General Hal Moore and Sergeant Major Plumley

Thanks SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL for emphasizing that LTG Harold "Hal" Moore rejoined Sergeant Major Basil Plumley at my alma mater USMA, West Point in May 2010.
Images: 1965 CSM Basil Plumley and Lt. Col. Harold Moore in Vietnam; 1965 Battalion command group just before X-Ray - Standing left to right, Basil Plumley, Matt Dillon, Hal Moore, and Tom Metsker. Kneeling left to right; LTG Hal Moore and CSM Basil Plumley lead members of the 1st Battalion 7th U. S. Cavalry; Command Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley and retired Lt. Gen. Harold “Hal” G. Moore at the unveiling of the new Warrior Athlete of Excellence Award plaque at Arvin Cadet Physical Development Center May 10, 2010. Beginning in 2011, the Lt. Gen. Harold “Hal” Moore award will be presented to a male and female cadet who best exemplifies the leadership qualities of Moore and the tenets of the Warrior Ethos on the athletic playing fields and in the Department of Physical Education combatives program.
"Plaque dedication unveils new warrior athlete award
[Editor's Note: This article was originally published in the May 20 issue of the Pointer View in 2010 and is being posted online on the occasion of the 2014 Warrior Athlete of Excellence Award presentation today at Arvin Cadet Physical Development Center]
Story and photos by Mike StrasserAssistant Editor

WEST POINT, N.Y. — Long before the Warrior Ethos was added to the current Army lexicon, a Soldier by the name of Hal Moore epitomized those attributes and ingrained them into the troops he led in battle. His actions are well-documented in print and film when he commanded a battalion against overwhelming forces in the first major battle of the Vietnam War. Now his legacy will reverberate among the warrior-athletes at West Point.

Retired Lt. Gen. Harold “Hal” Moore returned to his alma mater May 10, 2010, for the Warrior Athlete of Excellence Award dedication ceremony.

The award, which bears his name, will be presented annually to a male and female cadet from the graduating class who exemplify the leadership qualities of Moore and the tenets of the Warrior Ethos on the athletic playing fields and in the Department of Physical Education combatives program.

“The mental toughness, the perseverance and the teamwork learned through sports transfers directly to building that warrior ethos that served him and his men so well in Vietnam, and that same ethos serves our graduates today in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Lt. Gen. Buster Hagenbeck, West Point superintendent, said.

Accompanying the decorated Korean and Vietnam War veteran was close friend and manager for the St. Louis Cardinals Tony LaRussa, as well as retired Command Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley, Moore’s senior noncommissioned officer at the Battle of Ia Drang.
"There’s always one more thing you can do to influence the situation in your favor."
— Lt. Gen. Hal Moore

Moore delighted attendees with stories about his time at West Point and his close relationship with Plumley. Moore recalled the years it took, knocking door-to-door at senate offices, to get an appointment to West Point. After securing an Annapolis slot, he bargained with one congressman to swap that appointment for one to West Point.

“And I learned a valuable lesson from that,” Moore said. “In any situation, in any problem, there’s always a solution. There’s always one more thing you can do to influence the situation in your favor.”

With a round of applause, Lt. Gen. Harold Moore asked his battle buddy, Command Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley to stand up in front of the audience so they could see what a real Soldiers looks like during the plaque unveiling ceremony May 10, 2010. Plumley died on Oct. 10, 2012.

Writer's Notebook
At the time this story was written I asked Dr. Ralph Pim about the origin of this award. When Pim became director of West Point’s competitive sports program five years earlier, he said the mission was clearly established as far as developing warrior athletes of character and building teams of significance.

With the creation of the Coach K Award and now the Hal Moore Warrior Athlete of Excellence Award, both coaches and cadets have the opportunity to be recognized for their achievements. Pim said coach Mike Krzyzewski and Gen. Hal Moore were the perfect choices to dedicate these awards.

“We wanted to showcase the lives of two graduates who have demonstrated what right looks like,” Pim said. “The two cornerstones of the DPE mission are about building character and warrior ethos, and Coach K and Gen. Moore are phenomenal examples. This has been our dream, our vision and we are absolutely thrilled and honored to have done this.”
Moore Award_02.jpg
Pictured are retired Command Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley and retired Lt. Gen. Harold “Hal” G. Moore at the unveiling of the new Warrior Athlete of Excellence Award plaque at Arvin Cadet Physical Development Center May 10, 2010. Beginning in 2011, the Lt. Gen. Harold “Hal” Moore award will be presented to a male and female cadet who best exemplifies the leadership qualities of Moore and the tenets of the Warrior Ethos on the athletic playing fields and in the Department of Physical Education combatives program.

Moore said he struggled for that cherished diploma. Most nights, after Taps was played, Moore would camp out in the commode, studying mathematics for hours after “lights out.”

“And I’m proud to say that I graduated at the top of … the bottom 15 percent of my class,” Moore said, as laughter broke out among the audience. “But I did get what I wanted. I got my diploma at West Point.”

When asked what one lesson he would pass onto cadets who will become future combat leaders, Moore referred to his comrade-in-arms and top NCO.

“The first thing that any officer should do when he reports into his unit … if he’s a second lieutenant, the first thing to do is go to his platoon sergeant, and say ‘Sergeant, I want you to teach me how to be a good platoon leader.’ If he’s the company commander, go to the first sergeant, ‘First sergeant, I want your advice on how to be a good company commander,’” Moore said.

The wall plaque was unveiled at Arvin Cadet Physical Development Center, and is several feet away from the Coach K Teaching Character Through Sport Award commemorative plaques, another honor presented annually to West Point athletes. The Lt. Gen. Harold “Hal” G. Moore Warrior Athlete of Excellence Award will be presented for the first time in 2011.

Recipients will be selected by a Department of Physical Education panel that will assess the nominees’ warrior ethos and demonstrated character attributes on the athletic fields and in the DPE combatives program. Character attributes include mental toughness, coachability, perseverance, athletic skill and Warrior Ethos.

Hal Moore at West Point
As a member of the USMA Class of 1945, Hal Moore was assigned to Company C-1 at West Point and was a member of the Catholic Chapel Choir, among other activities.

“I played baseball at West Point on the C Squad as a plebe,” Moore said. “I wasn’t worth a damn; I couldn’t hit a curveball, so I didn’t play very long.”

In 1954, he returned to West Point as an infantry instructor and became a role model for many cadets, including Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf (Class of 1956). In the introduction to the book “We are Soldiers Still,” Schwarzkopf said Moore had convinced him to branch Infantry, though the elder Schwarzkopf, a major general, urged him to choose Ordnance because he would “never make general as a mud-foot infantryman.”

In his final assignment before retirement Moore was the Department of the Army’s deputy chief of staff for personnel, and was credited with strengthening the Cadet Honor Code during a time when violations were rampant in the Corps of Cadets. Moore has five children, two daughter and three sons— two of which graduated from West Point.

In 2003, Moore returned to his alma mater to accept the medallion as a recipient of the Distinguished Graduate Award, presented by the West Point Association of Graduates. "
LTC Stephen C. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Capt Christopher Mueller Capt Tom Brown Capt Seid Waddell CW5 Charlie Poulton SFC William Farrell SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SSgt Robert Marx SSgt (Join to see) TSgt Joe C. SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT Robert George SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright SP5 Robert Ruck SCPO Morris RamseyCPL Eric Escasio SPC Margaret Higgins

Thanks for sharing, what a pair of soldiers, heroes both.

Two great leaders and two great Americans SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL