Legendary military correspondent looks back on the savage Battle of Ia Drang Valley - We Are The Mighty
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Legendary military correspondent looks back on the savage Battle of Ia Drang Valley

In November of 1965 Joe Galloway was a young reporter for UPI who’d seen combat, but nothing like the intensity he was about to experience by insisting he join a couple of battalions of the 7th Calvary as they faced the first large-unit battle of the Vietnam War. Galloway’s experiences were captured in We Were Soldiers Once . . . And Young, a book he co-wrote with Lt.Gen. Harold G. Moore, USA (ret), who was the commander on the ground during the battle.

Galloway sat down with WATM while he was in DC for the 50th reunion of the Vietnam War veterans of the 7th Calvary, and he offered his memories of the Battle of Ia Drang Valley as well as his thoughts about how soldiers today compare to those who fought previous wars.

For more about We Were Soldiers Once . . . And Young go here.

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This Marine pilot makes landing his jet on a stool look easy

When Marine Corps Capt. William Mahoney took off for a routine training flight on June 7, 2014, he was probably just expecting to fly a few hundred miles and use some missiles to shoot down alien spacecraft (…because we get our entire understanding of Marine Corps aviation from Independence Day).

But what Mahoney didn’t know was that his AV-8 Harrier had a landing gear problem that wouldn’t become apparent until the jet alerted him to it in the air.

He flew past the control tower on the USS Bataan and asked the people there to take a look. They let him know that his front landing gear wasn’t down.

Legendary military correspondent looks back on the savage Battle of Ia Drang Valley
Pilots prefer to have all four landing points working properly. (Photo: U.S. Navy Seaman Levingston Lewis)

For those who aren’t aware, the front landing gear is very important on all aircraft. Jump jets are less susceptible to problems from landing without gear than other aircraft are, but it’s still a very dangerous gamble.

Luckily, the other pilots on the Bataan had a bold idea.

Wait, “crazy” isn’t spelled B-O-L-D.

The crew ran a very nice, custom stool out to the deck and chained it down. Mahoney then flew his jet very slowly toward the stool and bounced the nose of it.

Yeah, he bounces the nose of his multi-million dollar jet on a what is basically a well-dressed stool.

But it worked. Mahoney took a second to breathe and remember how to turn his jet off, and then climbed out to the general praise of his shipmates. You can see the whole landing and an interview with Mahoney in the video at the top.

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The mystery of the French Foreign Legion totally exposed

In 1831, King Louis Philippe of France expanded his country’s military by establishing a service branch made up of mostly foreigners: the French Foreign Legion. Immediately after its creation, the Foreign Legion recruited fighters from Switzerland, Germany, and other countries to protect and expand the French colonial empire. Despite the Foreign Legion’s involvement in most of France’s wars since being established, the French don’t get too bummed about their losses. Let’s just say it’s complicated.

Music licensed by Jingle Punks
 

Read more: 

• French Foreign Legion website

• 5 surprising facts you probably didn’t know about the French Foreign Legion

• Stereotypes aside, the French know how to finish a fight

• The 7 most bizarre foreign military uniforms

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Here’s how the Atlanta Falcons honored fallen heroes

Update: This article previously stated that the Falcons would again be wearing the initials of fallen heroes at the Super Bowl. This act of honor was solely done during their Salute to Service game in November.

The Atlanta Falcons, who will face off against the New England Patriots this weekend in Super Bowl LI, honored veterans by wearing the initials of fallen heroes on their helmets during their Salute to Service game in November 2016. Together with TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), the Falcons put together a meaningful event that including the surviving families of the fallen.

Legendary military correspondent looks back on the savage Battle of Ia Drang Valley
The Atlanta Falcons honored 63 fallen heroes and recognized their surviving families at their Salute to Service game in Atlanta. (Photo credit: Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors)

The tribute is part of the NFL’s Salute to Service campaign; in partnership with USAA, the NFL works throughout the year to honor veterans and raise funds for the USO, the Pat Tillman Foundation, and the Wounded Warrior Project (millions and millions of funds, in fact).

In fact, the Falcons played such a key role in honoring America’s vets and their families, Head Coach Dan Quinn was nominated for USAA’s Salute to Service Award.

The video below features players from the Falcons as they share the names of men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice. The list is a sobering reminder of the cost of freedom, but the comments from people who personally knew the heroes named is what will make you reach for the tissues.


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Kurt Russell and Mark Wahlberg talk to us on the ‘Deepwater Horizon’ red carpet


We Are The Mighty was invited to New Orleans to attend the premiere of Lionsgate’s “Deepwater Horizon,” director Peter Berg’s new disaster drama. Featuring a cast of heavy hitters like Kate Hudson, Mark Wahlberg, and Kurt Russell, the red carpet was full of big names who were happy to take a moment to speak about the U.S. military.

And, hey, did you know that Kurt Russell was in the Air Force?

You can check out our more interviews with the cast and director here.

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Keep it clean in the field or in the office with this personal hygiene kit!

Today we have a special on a special kind of personal hygiene.

Here at the Mighty Value Center, we provide only the best quality, top-of-the-line products developed from extensive research on the front lines and delivered right to your door!

Military scientists have spent decades pursuing the answer to the question: What do you do when you’re in “the suck” and nature insists on making a call?

Well the Mighty Value Center has taken the success of field tested practices and developed a product that can be utilized in the field, in the office, or even at home!

Veteran salesman J.P. Connolly brings you the Portable Toilet! Forget about walking all the way to the bathroom. … Never be caught with your pants down again!

Act now! Supplies are limited.

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This Marine went from flutes to Fallujah

Mike Ergo enlisted with the Marine Corps Band but then decided to go Infantry and wound up engaged in heavy urban fighting in the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004.

