America lost one of her great old war horses last week when Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Basil L. Plumley passed away at 92 in Columbus, Georgia.  CSM Plumley was probably the country's best-known sergeant major, thanks to Sam Elliott's memorable portrayal of him in the movie We Were Soldiers Once...and Young, the filmed version of the book by Joe Galloway and retired Lieutenant General Hal Moore.  That book chronicled America's first major battle of the Vietnam War,  when a battalion of American infantry under the command of then-Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Moore was the first unit of the newly-arrived-in-Vietnam 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) to test the air assault concept against a viable enemy force in the Ia Drang Valley. The movie, starring Mel Gibson as LTC Moore, leading the 1st Battalion of the famed 7th Cavalry Regiment, was a big hit, but also a gut-wrencher for many of us who served as combat infantrymen in that war.  It is probably the most honest...(Read Full Post)