrel should be trained to murder one another in cold blood." - Aldous Huxley
Ellie you have the most gentle heart I think I've ever seen.
Americans dont leave our dead on the Battlefield. We just dont, It goes again our creed.
US Army Vet here.
This is the full soldier's creed.
I am an American Soldier.
I am a warrior and a member of a team.
I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values.
I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.
I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.
I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.
There are some cases when we couldn’t retrieve our dead, but not one case that suggest we didn’t at least try. No matter how long it takes, those guys will one day come home.
And whenever a chance to recover our dead occurs our leaders in the military always jump at the chance from what I'm told bringing long lost brothers home builds morale like nothing else
I heard u say you wouldn’t want your brothers to collect your body, the part of the reason why they can go into that is because they know that their brothers will take them home, bring them back to the family, dead or alive. I love these people I was a combat medic in the army I never saw Combat, my wife is a disabled US Army veteran who died of her injuries and her flag does a folder that her funeral sits on my wall of my house. These people are amazing to me, and I am so grateful to them.
If you want a similar experience, watch Black Hawk Down
Theres a tribute for the 25 year anniversary, if they can't watch the movie this hits as hard, not even my country but last time I was proud to wear the uniform
Also good. This movie does a really good job of showing what the families also go through (20 year vet here)
I can't watch Blackhawk Down... the rage becomes too intense. The only question after that is whether I'd rather nuke Mogadishu or the Clinton administration.
@@Hiraghm let's nuke half the Clinton's an half Mogadishu
@@Hiraghm So true, man, so true.
Ellie water doesn't help with fires caused by napalm.
Napalm contains an oxidizing agent, making it more difficult to put out once ignited, as well as white phosphorus.
I actually know a man who was a door gunner on helicopters in Vietnam.
He's the most decorated soldier I know. He's missing 4 medals that the US gave out until the end of his time in the US Army.
Yep - science.howstuffworks.com/napalm.htm
Napalm does not contain an oxidizing agent.
It's as close as we have gotten to Greek Fire 🔥
If this is regarding the girls from the grenade grenade released a substance called white phosphorus.
@@alaneskew2664 we actually can make greek fire, we can get the effect from several methods, what we dont know is which of those methods the byzantines used
This is a very true story...the real Hal Moore was on set with Mel the whole time. He showed how to stand , talk, move....
The enemy commander when he was allowed to fly to u. S. Looked up Hal and they were best friends rest of lives...
Ellie has such a tremendous, loving heart. The downside is it can cause alot of pain so to anyone close to her that may read this, be sure to give her lots of hugs, love and support 'cause she will need it all through her life.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the real reporter, Joe Galloway a couple of years ago. It’s been over 50 years and it haunts him to this day.
Hal Moore was a man's man...loved his family, his soldiers, his country...just incredible.
There is an unwritten promise within the US military, never leave a fallen brother behind, they are your brothers and sisters in arms.
"I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade."
-Warrior Ethos, US Army.
It's legitimate doctrine.
@@luciusvorenus3568 funny how they keep finding abandoned bodies in vietnam, ????
@@tomhirons7475 So you’re saying we’ve never tried to get them back? Keep spitting, because that’s all people see, worthless spit.
Funny how all those “abandoned” bodies then get buried in American soil.
@@luciusvorenus3568 I will never fail
Thats nothing exclusive to the US military but any military. Even for the Vietcongs
"If the choppers stop coming, we all get slaughtered", this is the truest statement ever made about combat in Vietnam. As good as our armed forces were many battles that were won would not have been won if it were not for the helicopter. Those Huey's enabled us to move massive amounts of troops to a landing zone, provide close air support, re-supply, evacuate the wounded and dead and bring in reinforcements. Thank god for those heroic chopper pilots who flew into hell for us.
From what I understand, napalm cannot be extinguished easily. It is a gel-like flammable substance that sticks to objects.
