U.S. film "We were soldiers" criticized
HANOI - Vietnamese war veterans have strongly criticized the U.S. film "We were soldiers"
for deliberately distorting history and smearing Vietnamese soldiers, who had defeated the U.S. invaders in a
prolonged war that ended in 1975.
The veterans, including those who were directly involved in the Ia Drang battle in the Central Highlands in
November 1965 (the subject of the film), and Vietnamese writers and movie critics gathered in Ha Noi on July
10 for a dialogue about the recent U.S. film, which has received critical reactions from movie fans and critics
in Europe as well as in the U.S.
Sen.Lt.Gen. Dang Vu Hiep, former political commissar of the Central Highlands battlefield in 1965, and Col.
Vu Dinh Thuong, former commander of a military company that fought American troops in the Ia Drang battle,
stressed that what was depicted in the film "We were soldiers" was totally contrary to the facts of the battle.
This was the first face-to-face fight between North Viet Nam's regular army and regular American troops in
the war, and during which a brigade of the first cavalry division of the U.S. Army was badly defeated by four
battalions from Regiment 66 of the North Vietnamese army, they recalled.
Their view was also shared by Lt.Gen. Nguyen Dinh Uoc, former head of the Military Institute of History, and
other high-ranking military officers as well as numerous writers and film makers and movie critics, who
attended the dialogue.
The defeat of U.S troops in the battle is widely recognized by many American veterans and writers,
including Lt-col. Moore, the author of the memoir on which the film "We were soldiers" is based.
Vietnam news Agency - July 12, 2002.
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