Command Sergeant Major Basil Plumley was a character ready made for Hollywood. It was thus apt that when he was portrayed in the 2002 movie We Were Soldiers, his character stole every scene in which it appeared.

Joining the US Army in World War II

Basil L. Plumley, a big and raw boned man, was born in rural West Virginia in 1920, the son of a coal miner. Like many Americans, he was hopping mad after the Japanese attack on Pearl in December, 1941, thrust America into WWII. So he quit his job as a chauffeur and truck driver, and enlisted in the US Army in early 1942. He joined the 82^nd Airborne Division, and first saw combat in 1943, during the invasion of Italy.

Plumley also saw combat on D-Day as a gliderman in the 82^nd Airborne Division. His next glider assault came in Operation Market Garden, in September, 1944. He earned earned a Purple Heart in that engagement, after he was shot in the hand. Plumley’s next saw combat in the Korean War, in which he served in the 187^th Airborne Infantry Regiment. In Korea, he fought in the bloody battles of Old Baldy and Pork Chop Hill. As Plumley rose through the enlisted ranks, he earned a reputation as a gruff and no-nonsense sergeant.

Hard Training Paid Off in Vietnam

A strong believer in tough training and discipline, Basil Plumley became known as “Old Iron Jaw”. He was not tough on his men just for the sake of being tough, however. Experience had taught him that soldiers had to be prepared for the horrors of war. He strongly believed that it is better to sweat in training than bleed in combat. The hard training and discipline to which he subjected his men to served them well in the Vietnam War.

By 1965, Plumley had risen to become Sergeant Major of the 1^st Battalion, 7^th Cavalry Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore. On November 14^th, 1965, Plumley’s unit ran into and was surrounded by two North Vietnamese regiments. In the ensuing Battle of the Ia Drang Valley, Plumley shone. At one point, surrounded by enemy soldiers, Plumley pulled out his .45, shouted to his men “Gentlemen, prepare to defend yourselves,” and rallied them into beating back their foe. Plumley was instrumental in his soldiers’ survival and eventual victory at Ia Drang. Hal Moore praised his sergeant major to the skies, and described him as an exceptional leader and a model for what a non-commissioned officer should be.

By the Time He Retired, Command Sergeant Major Basil Plumley Was a US Army Legend

After 32 years in uniform, Plumley retired as a Command Sergeant Major in 1974. By then, he had become an Army legend. He gained wider fame when Hal Moore’s account of the Battle of the Ia Drang, We Were Soldiers Once… And Young, was published in 1992. Plumley was prominently featured. He became even more of a legend when the book was adapted by Mel Gibson into a movie in 2002. Plumley’s depiction by Sam Elliott stole scene after scene. After a long and fruitful life, Command Sergeant Major Basil Plumley passed away in 2012, in Columbus, Georgia.

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Some Sources & Further Reading

History Halls – Ludwig Hoge Fought in Three Wars, and Played in a Front Line Band That Got Shelled Whenever the Enemy Disliked the Music

Moore, Harold G. – We Were Soldiers Once… and Young: Ia Drang, the Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam (2004)

New York Times, October 15^th, 2012 – Basil L. Plumley, Veteran of Three Wars, Dies at 92