(Nexstar) – This year signifies 50 years since the fall of Saigon. Many veterans from the Vietnam War have devoted subsequent decades to managing both physical ailments and post-traumatic stress disorder. They find solace in shared camaraderie. When a cohort of former Vietnam Marine soldiers reflected on their combat encounters, this became evident.
Bob Allsup
My most challenging day in Vietnam occurred during my initial encounter with enemy fire. Our team was quite small and we genuinely believed we might get taken prisoner. Luckily, a reactive platoon from 3-7 arrived just in time to rescue us. To be honest, I was extremely frightened.
Don Bates
On my first day there, I was shattered immediately by rocket fire. We were dispatched south to Da Nang. Our tanks came under rocket attack. That’s when I realized this wasn’t just a game.
Grady Birdsong
“A spent cartridge landed just ahead of me, around 15 feet away, and another round struck my comrade directly. Within mere minutes, we had twenty-five to thirty wounded in action and six killed in action.”
John Decker
“A battalion-scale operation ran into three North Vietnamese Army regiments, and our platoon was reduced to just 12 soldiers remaining.”
Michael Frazier
The battle went on from around noon until evening, and I was evacuated for medical care the following day after being injured. It took approximately 10 days for my evacuation transport to reach a hospital.
Grady Birdsong
There were many individuals opposed to the war.
John Decker
There were individuals gathered about, tossing objects at the buses and similar actions. I am completely bewildered as to what was happening.
Grady Birdsong
: “When I first went to work, people would get upset over the simplest things. After what we had gone through, living like a bunch of animals.”
Multiple veterans
I couldn’t connect with them. They showed us how to cause harm.
Don Bates
: I wish they’d teach us how to live in the community back when we came back. Afterward? No type of training coming back.”
Don Bates
You wonder if it felt as though I’m still present; for me, it sounded like gunshots and fireworks going off simultaneously, even when I was already halfway down. I have a nephew who returned from Afghanistan, struggling with his experiences. We’ve spoken about this, and we discovered many shared aspects of our lives.
Bob Allsup
: “That’s where you have to relate with your community, your other Marines, and get on with life and figure it out. You have to admit, okay, I’ve got things I didn’t know about—weaknesses—and have to accept that and move on and get counseling.”
Grady Birdsong
: “We’ve been meeting here by picking up guys, word of mouth. You got somebody you can talk to, that you can share experiences with.”
Multiple veterans
Absolutely, it’s a community. Absolutely, it’s a community. It’s all about community.
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