"We are moving into the Valley of the Shadow of Death where you will watch the back of the man next to you, as he will watch yours, and you won't care what color he is, or by what name he calls God. We are going into battle against a tough and determined enemy. I can't promise you that I will bring you all home alive. But this I swear... when we go into battle, I will be the first to step on the field and I will be the last to step off. And I will leave no one behind... dead or alive. We will all come home together."

With these words, on the day before he was to lead his men off to war, Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore addressed his soldiers and their families. Before him were young men, still innocent to war, and older men already bearing the scars and decorations of battle. And sitting among them listening to her husband's words, was Moore's own wife, Julie, who had seen him up late at night studying history books about various massacres, strategizing a better outcome for his men, the First Battalion of the Seventh Calvary... the same regiment as General George Armstrong Custer.

On Sunday, November 14, 1965 at 10:48 a.m., Lt. Col. Hal Moore and his young troopers touched down at Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang (pronounced: Eye Drang) Valley, a place in Vietnam known as "The Valley of Death." A man of his word, Lt. Col. Moore set foot on the field of battle first only to find himself and approximately 400 of his men surrounded by roughly 2000 North Vietnamese soldiers. The ensuing battle was one of the most savage in U.S. history, and the first major encounter between the soldiers of North Vietnam and America. "We Were Soldiers" is a tribute to the nobility and uncommon valor of those men under fire. It honors their loyalty to their country and to each other, and it brings to light the heroism and unimaginable sacrifice of men and women both home and abroad.

In a place soon to be known as The Valley of Death, in a small clearing called landing zone X-Ray, Lt. Colonel Hal Moore (Mel Gibson) and 400 young fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons, all troopers from an elite American combat division, were surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers. The ensuing battle was one of the most savage in U.S. history. We Were Soldiers Once...And Young is a tribute to the nobility of those men under fire, their common acts of uncommon valor, and their loyalty to and love for one another.