The following entry is a follow-up to the December 30th piece about Mike Harrington. In November of 2005 I had the opportunity to meet Lieutenant General Hal Moore of “We Were Soldiers” fame. I took Harrington along with me and we had a wonderful visit with a First Cav legend.
(From left to right in the above photo: SFC Chuck Grist, Lt. Gen. Hal Moore, SFC Michael Harrington)
This op-ed article resulted from that meeting:
STILL LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Special to the Orlando Sentinel
November 20, 2005
When the unassuming senior citizen walked up to me and held out his hand, I thought I was prepared to meet retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore of “We Were Soldiers” fame. I’m an old Vietnam veteran, but I was still in awe of a man who had been one of my own personal heroes for more than 35 years.
Most average Americans are familiar with Moore because he was portrayed by Mel Gibson in the highly successful movie. What most people may not know is that his leadership qualities have inspired so many for so long, from a young West Point cadet named Norman Schwarzkopf to the terrified soldiers in Vietnam’s Ia Drang Valley to countless military, corporate and community leaders of today.
Moore came to Central Florida recently to lend his name and speaking prowess to a new scholarship fund in the name of Cpl. Andrew Bowling, a Casselberry Marine killed in the battle for Fallujah last year. The night before the general was to speak at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Oviedo, I was invited to meet him at a private dinner. There is no First Cavalry veteran alive who would not grab an opportunity to break bread with Hal Moore.
I also wanted the general to meet a friend of mine. Sgt. First Class Michael Harrington, who had been attached to the First Cavalry Division in Iraq and who had performed a gallant rescue mission for some of his own comrades. As I related the story of Harrington’s actions during that mission, Moore listened intently. It was a great feeling to see the general put his arm around Harrington in a personal acknowledgement of the sergeant as a fellow warrior.
My friend and I were enthralled as we listened to Moore recall his trip to Vietnam to research the book upon which the movie was based. As he talked about meeting Lt. Gen. An, who led the enemy forces in that long ago battle, it was easy to become drawn into the story. When Moore spoke about returning to the battlefield where so many had died, he was able to take us there with him because he is so gifted with the ability to describe sights, sounds and emotions.
During our evening with Moore, I watched as other guests met and spoke with him. Some of these people were elected officials, law enforcement professionals and others who would give anything to possess the inspirational abilities and leadership qualities of this retired general. It is to their credit that they would even try to follow the example of such a man.
Although he is in his mid-80s, Moore still travels frequently around the country. When he is not teaching leadership to military and civilian bosses, he is reminding Americans of a new generation of young warriors who are standing up to defend this country. Many of them, like Andrew Bowling, are making the ultimate sacrifice.
It is said that soldiers follow commanders because they have to; they follow leaders because they want to. Moore has always led by example. He never asked his soldiers to do anything that he was not willing to do himself, and he understood that rank is something you wear; respect is something you earn. Ultimately, he not only earned that respect himself, he discovered that he had the gift to teach others how to earn it as well.
We often say that young Americans need more real heroes. It is a shame that every one of them can’t spend just one hour with Hal Moore.
SFC Chuck Grist
(From left to right in the above photo: SFC Chuck Grist, Lt. Gen. Hal Moore, SFC Michael Harrington)
This op-ed article resulted from that meeting:
STILL LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Special to the Orlando Sentinel
November 20, 2005
When the unassuming senior citizen walked up to me and held out his hand, I thought I was prepared to meet retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore of “We Were Soldiers” fame. I’m an old Vietnam veteran, but I was still in awe of a man who had been one of my own personal heroes for more than 35 years.
Most average Americans are familiar with Moore because he was portrayed by Mel Gibson in the highly successful movie. What most people may not know is that his leadership qualities have inspired so many for so long, from a young West Point cadet named Norman Schwarzkopf to the terrified soldiers in Vietnam’s Ia Drang Valley to countless military, corporate and community leaders of today.
Moore came to Central Florida recently to lend his name and speaking prowess to a new scholarship fund in the name of Cpl. Andrew Bowling, a Casselberry Marine killed in the battle for Fallujah last year. The night before the general was to speak at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Oviedo, I was invited to meet him at a private dinner. There is no First Cavalry veteran alive who would not grab an opportunity to break bread with Hal Moore.
I also wanted the general to meet a friend of mine. Sgt. First Class Michael Harrington, who had been attached to the First Cavalry Division in Iraq and who had performed a gallant rescue mission for some of his own comrades. As I related the story of Harrington’s actions during that mission, Moore listened intently. It was a great feeling to see the general put his arm around Harrington in a personal acknowledgement of the sergeant as a fellow warrior.
My friend and I were enthralled as we listened to Moore recall his trip to Vietnam to research the book upon which the movie was based. As he talked about meeting Lt. Gen. An, who led the enemy forces in that long ago battle, it was easy to become drawn into the story. When Moore spoke about returning to the battlefield where so many had died, he was able to take us there with him because he is so gifted with the ability to describe sights, sounds and emotions.
During our evening with Moore, I watched as other guests met and spoke with him. Some of these people were elected officials, law enforcement professionals and others who would give anything to possess the inspirational abilities and leadership qualities of this retired general. It is to their credit that they would even try to follow the example of such a man.
Although he is in his mid-80s, Moore still travels frequently around the country. When he is not teaching leadership to military and civilian bosses, he is reminding Americans of a new generation of young warriors who are standing up to defend this country. Many of them, like Andrew Bowling, are making the ultimate sacrifice.
It is said that soldiers follow commanders because they have to; they follow leaders because they want to. Moore has always led by example. He never asked his soldiers to do anything that he was not willing to do himself, and he understood that rank is something you wear; respect is something you earn. Ultimately, he not only earned that respect himself, he discovered that he had the gift to teach others how to earn it as well.
We often say that young Americans need more real heroes. It is a shame that every one of them can’t spend just one hour with Hal Moore.
SFC Chuck Grist
Deepest honorship to the Men defending our world!
ReplyDeleteA. Eger