Americans honor all nation’s veterans Nov. 11

During this 2020 Veterans Day it’s time to put a focus on Vietnam veterans who served their country. 2.7 million men and women served in Vietnam with over 58,300 killed, 153,300 wounded and 1,545(MIAs) still missing. They enlisted or were drafted but answered the call from Uncle Sam.
They gave their time, their blood and returned home to an unpleasant experience many times. The saying: “all gave some and some gave all” certainly applies to veterans of all wars.
Recently, when I was filling out a form, the lady said when she asks information from veterans, they sometimes forget important dates such as their anniversary, family birthdays, etc. but they always seem to remember the date they were discharged from the service!
Suicide continues to be a serious problem with our veterans of all ages as an estimated 17 take their life each day!
Here is a collection of short comments of Vietnam vets that live in our community and their thoughts of something they remembered.
 
Jerry Boyd, Army, E5, Nov 1967- June 1969, 1st Infantry (Big Red One) near Long Binh; 2nd tour 45th Air Ambulance – 1970 - 1971 near Long Binh.
Coming in on a Huey chopper when the tail rotor touched ground and broke apart. All five on board were from Texas. We had a hard time getting the new guy out of the chopper since he was wearing a seat belt. We all got out and ran away from the chopper as were afraid it was going to explode from the leaking fuel. None of us had brought our guns along.
The damaged chopper was later picked up and brought back to Long Binh where we looked at it back at camp.
Going back for his 2nd tour Jerry said to put him in any unit where he didn’t have to walk. When hovering over a fire fight area Jerry thought this might not be a good choice so transferred to a different unit the last couple of months he was in country.
Mike Berge, Marine Corp, Sgt. E5, 3rd Marine Amphibious Force, 2nd Combined Action Group Platoon 2-3-7, 1970-71, Hoi An, Dien Ban District.
“I will not forget. The long days. The longer nights. Days of patrols and reconnaissance. Nights of ambush and killer teams. The jungle, elephant grass, rice paddies, heat, humidity and rain. Marines had a saying: ‘Vietnam is the only place where you sweat in the rain.’ I will not forget.”
Gary Burton, Air Force, E4, 4258 EMS, Guam 1966, Thailand 1967-68. “Our base was about 10K from Cambodia. B52 planes were loaded there for bombing runs, KC135 for aerial refueling were also based there. We repaired navigation radar. When the planes came back we were part of the debriefing sessions and would repair anything the plane crew said was wrong.”
Phil Johnson, Army, E5, 716th Military Police Battalion, 1972-73, Stationed at the MACV (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam) center in Saigon where 22 generals were located.
Remembers seeing the mama-sons cleaning the office area of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger one day. Phil left Vietnam just 29 days before the official U.S. pull out. He met his future wife, Hazel, at the Bemidji State Student Union just a couple of days before he left for Vietnam and she waited for him to return. He got a two month obligation drop when he returned home and was discharged. Phil considered going on for more schooling using the GI Bill but when he was looking at the job placement opportunities there was a teaching position open at a place called Kasson. It turned out to be a real good move!
Randy Lennon, Army, E5, A5 7 1st Cavalry Division, 1969-70 (14 months), stationed in Cambodia and Pho Binh areas remembers the night light show with the tracers arriving in country at Cam Ranh Bay. When he got on an Cav airmobile chopper the pilot was a roommate while they were at the U of Minnesota Waseca Ag School. Picking off 60 leeches after a patrol. Care packages would arrive in three days. Carried a wrapped CKC Chinese Communist Rifle, made in 1945, with him on the “freedom bird” airplane coming back to the states.
Bob Melin, Air Force, E4, 544 ARTW, Oct. 1964 – Jan. 1965. Bob landed in Vietnam on his birthday. Worked 15-hour shifts studying aerial photos taken by drones of the war zones. Even though he was in the air force they ate at the Navy mess hall Seeing bus loads of wounded soldiers heading to the hospital. Early in the morning a bomb explosion of at office building about 1-1/2 blocks away from where they stayed in Saigon. An hour later there would have been a lot of people in the building and many more causalities.
Ron Pederson, Navy, E-3, 7th Fleet Riverine Assault Force in the Mekong Delta. 1969-70. Their mission was to supply and repair Metal Hull boats on the river. When Ron was brand new in country he was stationed at an Annapolis hotel in Saigon for a short time.
Standing on a balcony doing guard duty with a 30-caliber machine gun, talking with a buddy, while watching people walking below. Stucco pieces from the roof overhead suddenly came down on them.
A sergeant quickly came out and said get down as a sniper at nearby hotel had taken a shot at them hitting the roof about a foot higher over their head. Their unit was supposed to make a big push into Cambodia to attack the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Most of the guys were pretty nervous but Ron noticed six veteran GI’s that seemed rather calm. He realized those guys were Christians and they invited him to a Bible study so he stuck with them as they knew how to handle themselves. In a wild and a crazy war zone area one could still find peace.
Since Ron had less than a year left after Vietnam he got an early out from active duty service and was then put in the reserves. He found a similar Christian group when he enrolled at Mankato State University the following year and accepted the Lord during his time at school.
His favorite verse is Philippines 4:6 & 7.
Wayne Hendrickson, Army, E5, 1st Logistical Command at Long Binh, 1969-70. When getting on the flight leaving from Fort Lewis, WA at night, the guy in line behind me was a University of Minnesota St. Paul Campus classmate. Arrived at Cam Ranh Bay replacement company and waited a couple of days for new orders before being assigned to Long Binh, which I had no idea where that was.
 
Your military assignment is really the “Luck of the Draw” many times. When we returned to the states to be processed at the Oakland, Cal. Army Base, a bomb threat was
reported. Everyone had to leave the buildings while they were searched so our discharge paperwork was delayed a few hours before we were officially released from active duty.
Wes Finley, Army, E4, 161st Armored Division, 1970-71, Quang Tri region near the DMZ.
“I want to remember some of the good times and leave the bad times behind. On my 21st birthday the lieutenant let me get enough alcohol and had a good time with a couple of buddies in our base camp area. Got a two-month drop when I came back to the states. I was proud to fight even though I didn’t agree with things about the war.”
Charles Anderson, Navy, SK3 (storekeeper 3rd class), USS Vancouver LPD2, (a Raleigh class amphibious transport dock), 1969-70.
“Transported up to 800 Marines many times at the harbor in Da Nang. We had a crew of 425 guys on our ship and would unload supplies including ‘agent orange,’ and various military equipment at Vietnam harbors. Our ship could operate in just 10 ft. of water in the shore area. We were on four assignments of two to six months in this region.”
Chuck never got seasick, even during some bad storms while on the ship, but he did while on a cruise ship traveling to Alaska years later.
Jim Heitkamp, Army, Sgt E5, 25th Infantry Division “Electric Strawberry” and the 23rd Infantry Division, 1970-71.
Jim went on a vacation and said when they returned home he would either enlist or there might be a draft notice in the mail. Sure enough his draft notice was in the mailbox!
After AIT training he attended NCO school and became a “buck sergeant.” He thought it would be better to tell others where to move the artillery rounds rather than moving it around himself. He was in the Cu Chi area but when his unit was sent home, Jim was two weeks short of qualifying so he was sent north to a different unit near Da Nang until he finished his tour. Jim was in the army 23 months and four days but who is counting?