FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF GENERALS
An introduction to a Love Your Parks Tour story series, assigned by Mike Guardia
Mike Guardia is the internationally recognized and award-winning author of the non-fiction books, “Hal Moore: A Soldier Once…and Always,” “American Guerrilla: The Forgotten Heroics of Russell W. Volckmann,” “Shadow Commander: The Epic Story of Donald D. Blackburn,” “The Fires of Babylon: Eagle Troop and the Battle of 73 Easting,” “Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outnumbered,” “Crusader: General Donn Starry and the Army of His Times,” and “Hal Moore: A Life in Pictures.”
Listen to his Big Blend Radio segment where he assigns Nancy J. Reid and Lisa D. Smith on a Love Your Parks Tour story mission, to follow in the footsteps of Generals Hal Moore, Russell W. Volckmann, Donald D. Blackburn, and Donn Starry. He also talks about how LTG Hal Moore loved to spend time with his son in Yosemite National Park (pictured). Hal Moore, one of America’s most admired combat leaders, is best known to the public for being portrayed by Mel Gibson in the movie “We Were Soldiers.”
A 1945 graduate of West Point, Moore’s first combats occurred in Korea, where he fought in the battles of Old Baldy, T-Bone, and Pork Chop Hill. At the beginning of the Vietnam War, he commanded the 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry in the first full-fledged battle between U.S. and North Vietnamese regulars. Drastically outnumbered and nearly overrun, Moore led from the front, and though losing 79 soldiers, accounted for 1,200 of the enemy before the Communists withdrew. This Battle of Ia Drang pioneered the use of “air mobile infantry”–delivering troops into battle via helicopter–which became the staple of U.S. operations for the remainder of the war. He later wrote of his experiences in the best-selling book, We Were Soldiers Once…and Young.
Following his tour in Vietnam, he assumed command of the 7th Infantry Division, forward-stationed in South Korea, and in 1971, he took command of the Army Training Center at Fort Ord, California where he oversaw the US Army’s transition from a conscript-based to an all-volunteer force. He retired as a Lieutenant General in 1977. More at www.MikeGuardia.com
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