Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley, whose character was featured in the 2002 movie "We Were Soldiers," will be remembered Sunday with two free screenings at the IMAX Theater at the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center.
Plumley, 92, died Oct. 10 at Columbus Hospice. He served more than three decades in the uniform during World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War.
The movie is based on the 1992 book "We Were Soldiers Once..and Young" written by retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and war correspondent Joseph Galloway. The screenings will be at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the theater.
In November 1965, Plumley was the chief enlisted man under Lt. Col. Hal Moore when 450 members of the Army's 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, dropped into the Ia Drang Valley where they were surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers. The encounter would become the first major of the Vietnam War.
Plumley's character was played by Sam Elliott who spent time with Plumley before filming at Fort Benning and was on post Tuesday for the funeral. Moore was portrayed by Mel Gibson.