The soldier who gets the burning phosphorous cut out of his cheek is actually a Marine. He was a sergeant in Iraq 2003
My Dad served in Vietnam. He was awarded The Bronze Star Medal for Valor for saving two Americans who were injured. He carried them out one by one. He also was awarded two Purple Hearts for the injuries he suffered in battle. He told me that he dealt with hand to hand combat against the North Vietnamese on several occasions and his only option was to kill or be killed. He lived a great life afterwards and unfortunately passed away in 2014 due to Alzheimer’s, which our family suspects was brain damage due to Agent Orange, constant concussions and hand to hand combat. ❤️❤️❤️
Hal Moore was not only an amazing leader but a remarkable human...Highest of integrity, honor, humility, compassion, courage, intellect, faith, etc...He retired and lived in the small college town where I graduated years ago, Auburn, AL where Auburn University is located....which ironically, is also where Eugene Sledge of the mini-series, THE PACIFIC, attended and lived. General Moore was a TRUE AMERICAN HERO...with the term Hero not being diluted as it is so often these days. He passed away in 2017. RIP Sir...
First time I saw this movie was with my grandfather, who was the engineer company commander for Hal Moore's battalion during the Ira Drang battle. Jimmy Nakayama was one of his soldiers. I've seen my grandfather cry twice in his life. Second was when my grandmother died. The first was when my grandfather saw Jimmy burn.
I had a hard time watching this . I am a combat veteran ( Vietnam 1965/1966 ) You can have no idea of the good you have just done.
thank you both for this and God bless you both
My Dad was involved in this operation. He was a gunner on the helicopter
What I, as a 26-year veteran, found was one of the best part of the movie was the flashbacks to the families at home and the ways they tried to deal with husbands and lovers fighting to survive
Pretty darn accurate from my experience.
Tom Boyte,
GySgt. USMC, retired
Vietnam 1965-66/1970-71
0331 machine guns
Bronze Star, Purple Heart
My first thought was that Ellie is going to be a wreck for most of this one. And she was.
It is crazy when you look at how many big name actors show up in this for a second. Chris Klein, Marc Blucas, Clark Gregg, Jon Hamm, Desmond Harrington, Dylan Walsh etc. It's not an easy movie to watch since it's one long battle scene. Even Saving Private Ryan had breaks in the action.
This is the best Vietnam War movie. In that same battle, a UK immigrant, recently made lieutenant, survived, and later was chief of security for the Twin Towers and died on 9/11. We should honor all men and women who fight, friend or foe. I have known some US veterans, the survivors being scarred for life, including my older brother and older cousin, who were in-county in Vietnam.
He did constant fire drills predicted the first and second attacks on the tower. Told the company they should move. They didn't believe him but due to his drills they got all his people out except for one person who was handicap..he is also the person on the cover of the book
Joe Galloway the reporter wrote a book which was the basis of this movie. Gen Hal Moore was present during filming along with one of the widow's. The mortar man that was hit by the napalm strike sadly died at the hospital. Joe Galloway notes that he is his nightmare PTSD from his time in Vietnam. This is the 1st movie that I can recall addressing the cost not only on the battlefield but also at home. I had a similar experience returning home from Afghanistan while wearing my uniform in the airport. A mother with a child pulled them closer as I went bye. I don't know why that reaction but it happened.
I salute you brother I was in Iraq Kosovo and Bosnia war is hell
@@iceman4311 nice to find someone who served in the forgotten wars. Operations Joint Endeavor, Forge, Guard, and Guardian myself. I've got my SFOR and KFOR badges somewhere in storage. Let alone the iterations of Afghanistan and Iraq. Take care!
Another good war movie is Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan (Released 2019), Its about part of Australia and New Zealand's involvement in the Vietnam war
I got to see this before it officially came out in theaters I went with a bunch of Vietnam veterans because my Dad fought in Vietnam with the Marines and it was so emotional... they were all having a very difficult time watching it. During some of the explosions they would cover their face like they were expecting it to be very hot, My dad said at 1 point during the movie "when in doubt use your helmet" which meant he beat a man to death with his helmet during the war he ran out of ammo, the war changed my Dad in a lot of ways. a lot of the veterans in there were hugging after the movie and I was sobbing, I had to leave the theatre for a moment... but my dad said he was scared every second he was in Vietnam... he was 18 years old and he said he was terrified the whole time. He was my hero. He died from old war injuries 4 years ago.
