>> YOU'RE WATCHING A PRODUCTION OF SOUTH DAKOTA PUBLIC BROADCASTING. >> THE REAL REALIZATION OF A LOT OF WHAT WAS GOING ON PROBABLY TOOK PLACE EVEN AFTER I LEFT. >> I'LL ALWAYS FEEL A GREAT DEAL OF GUILT FOR LEAVING THOSE PEOPLE THAT TRULY BELIEVED IN US. >> LUCKILY, ON MY WAY DOWN, I GOT TWO MAYDAYS, MAYDAY, MAYDAY, KINGSMAN 17. >> AFTER I WAS IN DRANG VALLEY, I WAS A TRAINED OBSERVER. PROBABLY ONE OF THE HIGHEST TRAINED PLATOON IN THE ARMY. [ ♪♪♪ ] >> NARRATOR: IN THE 1950S, THE UNITED STATES BEGAN TO SEND TROOPS TO VIETNAM IN WHAT WOULD BECOME THE LONGEST AND MOST CONTENTIOUS WAR IN U.S. HISTORY. OVER THE FOLLOWING 25-YEAR PERIOD, ALMOST 3 MILLION U.S. MEN AND WOMEN WERE SENT OVERSEAS AND NEARLY 60,000 NEVER RETURNED. IN TOTAL, IT IS ESTIMATED THAT OVER 2.5 MILLION PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES WERE KILLED. MANY OF THE VETERANS WHO SERVED ARE ONLY NOW 40 YEARS AFTER THE CONFLICT BEGAN BEGINNING TO SPEAK ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES. ♪ ♪" >> MEL GUNDERSON, FROM BLACK HAWK, SOUTH DAKOTA. THE DAY AFTER PRESIDENT KENNEDY WAS SHOT, I WENT TO ENLIST IN THE ARMY. I THOUGHT OUR COUNTRY WAS GOING TO BE IN BIG TROUBLE. I THOUGHT THIS WAS AN OUTSIDE -- ANOTHER COUNTRY, ANOTHER -- THAT WAS -- THAT HAD DONE THIS AND THAT WE WERE PROBABLY GOING TO BE INVADED. THAT WAS MY THOUGHTS. HA, HA. >> KENNETH C. RISLEY AND FROM KANSAS CITY, KANSAS. A FRIEND AND I JOINED ON THE BUDDY SYSTEM. TWO GUYS JOINED AND THEY WENT TO THE SAME OUTFIT AND THEY WENT THROUGH THEIR MILITARY CAREERS TOGETHER. >> MY NAME IS BOB REED, I'M FROM PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, AND I WAS IN THE ARMY OF THE 2ND AND THE 5TH, I WAS DRAFTED IN 1963. WHEN WE WENT OVER, WE HAD NO IDEA HOW SERIOUS THIS WAS. >> NARRATOR: BEFORE HEADING OVERSEAS, ALL NEW MILITARY PERSONNEL WENT THROUGH BASIC TRAINING. >> THE CONCEPT WAS HANDED DOWN DIRECTLY FROM THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, ROBERT MCNAMARA, AS A SPECIAL PROJECT THAT HE WANTED DONE TO IMPROVE MOTIVATION AND THE ABILITY TO DEAL WITH THE TERRAIN OF THE COUNTRY OF VIETNAM. IT WAS BASICALLY SET UP FOR THREE PHASES, THE FIRST PHASE GETTING THE CORRECT EQUIPMENT THAT WE NEEDED FOR THE AIR ASSAULT CONCEPT, WHICH WAS EVERYTHING HAD TO BE MOVED BY AIR FROM ONE PLACE TO THE OTHER. NOT ONLY THE PERSONNEL BUT ALSO AFTER THEY WERE IN POSITION, TO BE ABLE TO RESUPPLY, AND THEN THE SECOND PHASE WAS DEALING WITH THE ACTUAL MEN, ORGANIZATION, AND WE HAD EXERCISES IN NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, OKEFENOKEE, SWAMPS AND FLORIDA. THE OTHER ELEMENT WAS SUCH THAT WE NEEDED TO BE DEPLOYED AND SO WE WENT TO VIETNAM AND ACTUALLY PROVED THAT THIRD PHASE IN ACTUAL COMBAT. >> OUR PLATOON HAD BEEN TOGETHER FOR TWO YEARS, AND WITH THE 11TH AIR ASSAULT AT FORT BENNING AND THEY LATER IN JULY, BECAME -- 65 BECAME THE FIRST AIR CARRIER DIVISION. WE WOULD -- WE WERE PROBABLY ONE OF THE HIGHEST TRAINED PLATOONS IN THE ARMY% AT THE TIME AND NOT ONLY THAT, WE ALL KNEW EACH OTHER AND WE LIKED EACH OTHER. >> MY NAME IS JOE LENZ, I WAS DRAFTED IN 1963. THERE WASN'T ANY THOUGHT OF VIETNAM AT THAT TIME. WELL, IT WAS AN ENTIRELY NEW CONCEPT. IT WAS -- WE TRAINED WITH THE RANGERS IN FORT BENNING FOR 14 MONTHS BEFORE WE WENT TO VIETNAM. IT WAS PRETTY RIGOROUS TRAINING. ♪ ♪ >> WELL, MY NAME IS CLARK MOLA, AND DURING VIETNAM WAR, I WAS A HELICOPTER PILOT, AND I FLEW UH1-H MODELS, IN MY CASE, IT WAS BASIC TRAINING AND RIGHT INTO FLIGHT SCHOOL AT FORT WALLACE, TEXAS. IT WAS INTERESTING, TO SAY THE LEAST, WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED. THE FIRST FOUR, FIVE, SIX HOURS WAS REALLY A CHALLENGE AND WHAT YOU FOUND YOURSELF DOING IS IF YOU COULD IMAGINE YOURSELF BEING ON THE END OF A PENDULUM, THAT'S ABOUT WHAT IT WAS LIKE. WHEN YOU GRADUATED FROM FLIGHT SCHOOL, YOU KNEW THAT YOU WERE EARMARKED TO GO TO VIETNAM. I MEAN, THAT WAS A FOREGONE CONCLUSION. IF YOU WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THAT ASSIGNMENT AND WERE -- HAD SOME FEAR OF GOING TO VIETNAM, BASICALLY, YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN IN FLIGHT SCHOOL BECAUSE, U KNOW, EVERYBODY KNEW WHAT THEIR DESTINATION WAS GOING TO BE. >> NARRATOR: THE WAR IN VIETNAM WAS UNLIKE ANY IN WHICH THE U.S. HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN INVOLVED. IT WAS HIT-AND-RUN GUERILLA WARFARE. >> MY NAME IS ROBERT D. JOHNSON, AND I GOT INVOLVED IN THE VIETNAM WAR BECAUSE I WAS A CAREER SOLDIER. I ENLISTED IN JANUARY, 1952, SERVED IN THE INFANTRY IN KOREA. THE TYPE OF WAR WE WERE INVOLVED IN HAD CHANGED FROM CONVENTIONAL BATTLE LINES, FRONT LINE, THE 38TH PARALLEL, FOXHOLES, INTO THE UNCONVENTIONAL WHERE WE HAD A BASE, A LANDING ZONE, A FIRE BASE, AND WE MOVED OUT FROM THOSE EITHER ON FOOT OR BY HELICOPTER. >> MY NAME IS GEORGE ROGERS, I'M FROM VIRGINIA. I JOINED THE SERVICE IN 1957. A NEW CONCEPT -- A NEW CONCEPT OF WARFARE CALLED AIR MOBILITY WITH HELICOPTERS. HOW TO GET IN, HOW GET OUT. WHAT HELICOPTERS NEEDED TO HAVE IN THEM TO HOLD THE PEOPLE THAT NEEDED TO GET IN. >> WHEN I LEFT FOR VIETNAM, I WAS A PRETTY COCY -- COCKY PILOT. I THOUGHT I COULD HANDLE AIRCRAFT EXTREMELY WELL AND I HAD A LOT OF CONFIDENCE IN MY FLYING SKILLS AND MY ABILITY. BUT I FOUND OUT THAT WHEN YOU START RECEIVING FIRE AND