WE WERE SOLDIERS (2002) | FIRST TIME WATCHING | MOVIE REACTION

I went to see this movie with my dad in the theatre when it came out. My father was a Vietnam vet. At the end of the movie when I got up to leave I noticed my dad still sitting there. With tears being held back he asked me to give him a min. I looked up and noticed maybe 4 or 5 other men about his age, also staying seated. I could tell most were crying and I can only assume they were all vets too. It was a very moving experience.

Joe Galloway called Hal Moore his best friend the day the day they laid the general to rest. Joe died in August of 2021. They co-wrote the book this movie is based on. The men of the 7th adopted Joe into their unit. He also was awarded a Bronze Star for carrying wounded troopers to the helicopters under heavy fire. He is only civilian to be decorated during the Vietnam war.

My Dad was in this and the subsequent battles that followed. He received the Bronze Star although I never knew about until seeing this movie and putting the pieces together. He never spoke of it. I remember the towers at Ft . Benning as a 7 year old kid. My Dad was the quietest man when it came to speaking of war despite being a WW2,Korea and Vietnam Vet. He was a good man. R I.P. Pops !

"In war, sometimes you forget you are human." -A very wise man

The movie is based on Colonel Hal Moore's book, "We Were Soldiers Once...And Young". He and Sergeant Major Basil Plumley are legends in the US Cavalry. Moore retired as a 3 star general and they both lived into their 90s. Plumley died in 2012 and Moore in 2017.

It’s worth mentioning that these men, unlike those in Full Metal Jacket, had already been through basic training. They were simply being trained in the new tactic of mobile infantry afforded to the military by helicopters.

I am a combat veteran ( Vietnam ) you can not possibly know thr good you have just done . Thank you for this and God bless you

The soldier in picture on the cover of the book was Rick Rescorla. Not only was he an incredible soldier in this battle but his pre planning saved many lives on 9/11. He started the evacuation of the Morgan Stanley offices in the south tower before that tower was hit by the second plane. He helped save thousands of lives that day. R.I.P

As a Vietnam vet this is the only movie I have found that comes reasonably close to reality. I cried too. Too many friends gone.

True story: in 2006, after Hurricane Katrina, I worked a three-week rotation at Knight-Ridder Newspapers national offices, serving as an editor for stories coming in from dozens of reporters covering the disaster in Louisiana. Joe Galloway worked in that office, the reporter who was with the Calvary during this battle. At one point during my time there Gen. Hal Moore (played here by Mel Gibson) came in to visit with his old friend Joe and we all got the chance to sit with the two of them and listen to them talk about this battle, along with more contemporary military issues. It was a really special couple of hours in my life. Great men.

"We who have seen war will never stop seeing it." That's so accurate. My grandfather was forced to fight in WW2 for a dictatorship he didn't agreed with. He was one of the few that survived the battle of Stalingrad and the russian imprisonment after it. I only know him as a broken man, who woke up screaming every night. When I see pictures of him as a young, proud, strong man, I can't put the two pieces together as one person. He was never the same after it. Greets from Germany!

One of the officers at the battle was Rick Rescorla, he eventually became a security director at the World Trade Center. He died evacuating employees.

What a great movie. My Father fought under Lt Hal Moore 187 Airborne division in Korea. Dad re-enlisted in 1962-1967 in the beginning of the Vietnam war. The final scene was just in the movie was exactly how my father came home. My sister looked out of the window and told my mother that there was a taxi outside. My Dad came home and surprised us all. That’s how these Veterans came home. With NO Welcome home signs. My Dad was one of the Last Tough guys. RIP Dad!!!

Hal Moore countered every early offensive attempt the enemy through at him. He was a hell of a guy. That helicopter pilot you all love was also awarded the Medal of Honor. Hell of a history, but all true.

I had the honor to help host 32 MOH recipients in Nashville a number of years ago. One of those heroes was Bruce Crandall. A real gentleman and very humble.

There's such therapy in seeing you two ladies react so passionately. For those of us who've become jaded it's really a breath of fresh air to remember to consider the humanity of stories like these. Thank you!

The daughter of the man who was shot and killed right after he let his friend take his place on the helicopter bitterly blamed the friend for her father's death for years. She eventually attended a reunion to try to get some closure and talked to the man. From their conversation, she realized what close friends he and her father were and that he would have given his life to save her father if he could. This finally gave her some peace. Afterwards, she said that on her way to the reunion, she was apprehensive and expected to meet mentally unhinged killers (which was how Vietnam vets were stereotyped), but instead, she met a bunch of old guys who had mellowed with age who loved and respected her father greatly and treated her with the utmost kindness and consideration. She said that instead of a scary bunch of killers, they reminded her of a bunch of teddy bears.

I was nine years old when my father died in combat at Thuong Duc, Vietnam. His platoon was ambushed while on patrol and he died saving others. I have lived my life thinking of him every day....and wondering how my family's lives would have been different had he lived. I'm thankful and grateful for every every soldier who returns from the horrors of war but it's also bittersweet knowing we never got to have that reunion. It's been 54 years since that horrible day when there was a knock on our door. Mom was devastated and never remarried. My sister and I are very thankful to have a few memories of dad but unfortunately our younger brothers have almost no memories of him, just old photos. This movie always brings my father's death home to me. It truly is hard to watch and I thank you for your kind words, tears and heartfelt, caring reactions for what our military personnel and their families go through.

As a former medic, watching you two react to this (That is very realistic) choked me , although Ive seen this movie more than once. Somehow, your reaction made me realise how desensitised and numb I have been. The world needs to know how horrid war is. I'm afraid too many people have been disassociated with how bad war is as a means of resolving conflict. Thank you for sharing your raw emotion/reactions to this.

The attention to detail that the actors displayed was astounding. The actor whom play Joe Galloway (the reporter) actually spoke with the real individual and asked if there was anything he had on him, he did. A small book (can't remember of what exactly) on his person throughout the battle. The actor requested the same for filming. THAT is commitment. Great reaction ladies, keep up the good work!