This is one part of the Family Gallery at the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning. Julie Moore’s portrait also hangs near the entrance.
Her specific exhibit honors her role in forcing the Army to change its callous method of notifying the families of casualties. Under Julie’s leadership, she formed a team consisting of other senior wives of deployed First Cavalry soldiers to lobby the Army for a more compassionate solution.
They attended every funeral for a local fallen warrior, following the life-changing telegrams into trailer parks and other horrible neighborhoods in the segregated south, and worked as best they could to ease the pain of the impacted families.
The Army realized their error and complied with their recommendations. The end result of the public outcry managed by the team was the Army created the Army Community Service organization – a group responsible for managing services to soldiers, families and overall communities to enhance readiness.
In 2005, the Army established the Julia Compton Moore Award that recognizes civilian spouses of Soldiers for outstanding contributions to the Army. The citation reads:
“Mrs. Moore’s actions to change Pentagon death notification policy in the aftermath of the historic battle of the Ia Drang Valley represents a significant contribution to our nation. Prior to Mrs. Moore’s intervention, Pentagon policy was to notify families by a telegram delivered by cab drivers. It serves today as a shining example of one of Mrs. Moore’s many contributions to the morale and welfare of the Army Family.”