Every family deserves to have their loved one back home to say good bye as they see fit. And for the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines can send their brother/sister home to their family and say their good byes in their own way. I know that when I had to send off a member of my unit home... it still haunts me to this day. They are brothers by fire. No deeper love have I ever really felt than that.
Just a few notes about the movie and a couple of the scenes .. this is one of the most realistic war movies.. So much so that it took my dad a very long time to watch it all the way through .. the first time he tried to watch it, he had to turn it off... He had flashbacks for two weeks after ... This movie breaks my heart for him and for every other soldier and what they went through...
It was 1998 or 1999 before my dad got his first "welcome home" ... I'll never forget it... First time I'd ever seen my dad cry. When he came home in 1970, he was spat on and called horrible names...
In the book a lot of the interviewed soldiers commented on just how bloody the battle was.
They were talking about the new concept of HALO (High Altitude, Low Opening) parachutes that are still used today.
The movie doesn't show it, but in the book, when he gives up his seat because the other guy was hurt worse... that helicopter was so overloaded that they almost didn't make it out. the rotor blades were cutting tree tops trying to climb out of the landing zone.
That's a WP - white phosphorus or "willy pete" - grenade. It causes a chemical reaction... my dad saw it over there and said the only way to stop the reaction and the burning was to cut it out of the skin.
Napalm is essentially jellied gasoline, water would only make it spread more. Jimmy Nakayama died two days after...
Those are all actually photographs from the battle that Joe Galloway took.
In the book they tell that a lot of those men were awake for 81 hours or more by the end of the battle.
It isn't how the story actually ended... but when asked about if this scene was accurate, Hal Moore himself said "no... it's how it should have ended"
The Air Force dropped over 200 tons of bombs all along that area after the battle from the B-52 bombers.
Throughout this movie, Mel Gibson got the little details in... "three strikes and you're not out" ... "there's always something more you can do" ... "there's nothing wrong except there's nothing wrong" ... these are all quotes that Hal Moore himself taught in leadership training.
On another note... one of the Lieutenants, Rick Rescorla, survived this battle and later became the lead security officer at the World Trade Center... he is credited with saving 2700 lives before the second tower collapsed. He was fighting terminal cancer and died in the collapse... His last known words were a phone call to his wife: “Stop crying. I have to get these people out safely. If something should happen to me, I want you to know I've never been happier. You made my life.”
To really appreciate this movie, you have got to either read the book or listen to the audio book "We Were Soldiers Once... and Young" by Joe Galloway, the reporter that flew in during the battle.
I held through the majority of the movie, but at the end when his voice trembles and he talked about losing his men, I broke up. Also, when the names of the men were shown I couldn't help but cry a little. God bless those men who were there in Vietnam. "If you don't get blown up, you get to go home in a body bag!"- my commanding officer.
The most chilling order - "Fix Bayonets". At West Point, in the early 70s, we were taught that was the last order you may ever give or get. A fixed bayonet is a very last ditch weapon. It meant that the S... was about to hit the fan and you were going to get up close and personal with a powerful opponent and only one of you was going to be alive afterwards. Chilling.
This is what Mel Gibson movies do to you. Tear on your heart....
Also love Ellie for her emotions. Usually a super happy energetic upbeat person, but if you can swing that high in happyness, it also means you must swing same level into sadness. Only if you know sadness you can feel happiness :) And Ellie is so interesting to watch watching movies, because she picks up on the emotions instantly. Poor guy has to hold back and being a man. I know bro, we gotta watch these movies alone in order to feel them ;)
Great reaction! One of the best underrated war movies! The fighting in this one is brutal! That "Broken Arrow" scene is gut-wrenching!
We collect the bodies so the family at home can have closure, and so they can be buried with dignity and honor.
My favorite scenes of this movie- seeing Colonel Moore being the first to step on to the battlefield and being the last to step off, just like he promised he would.
