We Were Soldiers

Revealing mistake: The scene right after Mrs. Moore delivers the first batch of telegrams shows Lt. Col. Moore kneeling beside several "dead" soldiers. I could see at least the first four breathing.

Revealing mistake: On the battlefield where Mel Gibson first talks to the reporter, there are bodies of dead men lined up on the ground. You can clearly see one of the dead men breathing.

Revealing mistake: Snake Shit's helicopter has no holes in its windshield. Every other part of the helicopter is riddled with bullet holes except his perfect, spotless windshield.

Revealing mistake: Towards the end of the movie, a VC soldier holds a shoulder fired rocket launcher. If you watch carefully, you can see the rocket wobbling as if it's made of rubber.

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Mistakes

Factual error: Throughout the battle, the artillery rounds impact far too soon after they have been called in. While the artillery supporting 1/7 CAV at Ia Drang did have some pre-planned targets, it is impossible for any gun crew to receive a fire mission, adjust the gun, and fire the round as quickly as depicted (i.e., in a matter of seconds).

Texijapi

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Suggested correction: Several times you hear them say artillery at previously established coordinates...the guns were already dialled in to where they needed to be and all they had to do was shoot them.

Steve Kozak

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Quotes

Sergeant Ernie Savage: Beautiful morning, Sergeant.
Sergeant Major Basil Plumley: What are you a fucking weatherman now?

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Trivia

Trivia: This can only be seen in the deleted scenes on the DVD version. In the church where the wives are having mass as their husbands are flying into combat, Second Lt. John L. Geoghegan's wife, played by Keri Russell, is sitting in front of the real widow of Second Lt. John L. Geoghegan.

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Questions

Question: Would a sergeant-major participate in a mission?

Answer: This one did, everything ascribed to him in the film was true.

Farmersboy

CSM Plumley's records show that he served in 320th Glider Field Artillery Battalion as a scout. The 320th participated in two glider assaults in the European Theater. Also, Plumley never served in Korea during the Korean War, so he couldn't have participated in one of the two combat jumps of that conflict. His record book indicates he was at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky (1951 to early 1953) when he received orders to Germany. Finally, he never claimed to have made any combat jumps in his career.

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