The right path to unity

The right path to unity
By Hal Moore

When the blood of any war soaks your clothes, covers your hands and soldiers die in your arms, every breath forever more becomes an appeal for a greater peace, unity and reconciliation.

It was Vietnam. I was their commander and accountable for them. We charged the enemy with bayonets fixed to our rifles in face-to-face combat. I still hear the ugly sounds of war. I still see the boots of my dead sticking out unnaturally from under their ponchos, laces tied one last time by their precious fingers. I still carry the wounded to the helicopters as they bled, screamed and begged to live one more day.

And I still hold those who die in my arms, with their questioning eyes dreading death, as they called for their mothers. Their eyes go blank, and my war-crusted fingers close their eyelids. The blood of my dead soldiers will not wash from my hands. The stains remain.

On Nov. 16, 1965, we won the LZ-Xray battle in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam. However, 79 of my dear troopers died for those of us who lived. During the battle, we took prisoners of war. We gave them water and aspirin to help relieve their pain. Their anxious faces soon gave way to expressions of relief that they were treated with dignity.

My unending thirst for peace and unity drove me to return to the “Valley of Death” in 1993. Some of my men accompanied me to meet with the man, along with a few of his soldiers, who had once endeavored to kill us all.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/community/opinion/army_backtalk_unity_052608/



uhc comment: Hal wrote a book about that battle -->

If you're interested in learning a bit more about the Vietnam adventure, this is a really good book.