We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam Free Audiobook Download by Joseph L. Galloway,Harold G. Moore

One of the most stunningly cinematic and harrowing battles in military history, Ia Drang is a battle that changed the course of America's involvement in Vietnam. The Battle of Ia Drang is a book by Joseph L. Galloway and Harold G. Moore, Jr., recounting the events leading up to and during the fight on November 14-23, 1965.

The Battle of Ia Drang changed American military strategy in Vietnam. In the battle, the 1st Cavalry Division was outnumbered by North Vietnamese forces and surrounded on three sides by a dense jungle. They were forced to fight their way out with heavy casualties. It is one of the few battles where Americans lost more troops than North Vietnamese did.

In November 1965, three companies of the 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry Regiment received their orders to deploy for combat in Vietnam. This was one of the first major deployments for U.S. forces in Vietnam, and it would be the beginning of the end of America's role in the conflict. In what would come to be known as Ia Drang Valley, Captain John Herrick led his company into a ferocious battle that he believed might cause some American soldiers to question American involvement in Vietnam.

In the Battle of Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam, US Army troops found themselves outnumbered and outgunned by the North Vietnamese Army. With casualties mounting, most of the officers had been killed or wounded, and the troops were forced to make a hasty retreat out of what was originally suppose to be a temporary defense line. As they attempted to withdraw, a fierce firefight ensued between the Americans and NVA forces.

In "We Were Soldiers Once... and Young," Joseph L. Galloway tells of the Battle of Ia Drang Valley, in October of 1965, where he and other United States Army Rangers fought against North Vietnamese Army regulars. The North Vietnamese numbered about 1,300 men and had fire support from four Soviet-made PT-76 light tanks. After three days, 597 Americans were killed and 907 wounded out of a company of 76 men.

This is one of the most important books ever written about the Vietnam War and it was written by one of the men who was there. The battle at Ia Drang Valley changed everything in this war, so much so that Galloway feels that it should be referred to as "the turning point" of the entire conflict.