In november 1965 some 450 men of the first battalion seventh cavalry under the command of lt col harold moore were dropped into a small clearing in the ia drang valley they were immediately surrounded by 2000 north vietnamese soldiers three days later only two and a half miles away a sister battalion was brutally slaughtered. We were soldiers once and young ia drang the battle that changed the war in vietnam we went to war because our country asked us to go because our new president lyndon b johnson ordered us to go but more importantly because we saw it as our duty to go. We were soldiers once and young ia drang the battle that changed the war in vietnam ebook written by harold g moore joseph l galloway read this book using google play books app on your pc android ios devices. The north vietnamese however both knew the dense terrain and had been fighting western nations in it since the beginning of the french indochina war in 1945 this battle would soon teach both sides about how to fight the rest of the war 2 ia drang also served as a test for the us military of its new air mobility tactics. Each year the commandant of the us marine corps selects one book that he believes is both relevant and timeless for reading by all marines the commandants choice for 1993 was we were soldiers once and young in november 1965 some 450 men of the 1st battalion 7th cavalry under the command of lt col hal moore were dropped by helicopter into a small clearing in the ia drang valley