THOSE TRACERS START COMING UP AT YOU, THAT IT TAKES A WHILE TO ADJUST TO THAT KIND OF A SITUATION. >> I'M BOB KUSSER, I SERVED IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY FROM 1969 TO '72 ON THE USS SARATOGA AND AIRCRAFT CARRIER. WE PROVIDED THE CLOSE AIR SUPPORT FOR TROOPS IN-COUNTRY. MOST OF THE AIRCRAFT WE HAD ON OUR CARRIER WAS THE F-4 PHANTOM, THE A-6 INTRUDER, THE A-7 CORSAIR, A COUPLE OF RECON AIRCRAFT, THE E-2S, WHICH WERE THE RADAR AIRCRAFT THAT HAVE THE BIG DOMES ON TOP LIKE THEY STILL FLY TODAY. BASICALLY WHAT WE WAS JUST BOMB SUPPORT, CLOSE-IN, LOW-LEVEL AIR SUPPORT FOR THE MOST PART. THERE WAS SOME THAT WOULD COME BACK WITH -- THAT HAD TAKEN SOME GROUND FIRE. HAD ONE COME IN THAT THEY WEREN'T TOO SURE OF, THEY RIGGED A LARGE NET SYSTEM AND FLEW IN UNDER THE DECK -- ONTO THE DECK AND TRAPPED IT INTO THE NET. BUT THERE WERE SOME THAT DID COME BACK THAT THEY WOULD -- THEY COULD GET THEM BACK BUT RATHER THAN RECOVERING THEM, THEY WOULD GET CLOSE TO THE SHIP, DITCH AND THEN THE RECOVERY HELICOPTERS WOULD PICK THEM UP. ♪ ♪ >> NARRATOR: MOST U.S. SOLDIERS HAD NEVER BEFORE TRAVELED BEYOND THE BORDERS OF THE U.S. >> MY NAME IS JOHN KROONTIE AND I WAS DRAFTED INTO THE SERVICE IN DECEMBER OF 1963. I GUESS CULTURE SHOCK WAS PRETTY EXTENSIVE. ONCE YOU GOT INTO THE COUNTRY A LITTLE WAYS, ESPECIALLY, PEOPLE MOVING AROUND WITH BICYCLES AND MOSTLY ON FOOT. DONKEY CARTS YOU SAW, AND VERY OCCASIONALLY YOU'D SEE A MOTORBIKE, BUT THEY WERE QUITE POPULAR IN THE SAIGON AREA, BUT WE WERE HEADED FOR AN KAY WHICH WAS FURTHER UP. YEAH, AND GRASS HUTS FOR HOMES. THAT'S THE WAY THEY LIVED. >> MY NAME IS DEAN MUEHLBERG, I SERVED IN THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE 17TH COMBAT AVIATION GROUP IN NE DRANG VIETNAM% IN THE ENTIRE YEAR OF 1969. IT WAS DEFINITELY A SHOCK. IT WAS TOUGH JUST GOING TO VIETNAM. I GOT THERE ON THE 23RD OF DECEMBER, YOU KNOW, RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, AND COMING INTO -- OUT OF A COLD CLIMATE AND COME INTO SOMETHING THAT WAS HOT AND HUMID, THE SMELLS PREVAILED, THE FLIES WERE EVERYWHERE, THE SHOCK OF BEING IN A COUNTRY WHERE YOU COULD GET STATIONED SOMEWHERE WHERE YOU MIGHT NOT BE REAL HEALTHY, IT ALL WAS QUITE A SHOCK EVEN SEEING THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE MOVING AROUND, YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT. YOU THOUGHT THIS COULD BE A V.C. RIGHT HERE. >> WE HAD ORIENTATIONS ON THE LIFESTYLE OF THE PEOPLE THERE, AND THAT WE WERE TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAD TO TREAT THOSE PEOPLE WITH RESPECT, AND THAT THEY WERE OUR HOST. AND WE WERE THERE TO HELP THEM OUT, WHICH IS PROBABLY BECAUSE WE WERE IN THE EARLY PART OF THE WAR. >> THE ATTITUDE CHANGED A LOT DURING THAT -- LATER ON. >> MY FIRST IMPRESSION WAS THE PART OF THE COUNTRY WE CAME INTO, WHICH WAS BEN WA, SAIGON AREA, WHICH WAS CENTRAL TO MORE OF THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE COUNTRY, WAS A HOTTER CLIMATE, AND I REMEMBER WE GOT ON BUSES, AND THESE BUSES HAD WIRE MESH ON THE WINDOWS, AND I'M THINKING TO MYSELF, HUM, THIS IS NOT GOOD. [ CHUCKLING ] I'M THINKING WIRE MESH. NOW, THERE'S ONLY ONE REASON WHY THEY WANT TO PUT WIRE MESH ON THESE WINDOWS AND THAT'S TO KEEP HAND GRENADES, YOU KNOW, THE ENEMY OR WHAT WE'D CALL THE SOUTH -- THE VIET CONG FROM THROWING HAND GRENADES INTO THESE BUSES. >> I'M TOM CLARKE AND I WAS SERVING WITH THE FIRST FIELD FORCE IN VIETNAM. WE WERE DIRECT SUPPORT 6 OF THE NINTH ROCK UNITS THAT WERE THERE. WE WERE ON A BASE CAMP ALL THE TIME. THE PEOPLE WHO WORKED IN THE MESS HALL, THE VIETNAMESE THAT WERE IN THERE, WORKED IN THERE ALL DAY BUT AT NIGHT, THEY WERE PROBABLY SHOOTING AT US FROM ACROSS THE ROAD. [ CHUCKLING ] YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T KNOW WHO THEY WERE OR -- BUT THAT WAS AN KAY SOMETIMES, PEOPLE WORKING ON THE COMPOUNDS WERE ALSO V.C. >> THERE WAS NO MANUAL SAYING, WELL, THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO EXPECT 'CUZ THE ENEMY WE DID NOT KNOW ABOUT BECAUSE THE WAY WE FELT ABOUT IT, THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE WOULD COME AND WORK FOR US IN THE DAYTIME, LIKE THEY'D WASH OUR CLOTHES AND DO THE CLEANING UP AT THE BARRACKS AND ALL THIS. THAT'S THIS DAYTIME. BUT WHEN NIGHTTIME COMES, SAME PEOPLE ARE THE ONES ATTACKING US. AND YOU COULDN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHO WAS WHAT. AND THAT WAS THE -- THAT'S THE THRILLING THING THAT YOU HAD TO LEARN QUICK AND SAY, WELL, THEREFORE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE DOING THIS FOR ME NOW, YOU SAID, BUT WHEN NIGHTTIME COMES, HERE THEY COME, FULL FORCE, AND, YOU KNOW, BLOWING UP THIS OR THEY'LL SHOOT THIS OR THAT TYPE THING. BUT IT'S -- LIKE I SAID, YOU LEARN AS YOU GO ALONG. ♪♪ >> I'M FRANK MUNIZ, 23 YEARS OLD AND GOT THE LETTER IN THE MAIL. WE HAD MIXED -- MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND ABOUT WHAT THE COUNTRY WAS LIKE AND DIFFERENT CULTURE, DIFFERENT VALUES IN LIFE. IT WAS JUST NOT WHAT -- NOT WHAT WE'RE USED TO HERE IN THE UNITED STATES. >> THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING WAS DEFINITELY FAR BELOW OURS AND SOMETHING THAT WE WEREN'T USED TO. I BECAME QUITE CLOSE WITH MY HOOCHMATE'S FAMILY. HOOCHMATE WAS THE GIRL OR WOMAN THAT CAME