Without Question This Is The Best Vietnam War Footage Anyone Has Ever Unearthed — The Battle Of Ia Drang

The Battle of Ia Drang was the first major engagement in the Vietnam War, with U.S. and North Vietnamese forces clashing in a battle lasting three days. The harrowing tale of this battle would later be used to create the book (and subsequent movie) We Were Soldiers, but retired Army Colonel Tony Nadal lived it firsthand.

This is already being called the greatest footage ever released of the Vietnam War. The AARP put together this clip of Col. Nadal telling his story of the Battle of Ia Drang in conjunction with 35mm and 16mm reels pulled from that National Archives that were then scanned using a 4k scanner, bringing this surreal story to the public in a way that’s never been seen before:

via AARP:

In the first major engagement of the war between regular U.S. and North Vietnamese forces, Col. Tony Nadal and his fellow 3rd Brigade, 1st Calvary Division (Airmobile) launched the first heliborne assault of its kind against the North Vietnamese forces. This three day battle resulted in the loss of thousands of lives, and tested the limits of both armies capabilities. It was later depicted in the book and film We Were Solders Once.

I cannot even begin to fathom being a part of a battle like that, and it brings immense warmth to my heart to know that America is home to soldiers like Colonel Tony Nadal. ‘My duty was to move to the sound of the guns’, you just don’t hear people saying things like that anymore. I’m thankful to the AARP for unearthing this footage, and I’m even more thankful for Colonel Tony Nadal for being a great American.

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(via AARP.org)