Black hawk down and the last full measure are other great ones. Highly recommend them.
Lieutenant General Harold Gregory "Hal" Moore jr. is died on 10 february 2017, 94 y.o.
on 1992 with his friend Joseph Galloway (the photo-journalist also in this movie) they wrote "WE WERE SOLDIERS... AND YOUNG" which this movie is based on.
The actor Barry Pepper (Joseph Galloway in this movie) was also Private Jackson in Saving Private Ryan and also Dean Stenton in The Green Mile.
Good adaptation of a fascinating book, that tells the stories of two engagements with very different leadership decisions.
The real Hal Moore was not at all as soppy as Gibson's portrayal...real footage of him is the very definition of a 'gung ho patriot'...he was an incredible soldier and leader of men....full of praise and confidence in the American fighting man.
AMEN!!!
True story, first battle of Vietnam. Col. Hal Moore was a great man.
The grenade that burned the flesh of the soldiers was an incendiary grenade, it’s designed to keep burning phosphorus on any surface it lands on. The only way to stop damage is to cut the fragments out with a knife. The model grenade is - TH3 Incendiary Grenade AM-M14. This was used in the Vietnam war
"He didn't bring the key. He lost it." 😆😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 I'm crying 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Out of all the death scenes, Jimmy is by far the most heartbreaking death scene since he only thought of his wife and child even as he was in extreme pain.
The only scene that made me cry so hard that I couldn’t even hold it in 😭😭😭
The burn scene when he's on the helicopter crushed me.
This was a tuff one. True, horrible, but True. Robert E. Lee put it best; "To be a Good Solder one must Love the army. To be a Good Commander, one must be willing to order the Death of what he Loves". My Dad went to Nam three years after this battle and joined this same unit working out of Saigon. He was there for the pull out. He made it home but he had Asian Orange syndrome and PTSD. He was a gentle man who loved his country but went to war for Me as I was born with medical issues so to cover the bills and give me a fighting chance he joined up as a Helicopter Flight Tech and Door Gunner. He was not the same man coming home and was treated horribly by civilians who knew Nothing of the war, for doing what he Had to. Despite this, He Never betrayed his love of Country or the men he served with by blaming any one but the Chines for the entire mess. If your do not have an antagonist, We do not need to fight. Any way, Thank you for sharing this. If you want History and War that is a bit less Heart wrenching might I recommend, "George Washington" 1984 mini series. It was well made and did a good job covering the American Revaluation from all points of view from When Washington was fighting With the British against the French, to the end of the war.
For those that don't know what "Napalm" is, it's jellied gasoline. You mix gasoline/diesel fuel, preferably gas and mix with a binder and a chemical agent that turns it into a gooey, slimey and sticky mix. Napalm has the consistency of snot and because of the chemicals it burns at 3000 degrees and sticks to everything
49:04 the audible happiness from both of you seeing his wife open the door to his face was awesome. 🙂 Larry was right, they didn’t have bullet proof vests in Vietnam, they had flack jackets which were vests that were suppose to help but did jsut about nothing. We were fighting a determined enemy that had seemingly endless supply of man power in tens of thousands of miles of tunnels they’d built over the past 100+ years for conflicts and even residency of some type or another, fighting in constant jungle they knew like the back of their hands . Our soldiers so often never saw the enemy as they’d dig bunkers and even rabbit holes they’d cover with slits to shoot from ,..everywhere! It was a war we were destined to lose and I think it’s part of what finally got our troops out of Afghanistan, recently, 20 years of war there and within months of our withdrawal it’s already heading right back to where it was. So sad these wars take so many lives on both sides. 💔
they'll get us into another as soon as they can..we old timers know nothing comes from a ground war anymore. excpet dead.
If this world had more people like Ellie, then we wouldn't have wars. You have a kind soul Ellie.