IN AND FOR $10 A MONTH SHE'D POLISH YOUR BOOTS, WASH YOUR CLOTHES. HER HUSBAND WAS A SERGEANT IN THE VIETNAMESE AIR FORCE AND WORKING FOR US, SHE MADE PRETTY GOOD MONEY. I MEAN, I WOULD EXPECT THEM TO BE PROBABLY UPPER MIDDLE CLASS FOR VIETNAM. WE WERE INVITED TO THEIR HOME, AND HER AND HER HUSBAND AND THREE CHILDREN LIVED IN A SMALL, MAYBE 20-BY-15 HOUSE, IT WAS JUST A STUCCO HOUSE, WAS ONE ROOM. THE BEDROOM WAS SIMPLY A CORNER THAT WAS CURTAINED OFF FROM THE REST OF THE HOUSE. YOU HAD TO THINK, LIKE I SAID, THEY WERE UPPER MIDDLE CLASS AND TO ME, IT WAS A HOVEL, BUT THEIR HOUSE WAS UP OFF THE STREET A LITTLE BIT, FOUR OR FIVE FEET, WHERE THE REST WERE DOWN AT GROUND LEVEL. YOU KNOW, THAT'S ALL I COULD SEE THAT DISTINGUISHED IT FROM THE OTHERS. >> THEY GOT BY IN LIFE WITH VERY LITTLE. THEY DIDN'T NEED THE MODERN CONVENIENCES THAT AMERICANS ARE USED TO AND ACCUSTOMED TO, AND ALMOST DEMANDING OF. FOR EXAMPLE, THEY HAD NO RUNNING WATER IN MOST CASES, NO FLUSH TOILETS, NO TV, NO ELECTRICITY. SO THEY HAD JUST A VERY PRIMITIVE LIFESTYLE BUT THEY WERE CONTENT, THEY WERE HAPPY. >> WHEN I SAW VIETNAM, IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS JUST A STICK UP IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL THIS OCEAN, AND THE CLOSER WE GOT, IT STARTED SPREADING OUT AND SPREADING OUT AND SPREADING OUT. AND BEFORE WE KNEW IT, IT WAS ALL THIS GREAT BIG STRETCH OF GREEN, YOU KNOW, LAND, AND THEY TOLD US, WELCOME TO VIETNAM. WHEN THEY GOT THAT BOAT OFF THERE, OUR FIRST MISSION WHEN WE GOT OFF THERE, WE GOT SETTLED THERE IN AN KAY, I THINK IT WAS, AND IT'S JUST LIKE ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE. I MEAN, IT WAS FRIDAY THE 13TH THAT WE ARRIVED AND IT WAS LIKE A BIG WESTERN, BUT THERE WERE TRACERS FLYING BACK AND FORTH, AND I TELL YOU, NOTHING TO PLAY WITH. >> IN NOVEMBER OF 1965, THE BATTLE OF IA DRANG VALLEY COMMENCED. THIS BATTLE WAS THE FIRST MAJOR ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN U.S. AND NORTH VIETNAMESE FORCES. >> BASICALLY, THE WHOLE OPERATION WAS CALLED PLAQU CAMPAIGN, WHICH WAS LATER A MOVIE -- A BOOK WAS WRITTEN BY GENERAL HELMUT MOORE AND GENERAL GALLOWAY, AND THEY ALSO -- RANDALL WALLACE BOUGHT THE MOVIE RIGHTS FROM THE BOOK AND IT PRODUCED A MOVIE CALLED "WE WERE SOLDIERS," STARING MEL GIBSON. THERE WERE THREE REGIMENTS, N.V.A. ACTUALLY, WE HAD SOME EXPERIENCE WITH THE V.C., WHO WERE NOT REAL STAND-UP FIGHTERS BUT THE N.V.A. WAS MUCH DIFFERENT. THEY CAME TO FIGHT. AFTER A TIME THERE, IT WAS DESIGNATED AS L.Z. X-RAY, THE N.V.A. HAD COME INTO SOUTH VIETNAM VIA THE HO CHI MIN TRAIL AND ATTACKED SPECIAL FORCES CAMP AT PLEI ME. THEY HAD ESTABLISHED THEIR BASE CAMP RIGHT BENEATH CHU PONG MOUNTAIN, WHICH WAS A WHOLE UNDERGROUND SYSTEM. THEY HAD A HOSPITAL UNDER THERE, ENOUGH UNDERGROUND SPACE TO PUT THE WHOLE REGIMENT, AND WE DID NOT KNOW -- HAD NO IDEA HOW MANY WAS THERE. MY PLATOON AIR ASSAULTED IN ON THE EARLY MORNING OF THE 15TH. >> I REMEMBER, LOOKED LIKE A BIG DOUGHNUT WHEN WE GOT THERE, BEFORE WE GOT THERE. THEY WERE BOMBING IT. I MEAN, IT WAS BEING ATTACKED AND THEY WERE BOMBING ALL AROUND IT. BIG WHITE DOUGHNUT WITH ONE OR TWO LITTLE PLACES, YOU KNOW, MISSING. >> WE WERE NOT ABLE TO LAND. THE L.Z. WAS TOO HOT, THE PILOTS DID NOT WANT TO PUT THE PLANE DOWN SO WE WERE PROBABLY BETWEEN TEN AND 15 FEET, PROBABLY, ABOVE THE GROUND AND WE JUMPED OUT. >> THEY SENT US IN FOR REINFORCEMENT, AND A LOT OF BODIES WERE BEING LOADED OUT ON THE CHOPPERS THAT WE WERE GETTING OUT OF, AND... >> THAT'S WHEN IT WASN'T A FIELD PROBLEM, WHEN YOU STARTED SEEING BODIES IN BAGS AND SO ON, AND THEN IT WAS A LIVE ACTION, LIKE A WILD WESTERN, WITH ALL THIS SHOOTING BACK AND FORTH AND 105'S FIRING AND THEY STARTED CHUCKING NAPALMS AND THERE'S BODIES LAYING AROUND, IT WAS THE REAL MCCOY. >> KNEW IT WAS REAL, YOU SEEN DEAD BODIES AND LIMBS, AND YOU KNEW THAT IT WAS DIFFERENT. IT WAS EITHER, YOU KNOW, KILL OR BE KILLED. >> I WAS ASSISTANT GUNNER ON A MORTAR AND I CARRIED THE TUBE, KEN RISLEY WAS MY -- HE WAS THE GUNNER, I WAS ASSISTANT GUNNER. >> WE WERE TOLD WE WERE GOING IN THERE TO REPLACE A MORTAR PLATOON. >> IF YOU COULD SEE THE PART OF THE MOVIE WHERE THE ONLY MORTAR THAT WAS FIRED, THAT WAS THE MORTAR I WAS ON AND I DROPPED IT AROUND THAT TUBE. >> WHEN WE GOT TO X-RAY, WE SENT OUR MORTARS UP AMONGST THE DEAD, AMERICAN, NORTH VIETNAMESE, VIET CONG. THERE WAS SO MUCH GOING ON -- THE PLANES WERE BOMBING SO CLOSE TO US, WE COULD FEEL THE CONCUSSION. SMALL ARMS FIRE, SMOKE, NOISE, IT WAS JUST HORRIBLE. >> TELL YOU WHAT, THEY INTERLOCKED AND THE VIETNAMESE GOT BETWEEN OUR LINES, OUR PARALLELS, AND THEY STARTED SHOOTING. AND WE STARTED SHOOTING BACK AND FORTH AT OUR OWN PEOPLE. >> WHEN WE FIRST LANDED ON X-RAY, AND AS I SPOKE BEFORE OF PUSHING THE PERIMETER BACK OUT AND GETTING IT BACK TO CLOSE POSITION, THE SOLDIERS THAT HAD FALLEN OUT ON THE PERIMETER, DEFENDING AFTER WE GOT IT OUT AND SECURED, THEN WE WENT OUT TO PICK THOSE GUYS UP AND BRING THEM IN AND IT WAS A MESS. >> THEY STILL HAD SNIPERS IN THE TREES. ONE OF OUR FIRST ROUNDS FROM A MORTAR KILLED A SNIPER IN THE TREE. OUR MORTAR ROUNDS -- OUR MORTAR TUBES WERE STRAIGHT UP IN THE AIR. WE FIRED MORE ROUNDS AT X-RAY THAN WE -- I FIRED IN MY ENTIRE MILITARY CAREER IN ONE NIGHT, IN THREE YEARS I NEVER