  basil l. plumley (january 1, 1920&nbsp;â october 10, 2012) was a career soldier and airborne combat infantryman in the united states army who eventually achieved the rank of command sergeant major. he is most famous for his actions as sergeant major of the us army's 1st battalion, 7th cavalry regiment, at the battle of ia drang (vietnam, 1965). lieutenant general hal moore, who, as a lieutenant colonel, was plumley's battalion commander during the battle of ia drang, praised plumley as an outstanding nco and leader in the 1992 book about this battle, we were soldiers once...and young. the book was the basis for the 2002 film we were soldiers, in which plumley was played by actor sam elliott. plumley was known affectionately by his soldiers as "old iron jaw". ==military career== plumley enlisted in the us army as a private on march 31, 1942. he was a member of the 505th parachute infantry regiment, 82nd airborne division, with which he made four combat jumps and was awarded multiple decorations. he was a member of the 320th glider field artillery bn. he confirms this during interviews conducted with author phil nordyke, who has written four books relating to the [[82nd airbor
1920_births 2012_deaths American_military_personnel_of_World_War_II American_military_personnel_of_the_Korean_War American_military_personnel_of_the_Vietnam_War Battle_of_Ia_Drang Cancer_deaths_in_Georgia_(U.S._state) Recipients_of_the_Air_Medal Recipients_of_the_Bronze_Star_Medal Recipients_of_the_Croix_de_Guerre_(Belgium) Recipients_of_the_Croix_de_Guerre_1939a1945_(France) Recipients_of_the_Legion_of_Merit Recipients_of_the_Order_of_Saint_Maurice Recipients_of_the_Purple_Heart_medal Recipients_of_the_Silver_Star Recipients_of_the_Vietnamese_Cross_of_Gallantry United_States_Army_soldiers