One of Ergo’s defining tattoos from the war is an image on his left forearm of St. Michael holding a scale of justice and a foot on the face of a dead Iraqi he came across in a combat.

“For a long time I was seeing this person’s face every single day, sometimes every single hour of the day,” said Ergo. “My thinking was if I had to see his face, everyone else had to see it as well. It was a tattoo I got out of anger.”

“Vietnam vets talk about their experiences coming back and the big gulf that happened between the veterans and civilians,” continues Ergo. “This is an opportunity for our generation to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

Ergo’s story is part of War Ink: 11 for 11, a video series presented by We Are The Mighty.  The series features 11 combat veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan using tattoos to tell their stories on and off the battlefield. Each week for the next 11 weeks, a different tattooed veteran will share his or her story.

Do you have a tattoo that tells the story of your war experiences? Post a photo of it at We Are The Mighty’s Facebook page with the hashtag #WeAreTheMightyInk. WATM will be teeing up the coolest and most intense ones through Veteran’s Day.

Video Credit: Rebecca Murga and Karen Kraft

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Meet the guy behind this show where a Marine Corps vet fights zombies

Mark Tufo wrote Zombie Fallout, a nine-book series that follows Marine Corps veteran and family man Mike Talbot as he tries to keep his family safe in a world overrun by zombies.

Like the character Talbot, Tufo served in the Marine Corps before returning to civilian life, starting a family, and adopting an English bulldog. The similarities end when Talbot’s neighborhood is taken over by flesh-eating and brain-hunting zombies, forcing him and his family to fight their way out.

Now, Talbot and his family might be getting their own TV series. Brad Thomas, a television producer and fan of the series, has teamed up with Tufo to bring the zombie epic to the masses. WATM got to spend a day with them and some military veteran fans on the set as the crew filmed a teaser for the show.

WATM’s Weston Scott was given the opportunity to interview director Brad Thomas about his journey from fan to producer, a little insider knowledge of Tufo’s creation, and the process of bringing together all of the fan-driven elements to the project.

You can also check out the music video teaser for Zombie Fallout.

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Watch Marines obliterate targets with their most powerful rockets

The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System is a mobile launch platform that carries six 13-foot long, 9-inch wide rockets with 200-pound warheads.

The U.S. Army and Marine Corps mount the systems on the back trucks they can drive into position to obliterate an enemy force.

Marines with 2nd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment fired their HIMARS a few weeks ago using the new Guided MLRS Unitary Rocket that features a precision strike capability.

While conducting a simulated raid they fired their rockets at a number of targets at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. (And they were even kind enough to place cameras downrange to catch the destruction of the targets.)

Legendary military correspondent looks back on the savage Battle of Ia Drang Valley

(Video: Marine Forces Reserve Cpl. Ian Leones)

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Watch the crazy way MARSOC trains operators to shoot and drive

The U.S. Marine Corps has a reputation for making amazing videos about their training and capabilities, but Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command’s new video about defensive driving and precision shooting takes the cake.

It’s like “Top Gear” had a baby with “Hot Shots”:

Legendary military correspondent looks back on the savage Battle of Ia Drang Valley
GIF: YouTube/Marines

The Marines going through the training do some awesome stuff in the video, like executing actual rollovers:

Legendary military correspondent looks back on the savage Battle of Ia Drang Valley
GIF: YouTube/Marines

And it shows them apprehending simulated targets who attempted to flee in a vehicle:

Legendary military correspondent looks back on the savage Battle of Ia Drang Valley
GIF: YouTube/Marines

The whole video is pretty great, but be warned that it increases the desire for an Eagle, Globe, and Anchor by at least 13 percent. Check it out below:

(h/t Doctrine Man)
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USS New York – the ship built with steel from the World Trade Center

Shortly after the Sep. 11 terrorist attacks, New York Gov. George E. Pataki wrote a letter to the Navy requesting to bestow the name “New York” on a warship in honor of the victims.

During the naming ceremony aboard the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in Manhattan, Pataki said, “USS New York will ensure that all New Yorkers and the world will never forget the evil attacks of September 11, and the courage and compassion New Yorkers showed in response to terror,” according to the Navy.

Read more about the USS New York, the ship built with steel from the World Trade Center here.

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This Mustang just set a new speed record

How fast can a P-51 go? There’s a new answer thanks to a flight over this past Labor Day weekend carried out by Steven Hinton, a noted air racing champion.

According to a release by Pursuit Aviation, the record was set Sept. 2, 2017, in a modified P-51D Mustang known as Voodoo. Voodoo averaged 531.53 miles per hour on four passes, the fastest of them at 554.69 miles per hour, taking the top honor for the C-1e classification. The previous holder of the record was Will Whiteside Jr., who averaged 318 miles per hour in a modified Yak-3.

Legendary military correspondent looks back on the savage Battle of Ia Drang Valley
Voodoo in a hangar. (Pursuit Aviation)

While the plane did go faster than Rare Bear, a modified Grumman F8F Bearcat that set an aerial speed record of 528.33 miles per hour in 1989, it did not officially set that World Speed Record due to that record being retired by the World Air Sports Federation due to changes in the sporting code.

According to a history of the plane available at AerialVisuals.ca, it was built in 1944 for the United States Army, then transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1951 before being sold off in 1959. The plane went through a number of owners and survived two crashes (one in 1962, and one in 1977) before being sold to William Speer in 1980. It was modified as a racer, then was sold to Bob Button in 1994. Hinton began to race the plane after Button retired in 2007, and won the Unlimited Gold Championship in 2013, 2014, and 2016.

Legendary military correspondent looks back on the savage Battle of Ia Drang Valley
Steven Hinton Jr., the pilot who set the new record in the C-1e class. (Pursuit Aviation)

You can see video of this record-setting run below.


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