“I’m proud to say I graduated at the top. . . 
of the bottom 15% of my [West Point] class.”

One of the best known and most respected military figures to come out of the Vietnam War addressed the Consolidated Convention on Day 1 with a message about leadership and teamwork. Lt. Gen. (ret.) Harold “Hal” Moore, who co-authored a best-selling book – “We Were Soldiers Once. . . and Young,” which became the basis for a Hollywood movie – spoke of the leadership lessons he learned both in the military and by studying corporate leadership strategies.

Moore stressed three principles that guided him in Vietnam and still guide him today: 1) Never quit; 2) There’s always something else you can do (to prepare for challenges); and 3) Trust your instincts.

Moore showed clips from his movie as well as footage from the famous battle in the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam, when his battalion of 450 men fought off a North Vietnamese force of 3,000.

Moore’s address followed a moving tribute to Boilermaker veterans. The tribute included a video of Boilermakers and family members in Iraq and Afghanistan, recognition of veterans in the audience, and a bagpipe rendition of “Amazing Grace.”