Joe Galloway

[nbkky71]

I was fortunate enough to attend a small lecture at the Kannapolis library this evening and Joe Galloway was the speaker. For those of you that don't know, he co-authored "We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young".

Although it was a small lecture, Mr. Galloway was a fascinating man to listen to. He covered a wide range to topics ranging from his beginnings in journalism, his coverage of Vietnam through Iraq, political views and some tear shedding memories of friends and colleagues.

With 50 years of experience, I could have sit and listened to the man all day. Now that my copy of the book is signed, it's NEVER leaving my library.

 

[WdnuWndr]

That is fascinating, he was my favorite person in the movie.
Just the way he hung up his camera & joined in fighting then right back
to his profession. A real life badass.

 

[Radar]

That man is a TRUE American hero point blank plain and simple.

Wish I had known he was going to be there I may have made the drive to hear him speak.

 

[nbkky71]

That is fascinating, he was my favorite person in the movie.
Just the way he hung up his camera & joined in fighting then right back

He did comment on his portrayal in the movie and spoke highly of Barry Pepper. Although a non-combatant, he spoke of regularly carrying an M16 as well as 20 loaded mags in his ruck, plus extra ammo on top of that. He spoke of his involvement at Plei Me and how he was pressed into service as a machine gunner by Maj. Charlie Beckwith (of Delta fame). Shoot the little brown men outside the wire... don't shoot the little brown men inside the wire. Amazing stories...

I did enjoy one part of his lecture where he said that (and I'm paraphrasing here...): I know how to shoot and I'm OK with an M16. And I'm fairly good on the Browning .30 cal too.

He mentioned that he was going to make another lecture at the Concord library in the future, but he didn't mention a date. So, keep your eyes and ears open!

 

[Chuckman]

The stuff he wrote about VN was great; objective, told the good, the bad, and the ugly. One of the seminal writers of that war.

I never met the man, but I do know a VN vet who has known him since the war (calls him "a close friend of the family"), so being one degree of separation away is cool....