Joe Galloway, the legendary war correspondent and co-author of We Were Soldiers Once…and Young, has died at 79, the Associated Press reports.
Galloway began his journalism career as a reporter for a newspaper in Victoria, Texas, before joining United Press International. He was known for his reporting on the Vietnam War; while in that country, he rescued an American soldier who was under fire in the Battle of Ia Drang in 1965. For his heroics he was awarded the Bronze Star, one of the only civilians in American history to receive that honor.
In 1992, he wrote about his Vietnam experiences in We Were Soldiers Once…and Young, co-authored with Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore. A critic for Kirkus called the book “an authoritative briefing whose band-of-brothers perspectives make it a genuinely affecting addition to the growing record of America’s involvement in Vietnam.” The book became a bestseller, and was adapted into the 2002 movie We Were Soldiers.
Galloway’s admirers paid tribute to him on social media. Writer Robert Bateman tweeted, “My good friend, one of my best over decades, my former housemate, my mentor and co-belligerent, Joe Galloway died this morning. He survived and reported on seven wars, three riots and a lynching...Remember him as he did others.”
My good friend, one of my best over decades, my former housemate, my mentor and co-belligerent, Joe Galloway died this morning. He survived and reported on seven wars, three riots and a lynching. He wrote We Were Soldiers Once…And Young. Remember him as he did others.
— Robert Bateman (@RobertLBateman) August 18, 2021
And journalist Dan Lamothe wrote, “Joe Galloway is a damn legend in the business, and was kind and generous with his time. When last I heard from him, he said he had decided to give up covering conflict when he turned 65 and ‘leave it to you young’uns.’”
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
