Hal Moore

Harold G. Moore
LTG(R) Moore at West Point, 10 May 2010
Nickname(s)	Hal
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1945-1977
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment 7th Infantry Division Fort Ord Army Training Center Military Personnel Records Center
Battles/wars	World War II Korean War Vietnam War *Battle of Ia Drang
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross Army Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit Bronze Star (4, of which 2 for valor) Commendation Medal (2) Purple Heart Gallantry Cross (2)
Relations	Julia Compton Moore
Other work	Author Executive Vice-President of the Crested Butte Ski Area, Colorado

Harold Gregory "Hal" Moore, Jr. (born February 13, 1922) is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Army and author. Moore is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, which is the second highest military decoration of the United States Army, and was the first of his West Point class (1945) to be promoted to brigadier general, major general, and lieutenant general.

He is best known as the Lieutenant Colonel in command of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, at the Battle of Ia Drang, in 1965 during the Vietnam War; today, he is the "honorary colonel" of the Regiment.

Biography

Born in Bardstown, Kentucky, Moore's chances of obtaining an appointment to West Point were reduced due to the demographics of the area. Moore therefore moved to Washington, D.C., where he completed his high school education, and attended George Washington University for two years before receiving his appointment from a Georgia congressman in 1942 (despite having never before been to Georgia). He graduated from West Point in 1945 and attended graduate studies at George Washington and Harvard universities, obtaining a master's degree in international relations from the latter.

Moore was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1945. He served with the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment in Japan from 1945 until 1948. In 1948 he was re-assigned to Fort Bragg. While with the 82nd Airborne Division, he volunteered to join the Airborne Test Section, a special unit testing experimental parachutes, and he made some 150 jumps with the Section over the next two years.

In 1952 Moore was assigned to the 17th Infantry Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division as a Captain in the Korean War. While in Korea, he commanded both a rifle company and a heavy mortar company in combat. He next served as Regimental and then Divisional Assistant Chief-of-Staff, Operations and Plans.

In 1954, Moore returned to West Point, this time as a Major, and served for three years as an instructor in infantry tactics. While serving as an instructor at West Point, Moore taught then-Cadet Norman Schwarzkopf, who called Moore one of his "heroes," and cites Moore as the reason he chose the infantry branch upon graduation. Schwarzkopf later became a general and led the UN Coalition forces in the 1991 Gulf War against the Ba'athist Iraq.

Moore next attended the Command and General Staff College, followed by a three-year tour in the Office, Chief of Research and Development where his initiative and insights were key to the development of new airborne equipment and airborne/air assault tactics. Following graduation from the Armed Forces Staff College in 1960 Moore served a three-year tour with Headquarters, Allied Forces Northern Europe in Oslo, Norway.

In 1964, Lieutenant Colonel Moore completed the course of study at the National War College, while earning a master's degree in International Affairs from George Washington University. Moore was transferred to Fort Benning and commanded a battalion in the 11th Air Assault Division, undergoing air assault and air mobility training and tests until July 1965, when the Division was redesignated the 1st Cavalry Division.

Lieutenant Colonel Moore then took his unit: the 1st Battalion, 7th U.S. Cavalry (then in the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division) to South Vietnam, and led it in the famous Battle of Ia Drang. Encircled by enemy soldiers with no clear landing zone (LZ) that would allow them to leave, Moore managed to persevere despite overwhelming odds that led to a sister battalion only two-and-a-half miles away being massacred the next day. Moore's dictum that "there is always one more thing you can do to increase your odds of success" and the courage of his entire command are credited with this astounding outcome. Importantly, despite the fact that Moore's spirited defense led to more than a 4-to-1 ratio between North Vietnamese casualties and U.S. casualties in their first major engagement of the war, Moore considers the battle a draw because the U.S. forces left the area, allowing the North Vietnamese to reassert control. Many consider this early battle a microcosm of the later war. Moore was known as "Yellow Hair" to his troops at the battle at Ia Drang, for his blonde hair, and as a tongue-in-cheek homage referencing George Armstrong Custer, commander of the same unit (7th Cavalry) at the Battle of the Little Bighorn just under a century before.

