West Point Moore received his appointment to the U.S. Military Academy shortly after the United States entered into World War II. He reported to West Point for "Reception Day" on July 15, 1942, and the summer training referred to as "Beast Barracks" held before the formal academic school term took up in the fall. During his
plebe summer at Pine Camp, he qualified as an expert on the
M-1 Garand rifle and was the top scorer in his company. In the fall of 1942, his class received the news that because of the war, his class would graduate in three years rather than the usual four years. Moore made it through the plebe year, but just barely, as he put it, it was "an academic trip from hell." This observation caused Moore to lead a student's life at West Point devoted to studying, with few extracurricular activities. His first assignment out of jump school was with the
187th Glider Infantry Regiment at Camp Crawford near
Sapporo, Japan from 1945 until 1948. In June 1948, he was reassigned to the
82nd Airborne Division, at
Fort Bragg. He volunteered to join the Airborne Test Section, a special unit testing experimental parachutes. In November 1948, he made the first of some 150 jumps with the section over the next two years. Over the course of his career, he became a jumpmaster, with over 300 jumps.
Korean War In 1951, amidst the
Korean War (1950–1953), he was ordered to Fort Benning to attend the Infantry Officer's Advanced Course, which would prepare him to command a
company or to serve on a
battalion staff. In June 1952, Moore was assigned to the
17th Infantry Regiment of the
7th Infantry Division. As a
captain, he commanded a heavy mortar company in combat. He next served as regimental Assistant Chief-of-Staff, Operations and Plans. Moore's promotion to major was put on hold by a policy of the 7th Division commanding general, that stated that no promotion to major would be possible without command of an infantry company in combat. The division commander personally assigned Moore to an infantry company so that Moore could be promoted to major, and thus later become divisional assistant chief-of staff for operations.
Return to the United States In 1954, Moore returned to West Point and served for three years as an instructor in infantry tactics. While serving as an instructor, Moore taught then-
Cadet Norman Schwarzkopf, who called Moore one of his "heroes," and cites Moore as the reason he chose the infantry branch upon graduation. (Schwarzkopf later became a
general in the U.S. Army and led the
U.N. coalition forces in the
Persian Gulf War against
Iraq. In 1956, Moore was assigned to attend the year-long student course at the
Command and General Staff College at
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The course prepared majors for the duties of staff officers at the division and corps level. After study at Fort Leavenworth, Moore reported to the Pentagon and the Office, Chief of Research and Development where his initiative and insights were key to the development of new
airborne equipment and airborne/air assault tactics. In 1960, following graduation from the
Armed Forces Staff College at
Norfolk, Virginia, Moore served a three-year tour as
NATO Plans Officer with Headquarters,
Allied Forces Northern Europe in
Oslo, Norway. In 1964, now a
lieutenant colonel, Moore completed the course of study at the
National War College, while earning a master's degree in International Relations from
George Washington University in
Washington, DC. Moore was transferred to
Fort Benning and commanded 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry later to become a part of
11th Air Assault Division, undergoing air assault and air mobility training and tests. On July 28, 1965, President
Lyndon Johnson announced that he was sending "the Airmobile Division to Vietnam". In July, the 11th Air Assault Division was re-designated the
1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) and alerted for deployment to Vietnam.
Vietnam War Beginning on November 14, 1965, Lt. Col. Moore led the 1st Battalion,
7th Cavalry of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) in the week-long
Battle of Ia Drang. Encircled by enemy soldiers with no clear
landing zone that would allow them to leave, Moore managed to persevere despite being significantly outnumbered by North Vietnamese Army (NVA) forces that engaged the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, only two-and-a-half miles away the next day. Moore's dictum that "there is always one more thing you can do to increase your odds of success" and the courage of his entire command are credited by Moore with this outcome. The blond haired Moore was known as "Yellow Hair" to his troops at the battle at Ia Drang, also a tongue-in-cheek homage referencing the legendary General
George Armstrong Custer, who commanded as a lieutenant colonel the same 7th Cavalry Regiment at the
Battle of the Little Bighorn just under a century before. Moore was awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism at Ia Drang.
Post-Vietnam War service After his service in the
Vietnam War, Moore served at the
Pentagon as the military liaison to the Assistant Secretary for International Affairs in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense. In his next assignment the Army sent him to Harvard University, where he completed his
M.A. in
International Relations in 1968. Having completed his work at Harvard, Moore reported back to the Pentagon to work with the Deputy Chief-of-Staff for Operations. He then helped draft the Army plan for the withdrawal of two brigades of the
9th Infantry Division to the United States as a part of the
Vietnamization of the war effort. In July 1969, he was assigned as assistant chief of staff, operations and plans, of the
Eighth Army in
South Korea, where tensions were high from
demilitarized zone incursions and drug use and racism among Eighth Army troops were at an all-time high. Shortly after becoming commanding general of the
7th Infantry Division, Moore was promoted to major general in 1970 and he and his family moved to
Camp Casey, South Korea. He was charged by General
John H. Michaelis, commander,
United States Forces Korea, with cleaning up the drug abuse problem and racial strife that were prevalent at the time in the 7th Division. His plan established Officer's Leadership Schools for company-grade officers and an NCO Leadership School for staff sergeants and below as well as issuing an "Equal Opportunity Policy". He backed up the policy with the promise to punish those leaders who discriminated based on race, ethnicity or creed. As a part of the reformation of division morale, he established several different athletic programs, including football, basketball, and boxing. In 1971–1973, as commanding general of the Army Training Center at
Fort Ord,
California, he oversaw extensive experimentation in adapting basic and advanced individual training under
Project VOLAR, in preparation for the end of conscription and the institution of the Modern Volunteer Army. In August 1973, Moore was assigned as commanding general, US Army Military Personnel Center (MILPERCEN). In 1974, he was appointed
deputy chief of staff for personnel,
Department of the Army, his last assignment before leaving the army. He dealt with army recruiting issues after the termination of the draft, as well as the orderly reduction of forces after the close of the Vietnam War. Moore's next assignment would have been to become the commanding general,
U.S. Army Japan, but he decided to retire instead. Moore retired from the army on August 1, 1977, after completing 32 years of active service. ==Personal life and death==