FIRED MORE. I WAS THE NUMBER THREE MORTAR GUY. >> WE FOUND ANOTHER SOLDIER THERE, AMERICAN SOLDIER, AND I PICKED HIM UP AND HE DIDN'T -- I COULDN'T SEE ANY -- ANYTHING WRONG WITH HIM, LOOKED LIKE HE WAS STILL ALIVE. SO I TRIED TO WAKE HIM UP AND HE WASN'T RESPONDING SO I PICKED HIM UP AND TOLD HIM, "I'LL TAKE YOU BACK OVER," AND THEN WHEN I PICKED HIM UP, I PUT MY HAND IN BACK OF HIS HEAD AND MY HAND FELL THROUGH HIS -- THE WHOLE BACK OF HIS HEAD WAS GONE, AND MY HAND WAS STICKING IN HIS... [ DEEP SIGH ] >> BUT I TOOK HIM OVER THERE AND WE DID THE BEST THAT WE COULD. >> LIKE I CAUGHT MALARIA TWICE. KIND OF LIKE THAT, YOU'RE HOT AND COLD AT THE SAME TIME. WHEN YOU SEE ANOTHER G.I. IN A BODY BAG, YOU'RE HAPPY BUT YOU'RE SAD AT THE SAME TIME. YOU'RE SAD FOR HIM BUT HAPPY IT'S NOT YOU. YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A GUILT FEELING, YOU KNOW. >> ACTUALLY, I TURNED 25 YEARS OLD OUT IN IA DRANG VALLEY. AND I NEVER THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO LIVE TO SEE MY 25TH BIRTHDAY. >> NARRATOR: HELICOPTERS PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN VIET NAM, MORE SO THAN IN ANY PREVIOUS WAR IN U.S. HISTORY. >> I CAN STILL RECALL FLYING, YOU KNOW, THE INFANTRY AROUND LIKE WE DID DAY AFTER DAY, WEEK AFTER WEEK, AND A LOT OF THE INFANTRY TROOPS WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS ARE SITTING DUCKS UP HERE. THAT'S HOW WE VISUALIZED THIS. THAT'S HOW THE MAJORITY -- MAJORITY OF THE INFANTRY CHARACTERIZED HELICOPTER PILOTS AS SITTING DUCKS. ON THE OTHER HAND, WE LOOKED AT THE INFANTRY THAT THE TROOPS THAT WE WERE SUPPORTING EVERY DAY AND FLYING INTO THESE HOT L.Z.S, WE LOOKED AT THEM AS HAVING IT A LOT TOUGHER THAN US. I'D SAY ABOUT 50% OF OUR MISSIONS, WE WERE PICKING UP U.S. SOLDIERS AND TRANSPORTING THEM INTO WHAT WE CALL LANDING ZONES. A SOLO MISSION AND WE FOUND OURSELVES SHOT DOWN RIGHT ON THE SOUTH CHINA SEA, RECEIVED A LOT OF ENEMY FIRE AND WE KNEW WE HAD A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM, SO WE PUT OUR AIRCRAFT DOWN ON THE BEACH. IT WASN'T LONG, WE STARTED RECEIVING ENEMY FIRE AND WE DETECTED ALL THESE SO-CALLED FRIENDLY FARMERS OUT THERE, FRIENDLY VIETNAMESE FARMERS. WE'D FLY OVER THAT AREA AT ALTITUDE, THEY WOULD BE WAVING AND YOU COULD SEE THEM DOWN BELOW WAVING AT US AND THAT. WELL, THE FIRST THING WE DID IS GOT THE TUBE GUNNERS, THE TWO CHIEF AND GUNNER AND THE AMMO BOXES UP IN THE SAND DUNES. WE WENT DOWN, THE VIETNAMESE STARTED LOBBING MORTAR ROUNDS IN ON US, AND THEY WERE HITTING OUT IN THE OCEAN AND EXPLODING. THEY WERE RECEIVING ALL SORTS OF ENEMY FIRE SO WE HAD A REAL WAR GOING ON THERE FOR A WHILE. WE WERE ENGAGED WITH THE VIETNAMESE, VIET CONG AROUND THE SAMPANS AS WELL AS THE PEOPLE IN THE RICE PADDIES. LUCKILY, ON THE WAY DOWN I GOT TWO MAYDAYS, I GOT A MAYDAY, MAYDAY, KINGSMAN 17. I KNEW WHERE I WAS. LUCKILY, A LIGHT FIRE TEAM HEARD THAT MAYDAY CALL AND ABOUT 15 MINUTES AFTER, WE FOUND OURSELVES IN THAT PREDICAMENT, WE HAD A LIGHT FIRE TEAM OVERHEAD. I SAW THE LIGHT FIRE TEAM, I RAN BACK TO THE AIRCRAFT, I WAS UP ON THE SAND DUNES WITH THE OTHER THREE INDIVIDUALS, PUT MY HELMET ON, TURNED THE BATTERIES ON, GOT THE RADIOS, IT TAKES ABOUT A MINUTE, 30 SECONDS TO A MINUTE FOR THE RADIOS TO WARM UP. THEY CAME UP AND SAID, YEAH, WE'VE GOT YOU DOWN THERE AND WE CAN SEE WHERE THEY'RE FIRING THE MORTAR ROUNDS AT YOU SO WE'RE GOING TO ROLL IN HOT ON THEIR MORTAR POSITION. THEY KNEW WHO I WAS. JUST FORTUNATELY, THE PILOTS IN THIS LIGHT FIRE TEAM HAD BEEN IN OUR COMPANY, I KNEW THESE PILOTS FROM THEzFéTH ASSAULT HELICOPTER COMPANY. SO JUST FORTUNATELY, THERE THEY WERE, THEY SAID WE CALLED YOUR COMPANY HEADQUARTERS, SENT OUT A MAINTENANCE AIRCRAFT AND THE MAINTENANCE AIRCRAFT SHOULD BE THERE IN ABOUT 20 MINUTES. SO IN ABOUT 20, 30 MINUTES, THE RECOVERY AIRCRAFT CAME IN AND PICKED US UP, AND WE'D BEEN ABLE TO HOLD OFF THE ENEMY, I GUESS YOU'D SAY, FOR 30, 40 MINUTES. THEY WERE WORKING THEIR WAY TOWARD OUR POSITION. HADN'T THE LIGHT FIRE TEAM COME OVERHEAD, HEARD OUR MAYDAY CALL AND BEEN THERE, WE'D HAVE BEEN HISTORY, THERE'S NO DOUBT IN MY MIND. AFTER THIS WAS ALL OVER, THE RECOVERY AIRCRAFT CAME IN, PICKED US UP, DID A 180, WE THREW ALL OF OUR M-60s, OR AMMO BOXES IN, THERE JUST LEFT THE AIRCRAFT THERE. WHAT CAN YOU DO? LATER THAT DAY, THEY DISCOVERED THAT IN THE VILLAGE JUST OFF TO OUR FLANK WHERE THERE WERE SAND DUNES, THERE WAS A NORTH VIETNAMESE BATTALION-SIZED HEADQUARTERS IN THAT VILLAGE, NORTH VIETNAMESE. >> NARRATOR: WHEN ENTERING A HOT ZONE, A SOLDIER'S STATE OF MIND IS A CRUCIAL FACTOR. >> I FELT THAT -- I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE I WAS GOING TO EVER DIE. YOUNG PEOPLE DON'T, YOUNG MEN DON'T THINK THEY CAN BE KILLED, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE PUMPED UP WITH THE TRAINING AND THE -- I HAVE SEEN IT OVER AGAIN. THEY DO THINGS THAT ARE UNBELIEVABLE BECAUSE THEY DON'T THINK THAT THEY CAN BE KILLED. I DIDN'T THINK I COULD BE KILLED BUT I WAS LUCKY, I DIDN'T GET KILLED. THE AMERICAN SOLDIER HAD HIS JOB TO DO, AND THIS WAS ALL REALLY IN HIS MIND WAS TRYING TO DO WHAT WE HAD TO DO OVER THERE. >> YOU CAN'T BE CONCERNED ABOUT GETTING HIT AND GETTING KILLED AND PERFORM YOUR MISSION. YOU HAVE TO GO WITH THE FLOW AND JUST GO FORWARD EACH DAY JUST AS