This is an assignment for my grand daughter, Miranda Walker, and I thought Id post it in view of Veterans Day. I joined the Air Force Feb. 25, 1965 to get out of town because of some trouble my buddies and I got into with the law. I knew nothing about the possibility of war in Vietnam. With my training as a communications equipment repairman I went there for one year working as a radio operator and maintenance man to help evacuate the wounded. I was like the character Radar on the Mash tv program. Only it wasnt funny. I totally didnt know what to expect, so I was surprised to see when I landed in a safe area that people werent running around dodging bullets and bombs, and surprised they had changed my rank on the way over. I was now a Sargent. I got to travel all over Vietnam medivacing the wounded, but most of my time near the DMZ (near North Vietnam) taking care of Marine grunts who had been wounded. I have always had a profound respect for the Marines since Vietnam, and especially for the Navy corpsmen. The most intense time was called the Tet Offensive when the enemy struck every area of the country and proved to everybody that we could lose this war. I was pinned down by sniper fire for three days in Saigon. I also witnessed a battle in a pasture beside our field hospital where over 400 North Vietnam soldiers were killed. The good news is I was responsible for evacuating perhaps thousands of wounded soldiers to safety. If you really want to see what Vietnam was like for hundreds of thousands of Americans, including me, watch the movie We Were Soldiers, starring Mel Gibson. After I watched that movie, which was decades after my return from Vietnam, I got down on the floor and cried my eyes out. But my new wife and I got to meet in the middle of my Vietnam experience and spend a week in Hawaii, as our honeymoon. This experience in Vietnam made me so thankful to be an American as I witnessed the poverty and war in a foreign country. And I was so happy to be home, I didnt even recognize that returning vets werent liked because the Vietnam War had become very unpopular here at home. I was so glad to be back and to immerse myself in American life. I got a job with General Motors and lived happily after. Vietnam had no negative effect on me, that I know of. My life and values have all been determined by my post Vietnam experience of conversion to Jesus Christ. According to studies, the overwhelming number of men in Bible Seminary came from the Vietnam War. Christ has effected my life, my family, my children and grand children, and everything about me. He has given me an eternal reason for living, love in my heart for God and all people, joy and peace. That was the defining experience of my life and I havent gotten over it in 45 years.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 00:08:58 +0000