Hal Moore

Harold G. "Hal" Moore (born February 13, 1922) is a former U.S. Army Lieutenant General. He was most famous as the lieutenant colonel in command of a battalion of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment, at the 1965 Battle of Ia Drang during the Vietnam War.

Born in Bardstown, Kentucky, his chances of obtaining an appointment to the United States Military Academy were reduced due to the demographics of the area; Moore therefore moved to Washington, D.C to complete his high school education, and attended George Washington University for two years before receiving his appointment from a Georgia congressman in 1942. He graduated from West Point in 1945.

Moore was commissioned as a second lieutenant, in 1945, and retired in 1977. After his retirement, Moore served as the Executive Vice President of the Crested Butte Ski Area, Colorado. Moore was portrayed by Mel Gibson in We Were Soldiers (2002) which was the film version of Moore's book We Were Soldiers Once...And Young.

Military career history

• Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, Department of the Army
• Commander of Fort Ord, CA in 1971
• Commander of the US 7th Infantry Division in Korea during the late 1960s and early 1970s
• Vietnam War -- Battalion and Brigade Commander (1st Cavalry Division)
• Korean War -- Company Commander and Regimental S3 (US 7th Infantry Division)
  

  Selected awards

• Combat Infantryman's Badge (2)
• Distinguished Service Cross
• Master Paratrooper
• 2003 USO Patriot Award
  

  Writings by Hal Moore

• We Were Soldiers Once...And Young (CoAuthor: Joseph L. Galloway)

External link