After Vietnam, Moore served as Assistant Chief-of-Staff, Operations and Plans of the Eighth Army in South Korea, and Commanding General of the 7th Infantry Division, before rotating back stateside. As Commanding General of the Army Training Center at Fort Ord, California in 1971-1973, he oversaw extensive experimentation in adapting basic and advanced individual training under Project VOLAR in preparation for the end of conscription and the institution of the Modern Volunteer Army. His final assignments took him to the East Coast, as Commanding General of the Military Personnel Records Center, and finally, Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, Department of the Army.

After his retirement in 1977, Moore served as the Executive President of the Crested Butte Ski Area, Colorado. In June 2009, the 87-year-old Moore attended the formal opening of the National Infantry Museum in Columbus, Georgia. One of the featured exhibits of the museum is a life-size diorama of LZ X-Ray from the Battle of Ia Drang. In 2010 Moore was a signatory to the "1000+ Flag & General Officers Affirm Law on Gays," which opposes proposed changes in rules concerning gays serving in the US military.

Family

Hal Moore and his late wife, Julia Compton Moore, have five children and numerous grandchildren. Two of their sons are career Army officers: one a retired Lieutenant Colonel and another an active duty Colonel. RIP Julia

Books

In 1975, the United States Army Center of Military History published Building a Volunteer Army: The Fort Ord Contribution, by Moore and Lieutenant Colonel Jeff M. Tuten. The 139-page paperback is a monograph concerning the Project VOLAR experiments during Moore's tenure in command of Fort Ord in 1971-1973 in preparation for the end of the draft and the implementation of the Modern Volunteer Army.

In 1992 Hal wrote We Were Soldiers Once… And Young with co-author Joseph L. Galloway. The book was adapted into the 2002 film We Were Soldiers, which was filmed at Forts Benning and Hunter Liggett, depicting Moore's command of 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, at Fort Benning and in the Battle of Ia Drang. In the film, Moore was played by Mel Gibson, while Galloway was portrayed by Barry Pepper.

Hal Moore and Joseph L. Galloway have co-authored another book together, a follow-up to their highly successful first collaboration. We Are Soldiers Still; A Journey Back to the Battlefields of Vietnam was highly anticipated and published in 2008.

Major awards, decorations and badges

	Combat Infantryman Badge (2 awards)
	Basic Army Aviator Badge
	Master Parachutist Badge (United States)
	Original Air Assault Badge
	Vietnam Parachutist Badge
	Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge
	Army Staff Identification Badge
	1st Cavalry Division Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
	7th Cavalry Regiment

	Distinguished Service Cross
	Army Distinguished Service Medal
	Legion of Merit (with two bronze oak leaf clusters)
	Bronze Star (four awards, including two for valor)
	Air Medal with one silver and three bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
	Joint Service Commendation Medal
	Army Commendation Medal (with two bronze oak leaf clusters)
	Army Presidential Unit Citation
	American Campaign Medal
	Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
	World War II Victory Medal
	Army of Occupation Medal
	National Defense Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster
	Korean Service Medal with three bronze campaign stars
	Vietnam Service Medal with three bronze campaign stars
	Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
	Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm (three awards)
	Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
	Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm (two awards)
	United Nations Service Medal for Korea
	Vietnam Campaign Medal
	Republic of Korea War Service Medal

• Order of Saint Maurice by the National Infantry Association
• Distinguished Graduate Award from the West Point Association of Graduates
• Hal Moore is a 2007 recipient of the Joe Ronnie Hooper Award.

External links

• Interview on We Were Soldiers Once...And Young
• Interview on We Are Soldiers Still
• Gathering of Eagles biography