Something to add regarding the guy cutting his friends face after that grenade:
That was a White Phosphorous grenade, which burns on contact with the air and due to the powdery nature of the chemical has a nasty tendency of penetrating into the pores of skin and (in limited capacity) through clothing. The only way to limit its damage and lethality is to smother the chemical (water, damp cloth, etc.) and/or to separate it from the victim. I believe, as a temporary solution, the guy cutting his buddy's face was attempting the latter. White Phosphorus-based weapons have an increased lethality due to toxic build-up of the chemical in the body which can cause Heart, Liver and Kidney damage, as well as multiple organ failure.
I went to see this movie when it came out. I think about 40% of the people in the theater walked out in tears before it was over.
The United States military won every major engagement of the Vietnam war.
The "disastrous" Tet offensive cost us 15,000 men.
According to their own estimates... it cost the Vietcong 300,000 men, virtually wiping them out and eliminating them as a serious factor in the rest of the war. From then on, the US primarily fought North Vietnamese (NVA) regulars supplied and trained by Soviets and Chinese.
When the U.S. pulled out after the Paris Peace Accords, we promised we would continue to supply the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). We further promised that if the North invaded, we would return to defend our allies.
The communist sympathetic Congress of the US almost immediately cut funding for ARVN. Supplies got to the point that ARVN soldiers were issued 20 rounds of ammunition and two hand grenades.
North Vietnam invaded with four armored corps... that's more men than the Allies used for the Normandy invasion of WWII.
President Ford begged the communist-sympathetic Congress to allow us to return as we'd promised, and rescue our allies who had trusted us.
The communist-sympathetic Congress said no.
ARVN held on as long as they could, out-fighting the NVA, but they ran out of supplies and were overwhelmed.
Then the north won, and a million people took to the seas on whatever debris they could find, to escape the tender mercies of communist Vietnam.
One doctor was not so lucky. In a search of his house, a lieutenant discovered a French-Vietnamese dictionary. He asked the doctor to explain what it was.
Subsequently, the doctor and his wife were arrested and sent to a re-education camp. As a kindness, the lieutenant made out a warrant for the arrest of their 3 week old child, on the spot... so that he could accompany his mother to the camp.
I blame every Democrat politician in America at the time; I blame every left-wing communist-loving sack of suet who threw dogshit on our returning soldiers at the time. Mostly I blame the lying news media who used their position and influence to give the America they hated a black eye, and aid their communist brethren.
But our military won every major engagement. They didn't lose. Our traitorous politicians lost.
You can also thank Jane Fonda for helping them too
Actually we lost alot due to having politicians run the war General were try to do the right thing in alot of places but there was politics in the military too at the time it was about numbers and casualties counts. It wasn't just left wing the right wing had a part in this as well
Facts. 💯%
No man left behind! Period! As someone who has seen combat first hand. Face to face, Hand to hand. Round for round. I will say that this is a true statement as to the spirit of every fighting man I have ever had the honor of serving with. And seeing the emotion and comments from the two of you reactors. I wish everyone everywhere in this world could understand the horrors of war so that we never have to face such things ever again.
Concerning the journalist Joey Galloway, " In 1998, Galloway became the only American civilian to receive the Bronze Star Medal with "V" for heroism during the Vietnam War. It recognizes his heroism on Nov. 15, 1965, during the Battle of Ia Drang, the first major battle by U.S. and North Vietnamese troops in Vietnam."
If you guys like this you'd like The Deer Hunter. Another one that shows the home front.
Deer Hunter is depressing AF
The Deer Hunter is a much greater movie. Unfortunately it's also extremely long, and I don't envy the person who has to edit down that movie for a reaction video! Especially the first hour! And let's face it: the first hour is a little hard to get through, even for me, and I love that movie. I'm assuming that's why there are no reaction videos for "The Deer Hunter", at least none that I can find. I'll bet half of them turn it off after 45 minutes, figuring nothing's going to happen! That's one movie where I WOULD recommend not going in totally blind, and knowing that you just have to hang on, and it will all make sense by the end. I just rewatched it the other day, coincidentally, and was thinking how Cimino could have shaved probably 20 minutes from the first hour and still have the same effect.
@@TTM9691 Agreed I think Deer Hunter is AMAZING, but i donno how someone would react to it. Definitely a slow burn, especially the beginning.