THOUGH IT'S ANOTHER DAY, AND YOU REALLY, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T CONCERN YOURSELF WITH EVERY MISSION WHETHER IT'S A HOT MISSION, YOU JUST HAVE TO GO OUT THERE AND DO YOUR JOB. >> THE SNIPER IN A TREE, WELL, BY THE TIME WE WERE DONE, THERE WAS NO TREE LEFT AND THAT SORT OF THING. LITTLE OVERKILL. >> THE IDEA OF BATTLE, THE IDEA OF WAR IS TO INJURE A PERSON, HOPEFULLY WE WILL JUST INJURE THEM, NOT KILL THEM. BY THAT, THE TACTIC IS IF ONE PERSON IS DOWN, IT TAKES AT LEAST TWO TO CARRY HIM OFF THE BATTLE FIELD SO THAT TAKES THREE PEOPLE AWAY FROM YOUR FRONT. WHENEVER YOU GET OUTSIDE OF THESE KINDS OF THINGS, I THINK IT IS WRONG. NAPALM IS A MIXTURE OF GASOLINE AND DIESEL FUEL AND COMPRESSED IN A WAY THAT WHEN IT EXPLODES, IT CREATES A JELLY THAT COMES DOWN. USUALLY DROP IT OUT OF THE TREES OR WHEREVER AND IT COMES DOWN AND GETS ON YOU AND YOU CAN'T GET IT OFF. IT'S HOT AND IT BURNS. IT DISFIGURES AND THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK IS OFF THE BEATEN PATH OF THE GENEVA CONVENTION AS TO NOT CAUSE OR CREATE PERMANENT, LONG-LASTING LIFETIME INJURY. ♪♪ >> NARRATOR: IN-BETWEEN MISSIONS, SOLDIERS WERE ADJUSTING TO LIFE IN VIETNAM. >> FIRST FEW WEEKS YOU WERE THERE, ACTUALLY, PROBABLY A MONTH OR MORE, WE LIVED IN THOSE PUP TENTS AND THEN YOU LIVED OUT OF YOUR DUFFEL BAG AND YOU'D BE GONE FOR TWO WEEKS AT A TIME, MOSTLY ON MISSIONS, MOSTLY WHAT THEY CALL SEARCH AND DESTROY, HUNTING OUT SNIPERS AND THAT SORT OF THING. AND THEN YOU COME BACK AND FIND EVERYTHING IN YOUR DUFFLE BAG WAS GETTING MOLDY AND... PRETTY DECENT FOOD THERE, EVEN THOUGH THE FIRST FEW MONTHS THERE WAS NO FRESH FOOD, IT WAS ALL EITHER CANNED OR POWDERED. FOR SOME REASON, IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE SCRAMBLED EGGS COMING FROM A POWDER BUT WE HAD IT. [ LAUGHTER ] AND BARELY IDENTIFIABLE, BUT LATER ON, IT GOT VERY GOOD. NO MATTER WHERE WE WERE, WE WOULD JUST ABOUT ALWAYS GET A HOT MEAL. MAIL EVERY DAY, UNLESS IT WAS NOT AT ALL SECURE, THEN IT DIDN'T ALWAYS HAPPEN BUT JUST ABOUT EVERY DAY WE WOULD GET MAIL, WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN OTHER WARS, YOU KNOW. >> WE HAD A LITTLE CLUB RIGHT THERE ON THE CONCERN AND WE WENT IN THERE AND DRANK COKE AND ATE COOKIES, AND THEN ONE DAY, SOMEBODY BROUGHT A BOTTLE OUT THERE THAT HAD JACK DANIEL'S IN IT, AND WE WERE -- SOME OF US HAD BEEN IN TENNESSEE AND WE WERE SORT OF GLAD TO SEE THAT, JACK DANIEL'S. [ CHUCKLING ] >> NARRATOR: WAR TIME MEDIA COVERAGE IS ALWAYS MET WITH CONTROVERSY. >> 90% OF THE TIME, YOUR NEWSMAN IS NOT THERE WHEN THE EVENT HAPPENS. THEY COME IN LATER, THEY ASK SOME QUESTIONS AND THEY TELL YOU WHAT THEY THINK WENT ON. THEY DON'T REPORT WHAT WENT ON, THEY REPORT WHAT THEY THINK WENT ON. BUT HOW DO YOU COVER SOMETHING WHEN YOU GET THERE TWO OR THREE DAYS AFTER THE EVENT, ASK QUESTIONS AND THEN SAY, OH, WELL, THIS HAPPENED, AND YOU'RE SHOWING A BURIAL DETAIL GOING ON OVER HERE OR SOME SURVIVOR OVER HERE, A LOCAL CIVILIAN TRYING TO GET HIS HOUSE BACK TOGETHER. THAT WASN'T WHAT THE BATTLE WAS, THE BATTLE WENT ON OVER HERE AT SOMEWHERE ELSE. I DON'T THINK TV DID A VERY GOOD JOB, AND WAS THAT THE AGENDA OF THE REPORTER, OF THE NETWORKS? WHO KNOWS WHAT IT WAS BUT I DON'T THINK IT WAS FAIR TO THE GUYS THAT WERE THERE, NOR TO THE PARENTS AT HOME. >> THE STORIES THAT THEY WERE REPORTING WERE PARTIALLY TRUE AND I THINK A LOT OF THEM WERE DISTORTED. THE PEOPLE WERE FIXED ON BODY COUNTS, INJURIES AND ALL THAT, AND THAT'S NOT THE -- NOT THE WAY THAT WE LOOK AT THE WAR. >> NARRATOR: WHEN A SOLDIER'S TOUR WAS OVER, IT MARKED THE BEGINNING OF MAKING ADJUSTMENTS. >> WRITING IS THE WAY I GET THINGS OUT OF MY BONES AND MAYBE THAT'S -- MAYBE THAT'S PART OF THE STORY. THIS IS ABOUT SAYING GOODBYE TO MY FRIEND -- MY FRIENDS, THE LAUP, ESPECIALLY MY HOOCHMATE WHO WAS SUCH A WONDERFUL, WARM PERSON. SHE WAS THE KIND OF PERSON THAT NOT ONLY TOOK CARE OF OUR SHOES AND WASHED OUR CLOTHES BUT IF SOMEBODY WAS SICK, SHE HOVERED OVER THEM LIKE A MOTHER. SHE WAS A SPECIAL PERSON. THE DAY BEFORE I LEFT, MRS. LAUP CAME TO SIT IN MY BUNK AS I PACKED SOME THINGS. WHEN SHE ENTERED, I HAD BEEN LAUGHING AND JOKING HAPPILY WITH SOME OTHER SOLDIER ABOUT MY SUPER SHORTNESS AND ABOUT GETTING SOME FOR HIM WHEN I GOT BACK. SHE SAT THERE FOR A MOMENT WATCHING AFTER I HAD GREETED HER. "YOU NUMBER ONE SHORT NOW, YOU HAPPY YOU SEE FAMILY NOW, SEE MOTHER, SEE FATHER, SEE GIRL NUMBER ONE, YOU, HUH?" SHE SPOKE AT MY BACK AS I HUMMED AND WORKED AT MY BAGS. "THAT'S RIGHT, LAUP, BEEN A LONG TIME NO SEE, YOU KNOW? I'M GOING TO GO HOME AND EAT BEAUCOUP, GET FAT LIKE BUDDHA, TOO." AS I SAID THIS, I HELD MY HANDS OUT, CUPPED A FOOT IN FRONT OF MY STOMACH TO INDICATE HOW BIG I WOULD GET AND LOOKED OVER TO SEE IF SHE GOT IT AND WAS GOING TO LAUGH. SHE WAS CRYING. