By: debbie lynn elias
Based on the non-fiction best-seller, “We Were Soldiers” chronicles the events and experiences of Lt. Colonel Hal Moore and the First Battalion of the Seventh Cavalry – the same unit commanded by George Custer at the Little Big Horn massacre some 100+ years ago – as they became the first American soldiers to enter into bloody conflict with the North Vietnamese back in 1965.
When President Lyndon Johnson orders an increase in America’s presence in Vietnam, Lt. Col. Moore, a Harvard graduate, family man, student of warfare, seasoned combat veteran and natural born leader, is selected to head up the elite 1st of the 7th and promptly goes into action in Fort Benning, Georgia training a group of devoted, innocent, young men, many of whom would eventually give their lives in the battle at Ia Drang Valley. Knowing first-hand the horrors of war, with Army lifer Sgt. Major Basil Plumley at his side, Moore puts his recruits through the rigors of combat training, including for the first time, the use of Hueys as carriers into the battlefield and M-16’s, two things which would forever change the face of war and its level of carnage. Yet, he also humanizes the situation, establishing levels of confidence and loyalty in his young charges with his promise that his will be the first foot onto the field of battle and the last to leave, valuing their lives above all else but for defeating the enemy.
Once in Vietnam, orders come from upper echelons, sending Moore and some 400 of his men into a battle which has them surrounded by 2000 North Vietnamese troops. Moore and Plumley immediately realize this is an ambush, yet stand their ground and the men, all cut off from aid, and many cut-off from the rest of their unit, give new meaning to valiance, bravery, honor, duty and survival. Seen through the eyes of Moore and his men once “the metal meets the meat,” we are given a terrifying, harrowing, and even chilling, view of the chaos and horrors of war – even moreso than in Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan.”
More than a film about war, however, “We Were Soldiers” is a character study of Hal Moore and his men. Mel Gibson’s portrayal of Moore is indisputably the finest of his career, perfecting a blend of a quietly authoritative razor-sharp soldier with unquestioning allegiance to God, his country and his men, with a moral compass reflecting devotion and light-hearted tenderness to his family. As Plumley, Sam Elliott is perfectly cast as the matter-of-fact, no nonsense, leathery war veteran, loyal to his commander, reluctant to change (When told to get an M-16 before going into battle, Plumley replies, “By the time I need one, there’ll be plenty of them lying on the ground.”), and seemingly fearless. Greg Kinnear reaches a new high in his career with his portrayal of Major Bruce “Snakeshit” Crandall. A pivotal part in not only the film, but the war itself, Crandall is the hotshot helicopter pilot who heads up “the new cavalry” and repeatedly flies in the face of danger going into perilous situations, not only to bring men and ammo to Moore, but to fly out the dead and wounded. Kinnear’s facial expressions say it all with each new load of lost souls he takes from the battlefield.
A fine performance is also given by Barry Pepper as Joe Galloway, photojournalist and fifth generation Army brat who arrives on scene mid-battle with the sole intent of photographing the war, but then finds himself with a rifle rather than a camera in hand as fights to save not only his life, but those around him. Pepper, no stranger to war movies having done and admirable job in “Private Ryan”, does not disappoint here and brings raw emotion to the character. It is Galloway who, with Moore himself, penned the book from which this film comes.
Director/writer Randall Wallace (who also wrote “Braveheart” and “Pearl Harbor”) does an effective job of combining three fronts – Moore and his men in battle, the North Vietnamese perspective and the loved ones left behind in Columbus, Georgia – crystalizing, and intercutting each situation with calculated chess-like precision. His attention to detail only adds to the film’s intensity. From authentic uniforms and weaponry of both the Americans and North Vietnamese to the fireball napalm raids by Skyraiders and Hueys in response to Moore’s call of “Broken Arrow”, the work is textbook military.
One of the most poignant and dramatic ironies of the film takes place back at Fort Benning. Due to perhaps, cockiness and over-confidence, Army brass doesn’t figure on the massive amount of casualties suffered at Ia Drang and as such, has no personnel to advise families of the loss of a loved. As a result, the military resorts to using a cab company to just drop off telegrams on door steps. Madeline Stowe, convincing and strong as Moore’s devoted Army wife Julie, takes the matter in hand, and after taking the first telegram to personally deliver, instructs the cab company to bring all future telegrams to her. After delivery number one, she returns home to find a stack of 50 or more telegrams on the stoop…and they just keep coming. Very little dialogue. Very real chills.
If “Saving Private Ryan” forever changed Hollywood’s interpretation of war, then “We Were Soldiers” defines its new form. No longer are Americans shown as just going into battle and “kicking ass.” We can be out-numbered. We can be out-strategized. We can be out-lasted. We do suffer casualties. We may even lose the war. But, we do not lose the sense of honor, respect, loyalty, bravery and survival, inherent in who we are. As Lt. Col. Hal Moore opined to Sgt. Major Plumley during the throes of battle, “I wonder what Custer was thinking when he realized he’d moved his men into slaughter.” Plumley’s natural reply, “Sir, Custer was a p—-.”
