Mourning the trauma of what began 55 years ago today
The first troops landed at LZ X-ray at 10:48 local time and over the next 4 and half hours they were joined by fellow Air Cavalry soldiers. Over the next few days maybe 2,000 men on both sides of the battle at the Ia Drang valley in Vietnam were killed or wounded.
In the aftermath of this battle pentagon officials adopted "body count" as a measure of success for engagements.
The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) were not fighting this one battle but engaged in a war spanning decades. A war which qualified a victory as any battle that was not a strategic loss.
Joe Galloway later described Ia Drang as "the battle that convinced Ho Chi Minh he could win".
Of the battle, LTC Hal Moore said, The "peasant soldiers [of North Vietnam] had withstood the terrible high-tech fire storm delivered against them by a superpower and had at least fought the Americans to a draw. By their yardstick, a draw against such a powerful opponent was the equivalent of a victory."
I can paraphrase a quote saying... "Some groups measure their own greatness by how mighty their enemies be."
Have we learned anything? 
= new reply since forum marked as read
My cousin Robert returned with worsening PTSD.
During the '70s Vietnam Vets weren't accepted well at all. They were often shunned, considered heartless killers and blamed for every awful event carried on the news. They were variously viewed in numerous negative ways and often portrayed that way in the news, movies and TV.
I'm a bit late for Veterans Day but to all Vets, thanks for your service. 