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. I WAS ALMOST HOME ALREADY. SHE WAS ALMOST A THING OF THE PAST. MAYBE THE BREAKDOWN OF THE BARRACKS AND A LONG ASSOCIATION WITH THE STATUS QUO WAS AFFECTING HER, TOO. "HEY, LAUP, DON'T CRY." I WANTED TO SAY MORE BUT STRUGGLED TO FIND SOMETHING APPROPRIATE. HER CRYING WAS SLOWLY BRINGING ME BACK TO HER, TO NU TRANG, I COULDN'T SAY HEY, I'D BE BACK, THAT, HEY, IT WOULD BE OKAY, THAT LIFE WOULD GO ON. I WOULD NEVER BE BACK AND THINGS WOULD PROBABLY NEVER BE OKAY FOR HER AND HER FAMILY. I STOOD THERE NOT SAYING ANYTHING AND FINALLY SAT BESIDE HER, PUT MY ARM AROUND HER. SHE WAS SUCH A FINE PERSON AND I COULD NOT TELL HER HOW MUCH I REALLY BELIEVED THAT% AND HOW UNFAIR IT ALL REALLY WAS. "YOU NUMBER ONE G.I., NO OTHER G.I. COME BE NUMBER ONE." "YOU GO HOME NOW, I SORRY, D." "NO LAUP, THERE WILL BE OTHERS, YOU JUST WAIT AND SEE." "NO, YOU LAST ONE, I KNOW, NOBODY COME. FIRST BOB, THEN BILL, AND PAT AND EDDIE, THEN YOU. NO MORE COME. LAUP SAD." IT WAS TRUE. THERE HAD BEEN A LONG LINE OF GUYS WHO HAD PASSED A FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE OF THE LAUPS ON TO THEM AS THEY LEFT. NO ONE APPEARED AS I LEFT TO PICK UP THE TRADITION AND I KNEW IT, TOO. SHE CRIED NOT ONLY FOR ME BUT THE PASSING OF AN ERA. I COULD THINK OF NOTHING ELSE TO SAY OR HOW TO SAY ALL I WANTED TO, SO JUST SQUEEZED HER AGAIN WITH THE ARM I HAD AROUND HER SHOULDERS. I WANTED TO EMBRACE HER, STAND AND HOLD HER TIGHTLY FOR A MOMENT BUT COULDN'T BECAUSE IT MIGHT BE IMPROPER OR MISUNDERSTOOD. INSTEAD, I JUST LOOKED INTO HER EYES AND SAID SOFTLY AND AS SINCERELY AS I COULD, "YOU NUMBER ONE, LAUP." I JUMPED UP THEN, BEFORE BREAKING DOWN MYSELF AND PUT ON AN ANGRY EMPLOYER ACT. LOOKING INDIGNANT THAT SHE, A GROWN WOMAN, SHOULD BE CRYING AND NOT DOING HER WORK. AFTER A BIT OF CHOREOGRAPHY AND EXAGGERATED MOTION, AND THEN SURPRISE ON HER PART, SHE FINALLY GIGGLED AND DRIED HER EYES. "YOU NUMBER 10 G.I.," SHE LAUGHED AND GOT UP AND LEFT. >> I WAS BAITED WITH SERGEANT STRIPES AND THAT SORT OF THING. AND HE SAYS, IN FACT, YOUR ORDERS ARE ALREADY HERE, HE SAID, YOU WOULD BE A SERGEANT IN UNDER TWO YEARS. I THOUGHT WELL, THAT SOUNDS TEMPTING BUT I HAVE A WIFE AT HOME AND MY DAD WANTS TO RETIRE FROM FARMING AND, I SAYS, I GOT JUST TOO MUCH GOING FOR ME THERE. THE THING I DID NOTICE, THAT WHEN I -- BEFORE I LEFT WAS THE GUYS THAT WERE COMING IN AS REPLACEMENTS, AND THEY LOOKED SO YOUNG AND SO IMMATURE AND I JUST COULDN'T HELP BUT REALLY FEEL SORRY FOR THEM, YOU KNOW, THEY -- BRAND-NEW CLOTHES, YOU KNOW, AND NO STRIPES OF ANY KIND ON IT YET, YOU KNOW, AND SCARED. >> WELL, IT WAS KIND OF CRAZY BECAUSE I WAS IN BATTLE CONDITION ON DECEMBER 6TH, AND ON DECEMBER 9TH, I WAS OUT OF THE SERVICE. NO TIME TO ADJUST, YOU JUST GOT OUT, LIKE THAT. IT WAS REALLY WEIRD. >> I FELT I WAS ABLE TO SURVIVE, I FELT VERY STRONG -- I FELT LIKE OUR TRAINING -- WE WERE THE BEST-TRAINED SOLDIERS IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY AT THAT TIME. I FELT SO STRONGLY ABOUT THAT, THAT I STAYED AND -- AFTER MY TIME WAS UP, MY TOUR WAS UP, I STAYED FOR ANOTHER TOUR OVER THERE. >> NARRATOR: THE SUDDEN ADJUSTMENT OF COMBAT SOLDIERS TO CIVILIAN WAS A SURREAL SPERP FOR MANY RETURNING TROOPS. [ AIRPLANE FLYING ] >> ON A PROP AIRCRAFT, ME AND ANOTHER GENTLEMAN, AND I THINK IT WAS LOADED WITH COFFINS OF DEAD BODIES, JUST THE CONFIGURATION, AND IT TOOK US ABOUT 27 HOURS TO FLY OVER THE OCEAN. WE STOPPED MIDWAY, HAD BREAKFAST THERE, AND THEN WE MET UP IN LONG BEACH WHERE, A DAY LATER, I WAS A CIVILIAN. IT WAS... [ CRYING ] >> VERY HARD ADJUSTMENT. >> ACTUALLY, I GOT BACK IN DECEMBER 10TH OF 1965 AND WE DIDN'T HAVE A VERY GOOD GREETING WHEN WE GOT TO CALIFORNIA. PEOPLE WERE PRETTY HOSTILE TO US. ACTUALLY, IF WE GOT OUT ON THE STREET IN OAKLAND, THEY DIDN'T APPRECIATE US AT ALL. OTHER THAN THAT, WHEN I GOT HOME TO MY HOME STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA, I WAS TREATED REAL FINE. >> THE UNIFORM WAS THE SYMBOL OF EVERYTHING THAT THE ANTI-WAR PEOPLE HATED, AND THEY JUST ASSOCIATED THE UNIFORM WITH, YOU KNOW, THE STOMPING BOOT, AND THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO SEPARATE THE PEOPLE IN THE UNIFORM FROM THE UNIFORM. >> I WENT INTO A RESTAURANT, AND THAT WAS -- WHEN I GOT THROUGH THE CROWDS OF PEOPLE PROTESTING WHEN I GOT BACK, AND I WENT TO A RESTAURANT. AND THE LADY HAD KNOWN ME ALL MY LIFE, SHE SAID, "OH, YOU BEEN GONE?" YOU KNOW, THEY HAD NO CONCEPT OF WHAT WAS GOING ON OVER THERE, YOU KNOW. IT DIDN'T INVOLVE THEM. IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE A SON OR A BROTHER OR WHATEVER OVER THERE, THEY DIDN'T CARE. THEY DID NOT CARE. THAT'S THE TRUTH OF IT. >> I WAS STANDING ON THE CORNER OF THE STREET WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO CHANGE, AND WE WERE ABLE TO TRAVEL AT HALF PRICE IF WE WORE OUR UNIFORMS ON AIRLINES, BUSES OR WHATEVER. WE WERE ALLOWED TO TRAVEL AT HALF PRICE AT THAT TIME, SO I HAD MY UNIFORM ON AND AS I WAS WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO CHANGE, TO MY RIGHT, THERE WAS A CROSSING COMING OVER, AND THERE WAS A GROUP OF YOUNG PEOPLE WHO CAME THERE, ACROSS THE STREET AS I WAS STANDING THERE, AND THEY WERE -- THERE WERE THREE YOUNG MEN AND A YOUNG LADY WHO CAME UP AND APPROACHED ME, WAS CALLING ME NAMES, DIFFERENT KINDS OF THINGS, SO I REALLY DIDN'T, YOU KNOW, GET UPSET WITH THAT ALL THAT MUCH BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THAT DOESN'T -- BUT THEN SHE WALKED TO THE FRONT OF ME AND COME UP FRONT AND SPIT ON MY MEDALS AND SAID, "YOU KNOW, YOU'RE A" -- WAS, YOU KNOW, SWEARING AT ME AND TELLING ME I WAS A BABY-KILLER, AND THAT I DIDN'T DESERVE TO LIVE AND ALL THAT. SO I GOT PRETTY UPSET WITH THAT, BUT THERE WAS A POLICEMAN WHO WAS