Hal’s story began in Bardstown, Kentucky, a tiny community tucked in the Ohio River Valley’s foothills. His generation grew up hearing the harrowing tales of the Great War, the Roaring Twenties’ decadence, and experiencing the hardships of the Great Depression. Hal learned to appreciate the value of hard work. He took various odd jobs to help his family make ends meet – cutting grass, caddying, and even being a waterboy at the Guthrie Distillery Warehouse.

Hal had a voracious appetite for reading. When he was not working, fishing, or playing sports, Hal was at the library, devouring any book he could find on military history. Hal crystallized his goal of attending USMA when he was 15. In 1940, he accepted a patronage job at the Senate book warehouse that required him to drop out of high school and travel to DC while severely sick with the flu to meet the start date. Hal finished school at night and walked the halls of Congress searching for an appointment. Awarded a USNA appointment from KY, he convinced a Georgia congressman to swap his USMA appointment for the Kentucky USNA slot. Appointed from Georgia, he entered USMA in 1942.

After graduation, Hal served on occupation duty in Japan with the 11th Airborne Division. He returned to the 82nd Airborne, where he married the great love of his life, Julie Compton. Bored with peacetime duty, Hal transferred to the Army Field Forces Board, where he tested parachutes, surviving multiple malfunctions, including being hung up and towed behind a plane. Deployed to the Korean War in 1952, he joined the 7th Infantry Division where he participated in the bloody outpost battles, including Pork Chop Hill, Alligator Jaws, and others. He commanded Rifle and Heavy Mortar companies, served as a Regimental S3, Division Assistant G3, earning two Bronze Star Medals for Valor.

Subsequent assignments included teaching tactics at USMA, developing airborne and air assault equipment in the Pentagon, and a tour of duty in Norway, where he planned the ground defense of Northern Europe. In 1964, Hal took command of an infantry battalion in the 11th Air Assault Division (Test) focused on developing the air mobility operational framework. In 1965, the battalion was designated the 1st battalion, 7th Cavalry, and deployed to Vietnam as part of the 1st Cavalry Division.

Hal is best known for his leadership in the first major battle of the Vietnam War in the Ia Drang Valley. It was a fight to the death against over 2,000 enemy furiously determined to destroy the vastly outnumbered 7th Cavalry. After a three-day bloodbath, the enemy quit the field, leaving over six hundred of their dead. Hal was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during the fight. Promoted to Colonel, Hal assumed command of the 3rd Brigade and led it through several campaigns in 1966, during which he matured the Airmobile concept. His operational success caused several publications to call him the “General Patton of Vietnam” and his Division Commander to call him, “the ideal field commander.” Often on the ground sharing the risks with his troopers, he earned another Bronze Star Medal for Valor (rescued a wounded soldier under heavy automatic and small arms weapons fire) and individual awards of the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm. Hal loved soldiers deeply and formally asked the Department of the Army to return his Purple Heart because he believed his wound was not severe enough when compared to those his troops suffered. When Bardstown announced it would celebrate his return with an elaborate “Hal Moore Day,” he refused to participate unless the event changed to “Vietnam Veteran’s Day.”

In 1968, Hal pinned on his first star and led the planning for the Army’s withdrawal from Vietnam. He returned to Korea in 1969 as the Eighth Army G3, was frocked to Major General, and given command of the 7th Infantry Division to straighten it out after it was fractured with insubordination and race riots. Hal rebuilt the Division back into a capable fighting force. General John H. Michaelis, the Commanding General of the 8th Army, commented in Hal’s efficiency report:

“MG Moore has demonstrated, under extremely difficult conditions, those attributes of personal decorum, highest professional standards, and superb leadership, which led to enthusiastic loyalty from his subordinates and complete confidence of his seniors. I consider this young General Officer to be an outstanding Division Commander who led by example and accepted only the highest duty standards from himself and his subordinates. Of particular importance, in this day of dissent, was General Moore’s ability to communicate with his personnel—to be familiar and conversant with their problems, imagined or actual. The outstanding capabilities of General Moore are exemplified by his handling of minority problems; the confidence placed in General Moore by minorities; and the confidence of all other races and creeds in their commander.”

In 1971, he took command of the Training Center at Fort Ord in the era of Vietnam antiwar demonstrations, drug problems, racial tensions, and the transition to the modern volunteer Army. Hal applied his techniques from Korea to create another successful outcome as reflected in his efficiency report:

“MG Moore is the best training Center commander I have known. … “Innovative, imaginative, intelligent and forceful, he combines these talents with a complete and very evident dedication to mission accomplishment and to the fair and equal treatment of all, regardless of race or creed. He has instituted, and actively pursues, many excellent programs for the personnel at Fort Ord, including but not limited to racial relations, drug and alcohol abuse, leadership, self-discipline, human sensitivity, and community relations. He is a truly outstanding officer and definitely Lieutenant General material.”

From August 1973 through November 1974, Moore was the Commanding General of the Army’s Military Personnel Center. Following that assignment, he took overall charge of Army personnel policy when he served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel (DSCPER) from November 1974 until his retirement in July 1977. As the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, Moore drove the equal opportunity policy and aligned it with the lessons he learned from Korea and Fort Ord. He was most proud of the work done to rebuild an NCO Corps almost destroyed by the Vietnam War.

During this period, he developed and was a key advocate for the new “Army Equal Opportunity Program,” introduced in 1973. As the Commanding General of the Personnel Center, he was responsible for implementing the program. Upon his promotion to lieutenant general and reassignment to the DCSPER, he was able to set Army policy and align it with his vision of equality.

Following retirement, he co-wrote the 1992 New York Times Bestselling book on the Ia Drang battles, We Were Soldiers Once… and Young, that remains on official Army and USMC reading lists to this day. Up until his death, Hal shared his combat leadership experiences and principles with soldiers in countless seminars. The Army confirmed his contributions to the Infantry with the annual Doughboy Award in 2000. The Smithsonian recognized his perspective by including a video of him discussing the Ia Drang in its Vietnam exhibit. USMA designated him a Distinguished Graduate in 2003. Hal’s other books were We are Soldiers Still and Hal Moore on Leadership.

His contributions to the nation recognized by 5 state Senate/House resolutions from GA, AL, and KY. Hal rests in the Fort Benning cemetery alongside his troops from Vietnam.