Basil L. Plumley

Basil L. Plumley (January 1, 1920 – October 10, 2012) was a United States Army command sergeant major. He is most famous for his actions as a Sergeant-Major of the US Army's 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, at the Battle of Ia Drang (Vietnam, 1965). General Hal Moore 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 Sam Elliott. He was known affectionately by his soldiers as "Old Iron Jaw".