RIGHT ON THE CORNER THERE, ALSO, AND HE WAS STANDING OVER THERE TWIRLING HIS BATON, YOU KNOW, SO I WALKED OVER THERE TO HIM AND I SAID, "DO YOU THINK YOU COULD COME AND HELP ME A LITTLE BIT WITH THIS SITUATION OVER HERE?" I SAID, "I DON'T WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN THIS," AND HE SAID, "WELL, WHAT IS WRONG?" I SAID, "WELL THESE YOUNG PEOPLE HERE ARE" -- ACTUALLY, I'M SURE THEY WERE OLDER THAN I BUT THEY SEEMED LIKE THEY WERE YOUNG. I WAS AN OLD MAN AT THAT TIME, AND HE SAID, "WELL, WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?" I SAID, "WELL, THEY'RE DISGRACING MY UNIFORM." HE SAID, "OH?" I SAID, YEAH, I'M NOT GOING TO, YOU KNOW -- HE SAID, "WELL, WHY DON'T YOU TAKE IT OFF, THEN?" I SAID, "NO, I DON'T THINK I'M GOING TO DO THAT." THEN HE SAID, "WELL, MAYBE IF YOU TOOK IT OFF AND BURN IT, WE WOULD BE BETTER." SO THAT WAS KIND OF THE LAST THING THAT HE GOT TO SAY RIGHT THEN, SO WE GOT INTO REALLY TROUBLE THERE, AND HE WENT TO THE HOSPITAL AND I WENT TO JAIL, AND I WAS THERE FOR A FEW DAYS, TO SEE IF HE WAS GOING TO LIVE, I GUESS, AND SO -- HE DID, WHICH I'M VERY THANKFUL FOR. THE MILITARY CAME AND GOT ME OUT, AND THEN AFTER THAT EXPERIENCE, I DIDN'T WANT TO TALK WITH PEOPLE. I DIDN'T WANT TO ASSOCIATE WITH ANYBODY. I JUST, FOR YEARS, STAYED BY MYSELF, NEVER WOULD GO ANYWHERE, BE IN ANY CROWDS OR AROUND, YOU KNOW, AND IT WASN'T -- AND I LIVED PRETTY MUCH MY WHOLE LIFE THAT WAY UNTIL, OH, SIX OR EIGHT YEARS AGO. >> I COULDN'T SLEEP FOR TEN YEARS. YEAH, AND I -- TO THIS DAY, I STILL CAN'T SLEEP IF MY SHOES ARE ON. THEY HAVE TO BE OFF. IT'S -- IT'S HARD TO EXPLAIN. IF YOUR SHOES ARE OFF, YOU KNOW EVERYTHING'S OKAY, YOU'RE IN A GOOD, SAFE PLACE, YOU KNOW. >> THINGS WERE DEFINITELY DIFFERENT BUT I ACTUALLY MADE A QUICK ADJUSTMENT. I WENT RIGHT BACK TO FARMING, WHERE I WAS BEFORE WITH THE REST OF MY FAMILY, I MADE A QUICK ADJUSTMENT. I DON'T THINK I'LL EVER REGRET BEING THERE. >> THAT I COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, WHY WE WERE SHUNNED -- EVEN OUR OWN VETERANS' ORGANIZATIONS, LEGION, V.F.W., WHEN WE CAME BACK, WE WERE SHUNNED BY THOSE ORGANIZATIONS, AND I THINK -- I THINK MAYBE, AS I LOOK BACK ON IT NOW, WE WERE SHUNNED OUT MORE BY OUR OWN PEOPLE, OUR OWN VETERANS' ORGANIZATIONS THAN THE PUBLIC IN GENERAL. THE PUBLIC IN GENERAL THAT I KNEW, THAT I HAD EXPOSURE TO, THAT I RUN AROUND WITH, BUT THE VETERANS' ORGANIZATIONS WERE MORE CONTENTIOUS ABOUT IT THAN ANYBODY ELSE, AND HELD, I GUESS YOU'D SAY -- I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'D SAY A GRUDGE BUT JUST DIDN'T REALLY HAVE ANY RESPECT FOR THE SOLDIERS. >> WHEN I CAME HOME, YOU HEARD NOTHING ELSE ABOUT IT. YOU KNOW, THEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE OUT THERE PROTESTING AND I SAID, ONLY IF WE COULD SEND YOU RIGHT THERE TO THE FRONT LINE. >> AS A CITIZEN OF THIS COUNTRY, I HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO THIS COUNTRY AND FOR WHATEVER REASON, I WOUND UP IN THE MILITARY AND I'M TOLD TO DO SOMETHING. I DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER CHOICE. THE CHOICES SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE BEFORE I WENT IN THE MILITARY. YOU COULD HAVE GONE TO CANADA, YOU COULD HAVE SAID YOU WERE A CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR, YOU COULD HAVE LEFT THE COUNTRY AND GONE TO MEXICO OR ANYPLACE ELSE, BUT ONCE YOU TOOK ON THE OBLIGATION OF BEING A CITIZEN, WHY AM I BEING HARASSED BY THESE BOZOS THAT DON'T LIKE WHAT THE GOVERNMENT IS DOING, AND I GET A LITTLE UPSET WITH THOSE BOZOS. ♪♪ >> NARRATOR: MANY PEOPLE GLEANED THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF THE VIETNAM WAR FROM MOVIES AND TV SHOWS. >> I HAVE NOT WATCHED A SINGLE VIETNAM-ERA MOVIE, NONE. I WATCHED -- I'VE HAD TO SIT THROUGH TRAILERS, EVEN ON THE TV, YOU KNOW, SHOW YOU SCENES FROM THEM AND EVERYTHING ELSE. AND I THINK ALL THE PRODUCERS THAT MAKE MOVIES ABOUT ANY WAR HAVE AN AGENDA, AND SO THEY'RE BROADCASTING THEIR AGENDA, BE IT LIBERAL, BE IT CONSERVATIVE, BUT IT'S WHAT THEY WANT, NOT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED. SO I HAVE NOT READ OR SEEN ANY OF THE MOVIES. >> THERE ARE THINGS THAT YOU GO THROUGH ARE NOT AT ALL LIKE THEY ARE IN THE MOVIES, AND I'VE READ SOME -- SOME BOOKS THAT ARE SIMILAR. I DON'T REALLY THINK THAT THEY PORTRAY WHAT REALLY HAPPENS. THE HARDSHIPS THAT THE GRUNT -- AND I CALL THEM THE GRUNT BECAUSE THEY ARE THE GROUND TROOPS -- GO THROUGH, THEY PORTRAY THE LEADERSHIP AS HEROES AND DON'T REALLY PORTRAY THE GRUNTS FOR WHAT THEY GO THROUGH. >> WHEN I CAME BACK FROM VIETNAM AND -- AND, I GUESS "M.A.S.H." COME OUT IN THE KOREAN WAR BACK IN THE EARLY '70S. THAT WAS ONE OF THE LAST MOVIES I SAW, PURPOSELY, BECAUSE I JUST -- I SAW TOO MUCH FICTION AND TOO MUCH HOLLYWOOD AND SO I JUST DIDN'T WANT TO DO IT. I DID WATCH A FEW DOCUMENTARIES BUT THE REAL STORY WASN'T GIVEN AND I BLAME THE MEDIA FOR INACCURACY ON THAT. >> I DON'T KNOW OF ANYBODY IN OUR OUTFIT THAT USED DRUGS, AND YOU SEE IT ON TV AND THEY'RE ALWAYS DRUG-CRAZED, AND THE MEN I SERVED WITH WERE HONORABLE, AND THEY DID THE BEST THEY COULD UNDER A VERY DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES WITH PEOPLE THAT DIDN'T SUPPORT YOU BACK HOME, YOU KNOW? >> NARRATOR: THE IMPACT OF SERVING IN VIETNAM