Joe Galloway with the U.S. Army’s 256th Stryker Brigade outside Mosul, Iraq, in January 2006.If you go
› What: Welcome Home Celebration Honoring Vietnam Veterans.› Admission: Free.› Phone: 615-587-2073.› Online: www.ava223.org.
Schedule
› Monday, March 27, 5:30-7:30 p.m. First Tennessee Pavilion, 1826 Reggie White Blvd. — Opening ceremonies featuring Tennessee Commissioner of Veterans Affairs, Col. Many Bears Grinder, a musical tribute, supper for Vietnam veterans and families and the official welcome home by the Department of Defense and the Daughters of the American Revolution› Tuesday, March 28, Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St. — Screenings of “We Were Soldiers” at 10 a.m., 1:30 and 4 p.m. Each showing will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Joe Galloway, co-author of the book “We Were Soldiers Once … and Young,” and featuring soldiers from the movie.› Wednesday, March 29, Chattanooga National Cemetery, 1200 Bailey Ave. — A final welcome home featuring an address by Joe Galloway, 6-7 p.m.
Joe Galloway did not volunteer to be a spokesman for all of the Vietnam veterans who have felt shunned, disrespected and neglected over the last 50 years, but he is proud and honored to have done it.
Galloway was a war correspondent for most of his career, but in the ’60s and ’70s, he was a reporter for United Press International. He covered battles during four tours in Vietnam and had a front-row seat for some of the action. In 1992, he and Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore co-wrote the book “We Were Soldiers Once and Young,” which was made into a movie starring Mel Gibson in 2002.
The book focuses on the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 7th Cavalry Regiment in the Battle of the la Drang Valley in November of 1965. It was the first large-scale battle of the war involving U.S. troops. The book and movie helped give voice to the brave soldiers who fought and died there, and it made Galloway a spokesman for them over the years.