A CLASSIC!!! BUT VERY DARK...
Col Moore met the Vietnamese Commander that he fought against in Ia Drang when he returned to Vietnam in 1993
The Japanese soldier who said his baby was born that day and then was burned, Jimmy Yamaguchi, was killed. His name is on the Wall in Washington D.C.
Nakayama. He was from a little town in southern Idaho
@@mattconner6416 yes, you're right, I don't know what I was thinking when I typed that. I must have been thinking of the figure skater.
Larry and Ellie together : best duo
the men who served, fought, died and survived in the Viet-nam war were a special breed
I watched it as a kid(not recommended) and didn’t fully grasp the movie and what it was portraying until I viewed it again as an adult. I cried multiple times in this movie. My Grandpa served in Vietnam and never talked about it. This movie really shows why many who served don’t speak of it. 🙏
Rick Rescorla (who was the radio operator in the movie) was also the man who was responsible for evacuating the twin towers on 9/11.
He was a British paratrooper during the Cyprus emergency and a commissioned officer in the US military during the Vietnam war.
He wasn’t the radio operator. He was a platoon leader who was, apparently, written out of the movie. However, by all accounts he was a soldier’s soldier and a man to be admired.
@@brettlynam5048 he was on the cover of the book
He did constant fire drills predicted the first and second attacks on the tower. Told the company they should move. They didn't believe him but due to his drills they got all his people out except for one person who was handicap..he is also the person on the cover of the book
You can see here on TH-cam veterans of this battle that revisited the battle ground some years back. One of the Vets found a Helmet belonging to one of his comrades. He was very emotional when he found it.
A couple of years back I got to meet General Moore's radioman when he gave a lecture at my air museum
My Dad fought in Vietnam 🇻🇳 . He was running troops up and down the river in Da Nang. This was the only movie I've seen get to him .
My Daddy told me before he passed away that this was the one film about vietnam that was more accurate to the point that he felt he was back there again. It tore him up and he made me promise to show it to my boys and to never hide war from them.
My father was in Nam. He told me so much insanity about it. As a vet myself, this is tough to watc.
For me, the most significant image in this film, other than the wives having to deliver the bad news to each other, is the rookie Sgt. Savage. He keeps telling the old Chief, "It's a beautiful day!" to which he responds, "What the hell would you know about that!" And then when he is rescued and brought back to the line, the old Chief says to him, "That's a beautiful day, Sargeant Savage."
You have to earn that shit.
So, within reason, this is a pretty accurate portrayal of the battle of Ia Drang, based on the book written by Jo Galloway (the reporter), and General (Lt Col at the time) Hal Moore. As the beginning of the film narration describes, but easy to miss the significance of, most of the fighting that the North Vietnamese Army did was guerrilla warfare. Ambushes, booby traps, surprise attacks, small engagements.
The battle of Ia Drang is unique in that it was pretty much the only time that the opposing forces met in significant numbers, in conventional warfare (manoeuvre warfare, flanking attacks, artillery support, mortars etc). It was also the first real test of the new concept of Air Cavalry, using the Huey helicopters to drop troops pretty much directly into the battle. One of the major disadvantages, made worse by the lack of intelligence of the actual numbers of the North Vietnamese, was the short time on the ground before the first engagement and the need for reinforcements.
If the flight time is 30 minutes, then from the time of first boots on the ground, 30 minutes back to camp, refuel, load up, and fly back, you're looking at 80 to 90 minutes before additional troops can reinforce the lines and that can be a hell of a long time in a dynamic battle, especially when you're outnumbered. This exposed one of the major weaknesses of this approach.
Of note is that one of the Majors (Company Commander) featured in the book is Norman Schwartzkopf, who a few decades later would be General in charge of the Allied forces in the gulf war/liberation of Kuwait in 1991.
A lot has changed since the 60's as you might imagine, particularly the NOTICAS (notification of casualties) and how it is handled. It's difficult to understand quite how it was ever allowed to be a telegram delivered by a cab company with no organised Unit personnel, the welfare officer, the Unit padre/vicar/priest and support services. It is appropriate that the Colonel's wife played such a role in helping the other wives, a tradition which continues to this day to those who want it. Some wives/partners are more involved in the military system than others.
