Joe Galloway

Joe GallowayCmichel67 / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

Every person has a chance to make a mark on the world. Everyone has their own unique mark. Joe Galloway made his mark on the world by telling the story of the Vietnam War through the eyes of the men who fought there. He proved himself in the field and in the paper showing the American people the real price of war. He also proved himself to be more than just a reporter. When his job became dangerous he proved to be as brave as the men who laid down their lives for freedom pulling wounded soldiers to safety through enemy fire in the first large scale battle of the Vietnam War. He then became the only civilian to receive the bronze star with V for valor.

Joe Galloway was quoted saying that "If a war came along in my time I wanted to be the one to report it" (Staley 2013). He wanted to show the United states what war was like. When the United states sent military advisers to Vietnam, Joe relentlessly tormented his employer, begging and pleading for a transfer to Vietnam to report on the warfare occurring there. And when President Johnson mobilized American combat units to the republic of Vietnam, Joe was transferred to Vietnam to report on the military operation occurring there. Unknown to him at the time, he was about to enter into one of the most influential foreign conflicts in American history, where he would prove later to be more than an insignificant UPI reporter.

On November 14th, 1965, Joe Galloway was given his first opportunity to experience the first major military altercation with North Vietnamese forces in the La Drang Valley. There he met Colonel Hal Moore, the officer in charge of the American troops in the valley. Intense fighting took place on all sides of American defense lines. And at one point when American lines were overrun, Joe held a defensive position until more reinforcements could arrive. And it was also reported that Joe dragged 4 wounded GIs to safety through enemy fire. And because of his bravery in battle and going beyond the call of duty, he received the Bronze Star for valor.

Joe Galloway served a combined total of 4 tours reporting for UPI, and one tour in the Gulf War in the Middle East (Staley 2013). He showed the American people just what they were getting themselves into. He was there for the first involvement in the war up to the last minutes of the downfall of the United States involvement in Vietnam.

Joe showed the world how a war can take a 18-year-old young man and turn him into a hero. He proved himself to be more than just a reporter but a voice for the men who fought in Vietnam. He did many things and recorded history and gave it a face and a name. He was a correspondent, he was a friend, but out of all, he was a hero.