On November 14, 1965 in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam, in a small clearing called Landing Zone X-Ray, Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Mel Gibson) and 400 young fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons—all troopers from the U.S. 7th “Air” Cavalry were surrounded by 2,000 enemy soldiers. The ensuing battle was one of the most savage in U.S. history. We Were Soldiers is a tribute to the nobility of those men under fire, their common acts of uncommon valor, and their loyalty to and love for one another. Starring alongside Gibson are Madeleine Stowe, Sam Elliott, Academy Award nominee Greg Kinnear, Chris Klein, Golden Globe winner Keri Russell, and Barry Pepper.
Written for the Screen and Directed by Randall Wallace
Produced by Bruce Davey, Steve McEveety, and Randall Wallace
Based on the New York Times Bestseller We Were Soldiers Once… And Young by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway
Production Companies: Icon Entertainment and Wheelhouse Entertainment
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Dear Mr. Wallace,
I knew you had been involved with Braveheart and then the wonderful Secretariat, but I had no idea about We Were Soldiers, and I own that movie! Because of what I saw the American Vietnam soldiers going through upon their return from war, my heart just broke for them. Years and years went by, and, finally,an opportunity to thank a Vietnam vet presented itself via a letter to the editor of my local paper. Upon receiving my thanks (this would have been about 1997 or so), the Vietnam vet told me that no one had ever thanked him before and he was deeply appreciative. A few months later, I woke up one morning with a song idea for them. The rest of the story (and some music clips) is on my website. I featured We Were Soldiers there for a long time with a link to the movie’s official site until it was removed by the studio. My site is still up but it needs a bit of a facelift now. Despite this, I just won an award for one of the most patriotic sites, but that might have been an advertising ploy by the awarder! Oh well. I built the site myself with only basic HTML (and it shows!), and I will try to upgrade it soon (I’m locked out from it right now for some reason).
Anyway, thank you so much for all of your work! God has indeed gifted you as a storyteller.
May the Lord continue to bless you as you honor Him in what you do.
Well, it’s my “Whoops!” The year was 1999 and the news was via the Internet, not my local paper. Oy vey!