How 7 minutes changed the direction of the war in Vietnam
In this excerpt from "We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young," coauthors Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway describe the first moments of the battle of Ia Drang in 1965, which set the tone of the war in Vietnam and even changed the direction of the conflict.
Captain Ray Lefebvre, commander of Delta Company, was about to earn his Combat Infantryman’s Badge, a Silver Star, and a Purple Heart, all in the next seven minutes.
He remembers, “When we came in, the mountain was off to our left and we were taking a lot of fire. We settled down near the wood line. There was lots of fire coming from the woods.
Taboada was hit in the hand while we were hovering.
“I was starting to unhook my seat belt when I felt a round crease the back of my neck.
I turned to my right a...