General Hal Moore

Lt. General Hal Moore retired from the U.S. Army with 32 years service after which he was Executive Vice-President of a major Colorado ski area for four years. He consistently achieved exceptional results while serving in leadership positions. A Kentucky native and 1945 graduate of West Point, General Moore completed advanced studies at George Washington University and Harvard University. General Moore led two infantry companies in the Korean War. In Vietnam, he led an infantry battalion and brigade in numerous battles. His senior level leadership experience includes Commander of Ft. Ord, CA, an Army division of 17,000 men in Korea; and policy-making and management in the Pentagon for all U.S. Army personnel actions. General Moore earned several awards for Valor, the Purple Heart, and two Combat Infantry Badges. He is a Master Parachutist who pioneered skydiving in the late 1940?s. In two wars he never lost a man P.O.W. or M.I.A.

General Moore's book We Were Soldiers Once...And Young, describes the actions of Moore's Seventh Cavalry, faced with near certain annihilation. In November 1965, in a small clearing in Vietnam called Landing Zone X-Ray, Lt. Colonel Hal Moore and 450 troopers of the 7th Cavalry locked in decisive combat with 2,000 enemy soldiers. This 3-day fight, one of the most savage in U.S. history, was the first major battle of the Vietnam War between the U.S. and North Vietnamese Regulars. We Were Soldiers Once...And Young, was a 1992 New Times number one best seller. How these men persevered and never gave up-makes a vivid portrait of war at its most inspiring and devastating. It has been described as the best account of infantry combat and the most significant book to come out of the Vietnam War.

The movie, We Were Soldiers, was based on the book, released by Paramount Pictures in March 2002. It portrays Lt. Col. Hal Moore (played by Mel Gibson) and the soldiers of the Seventh Cavalry in the x-ray battle. We Were Soldiers is a tribute to nobility of men under fire, their valor and their loyalty to and for one another.