STILL AFFECTS VETERANS TODAY. >> THE REAL REALIZATION OF A LOT OF WHAT WAS GOING ON PROBABLY TOOK PLACE EVEN AFTER I LEFT, LOOKING BACK, BECAUSE NOW TALKING ABOUT IT, I GET EMOTIONAL, AND AT THAT TIME I WOULDN'T HAVE. >> I WOULDN'T DO IT AGAIN BUT THEN I WOULDN'T TAKE NOTHING FROM WHAT I'VE LEARNED, YOU KNOW, ABOUT THE PEOPLE. BUT LIKE I SAID, NO ONE EVER EXPLAINED TO US WHY WERE WE THERE? AND TO THIS DAY, YOU CAN'T EXPLAIN TO ME BECAUSE THE FRENCH WERE THERE, WHAT, SO MANY YEARS, AND THEY DIDN'T WIN IT. AND WE DIDN'T WIN IT. BUT THE ONLY THING, I FOUGHT FOR MY COUNTRY, BUT, HEY, IT WASN'T FOR ME TO SAY. BUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, WHAT DID WE ACCOMPLISH? ALL THOSE DEAD BODIES AND ALL THE SOLDIERS OVER THERE, WHAT GOOD WAS IT? >> YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A CERTAIN NUMBER OF THEM THAT WERE DEFINITELY GLAD THEY WERE THERE, BUT EVEN THEY HAD TO BE CAUTIOUS. I MEAN, THE HISTORY OF VIETNAM WAS ONE LONG DECADE AFTER DECADE OF CONFLICT AND NEVER KNOWING WHO THEY SHOULD SIDE WITH, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE OUTCOME WAS GOING TO BE. I'LL ALWAYS FEEL A GREAT DEAL OF GUILT FOR LEAVING THOSE PEOPLE THAT TRULY BELIEVED IN US TO WHATEVER HAPPENED TO 'EM. IF I WOULD HAVE -- WAS AGAINST THE WAR -- I MEAN, I ENDED UP IN AN ANTI-WAR MARCH IN THE EARLY '70S, NOT BECAUSE I DIDN'T BELIEVE IN THE WAR BUT BECAUSE WE WERE DOING NOTHING TO FINISH IT WHEN I FIGURED WE COULD HAVE FINISHED IT OR DID SOMETHING AND I WANTED TO BRING THE GUYS BACK, IF THEY WEREN'T GOING TO RESOLVE IT. AND I BELIEVED IN VIETNAM, I BELIEVE IN IRAQ TODAY. WHAT I THINK IS THAT VIETNAM -- THE WARS AFTER KOREA, THE REST OF THE COUNTRY IS NOT INVOLVED. NOBODY'S BLEEDING BECAUSE OF IT. >> THE THING THAT BOTHERED ME WAS WHY DID WE LEAVE BEFORE IT WAS OVER. IF WE WERE GOING TO BE THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE, WE MIGHT AS WELL HAVE FINISHED THE JOB, RIGHT? >> THAT'S THE QUESTION I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH. I REALLY DON'T KNOW -- I, MYSELF, FEEL IT WAS A TREMENDOUS WASTE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE DIFFERENT. I'M NOT SORRY THAT I WENT, YOU KNOW. SEEMED LIKE A VERY GOOD CAUSE AT THE TIME. AND THE FACT THAT WE JUST UP AND PULLED OUT WHEN THINGS WEREN'T GOING GOOD DISAPPOINTED ME. >> OH, YES, I WOULD DO IT AGAIN. I GUESS I WOULDN'T -- I MEAN, I WOULDN'T HESITATE TO GO BACK AND DO THAT AGAIN. I PROBABLY -- IT PROBABLY WOULD BE MUCH HARDER FOR ME NOW BUT I WOULD DO IT. >> IT'S JUST INTERESTING. THINGS THAT WE SAW THAT I WOULDN'T HAVE SEEN OTHERWISE IN MY LIFE. >> IT WAS A BAD EXPERIENCE AT THE TIME BUT AS I THINK BACK NOW, I DON'T THINK I COULD TRADE MY THOUGHTS FOR ANYTHING. I THINK IT WAS PROBABLY A GOOD THING TO BE THERE. >> I THINK I HAD MADE UP MY MIND THAT I WASN'T GOING TO LET IT AFFECT ME. I WENT ON WITH LIFE. I THINK I MADE UP MY MIND AND MAYBE PUT IT IN BACK OF MY MIND, AND MAYBE THESE THINGS COME OUT WHEN YOU GET OLDER, I DON'T KNOW. YOU KNOW, THEY -- YOU CAN ONLY STORE 'EM FOR SO LONG AND THEN EVERY NOW AND THEN, THEY JUST KEEP COMING OUT. >> YOU BUILD SOME REALLY CLOSE FRIENDSHIPS, YOU KNOW, AND SOMETHING ABOUT THE MILITARY THAT DOES THAT, YOU KNOW. YOU HAVE THE GOOD GUYS AND THE BAD GUYS BUT FOR THE MOST PART, IT WAS A GREAT FOUR YEARS FOR ME. >> I GOT AWAY WITH MY LIFE, AND SOME OF MY FRIENDS GOT KILLED OVER THERE, AND IT'S MEMORIES NOW THAT I CAN TALK ABOUT IT NOW BECAUSE I COULDN'T TALK ABOUT IT BEFORE. BUT AS THE YEARS GO, IT BRINGS BACK TO YOU -- IT'S JUST LIKE THIS, BUT WE COULDN'T DO IT BEFORE BECAUSE IT WAS A SERIOUS NATURE. JUST LIKE I SAID, SOME OF THOSE GUYS THAT DIDN'T COME BACK, BUT WE MADE IT AND AFTER 40-SOME YEARS, WE GOT A REUNION, AND JUST LIKE ALL BROTHERS ARE GETTING RIGHT ON BACK TOGETHER. LIKE A BIG FAMILY. >> THERE'S BEEN A GREAT CHANGE IN ME AND THE OTHER MEN SINCE I'VE BEEN -- SINCE WE'VE BEEN GETTING TOGETHER. THERE'S BEEN A CHANGE, YEAH. >> YOU'RE IN A CRUCIBLE WHERE EVERYTHING IS HEATED UP AND EVERYTHING MIXES TOGETHER, AND YOU BECOME SO CLOSE TO SOMEBODY WITHIN WEEKS, YOU KNOW, AND YOU ARE SO CLOSE TO THEM AND YOU DO -- THEY'RE THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU WENT THROUGH, AND I DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH OF EXPERIENCE BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE THOSE REALLY TOUGH THINGS HAPPEN OUT IN COMBAT. I WASN'T IN COMBAT AND -- BUT THEY REALLY DO -- YOU BECOME SO CLOSE TO SOMEBODY AND IT'S WHY I THINK EVEN THE SOLDIERS THAT MAYBE BENEFITED FROM -- THE ANTI-WAR PEOPLE HATE -- THEY HATE THE ANTI-WAR PEOPLE SO MUCH BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO CONCEPT OF WHAT HAPPENS IN THAT CRUCIBLE. THEY CAN TALK AND SAY -- THEY'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED, THEY DON'T KNOW, AND THAT'S WHY IT'S SO MUCH EASIER TO TALK TO ANOTHER VETERAN AND IT'S TRUE. >> I RELISH THE MOMENT WHEN WE CAN COME BACK AND SEE ONE ANOTHER AND SHAKE HANDS AND GIVE EACH OTHER A HUG AND WHATEVER ELSE. >> WE CAN TALK TO EACH OTHER AND, YOU KNOW, WE DID THIS AND WE DID THAT, SOME OF IT... BUT IT'S ALL RIGHT, YOU KNOW, IT'S OKAY, WHEN WE'RE TOGETHER. Captioning performed by <font color="#FFFF00">Paradigm Reporting & Captioning</font> <i>Lisa Richardson, RPR, CRR, CBC,</i>