In summary, a well told story of actual events, that pulls no punches about the reality of war.
this was a book before it was a film and i met general Moore (ret) at a book signing. hell of a soldier RIP Hal
if you want to see more instances of soldiers sacrifying themselves to save other soldiers, have a look at BAT 21.
Ia Drang battle was the first major battle fought by US ground troops since their arrive in march 1965, leaving aside Opertation Starlite in august. The battle lasted a couple of days according to most sources, and the stage for it came from previous encounters with the VC. As the movie shows, the US forces leaders were looking for the VC and particularly that great battle that involved big masses of enemies and that could be decisive; a logic scenario since US could show their conventional power. Instead the VC did not compromise more forces than the necesary, as would do the rest of the war, except when was almost over about the early 1970s. Since the technological point of view, it is interesting the use by the US of helicopters both as transport and attack (whose pilot's participation is not new, us airmen were involved as early as 1961). However as would soon discover, the first line use of these machines was not adequate as any sniper could do damage; since then the armies of the world would learn the lesson; US exported succesfully the UH-1H model shown in the film and pretty much that is the same in all cases; those countries who risked using it in first line operations, would suffer from sniper fire.
AS a veteran , Army 1971 I cry when I watch this movie also.
36:53 Napalm is an oil like substance which cannot be put out by water, it will burn on with no hesitation. Depriving it of oxygen would help...
Napalm was so efficient and brutal, they banned it in the 90s i think.
Ellie, you have such a tender heart, don't ever change. Larry, get used to it.... she's going to make you cry every time. You're a tougher man than me. My Father did one tour during the Korean war and 2 tours during the Vietnam war. Ellie is right, it's not only hard on the soldiers, but also it is hell on the families that must wait at home. The Vietnam War was not supported by everyone in the U.S., mostly it was a political war and unfortunately many soldiers were not treated well when they returned home.
This movie has sentimental value to the people where I live. The man Mel Gibson is playing (Hal Moore) was the Commanding General of the Army Training Center at Fort Ord here in Monterey. The hourglass patches everyone is wearing in the film is the insignia of the 7th Infantry Regiment that was first activated here in 1917. It's actually the wrong patch for them to be wearing since he was the Lieutenant Colonel of the 7th Cavalry Regiment during Vietnam, not the 7th Infantry Regiment.
Actually that is the 7th Infantry Division patch that Hal was wearing. It's called a combat patch and he wears it because that was the unit he fought in during the Korean War.
In writing the book. Hal Moore and Joe Galloway went to Vietnam and met with Nguyen Huu An. Who was the commander of the North Vietnamese Army that he fought against in the La Drang battle. To get his side and perspective of this story for the book.
Ellie needs to be the mother of an orphanage eventually, be the mom to hundreds of kids.
When I worked corrections, I worked a man, Curtis Klock, he was there, down to 3 rounds of ammo bayonet out and surrounded! His stories scared the hell out me! One chapter in old video footage showed all the men shave their head in Mohawks! It scared the living hell out of the VC!
They don't call it "HELL" for nothin, I served 8 yrs in the Navy security/surveillance from 1984 to 1992 😪
Someone probably explained already, but if the mortar tube gets too hot, the mortar round could explode in the tube.
This was one of the hardest movies I ever watched. The scene with the guy who got burned up was a real thing that happened and he didn't make it. He died after 3 days in the hospital.
The reporter in this movie was in Ken Burns "Vietnam" documentary. He talks about Jimmy and when he picked him up from the legs all the skin and muscle just fell off to the bone. Jimmy died a few days later, unfortunately.
For me, this movie is second only behind Saving Private Ryan for the war genre
The first time I watched this movie I HATED it because somebody told me it was a comedy, and I thought it was the unfunniest comedy I had ever seen. Then when it was over they said "Ha ha, I was just kidding--it isn't really a comedy" and when I watched it again, I really liked it.