Untold Stories: Vietnam Veterans’ Day and Military Heroes
A sergeant who took out multiple enemy snipers and bunkers. A Navy officer who got his men to safety despite his own serious head wounds. A Catholic chaplain who died serving his Marines. A private who took the full force of a grenade to save his comrades. A helicopter commander who braved a fiery crash and enemy fire to rescue US troops. All heroes of the Vietnam War.
There are so many inspiring, beautiful stories about the great heroes of American history which are scarcely ever told. One happens on them accidentally—buried in a thick, out-of-print biography, in small print on a museum sign, casually and fleetingly mentioned in an obscure educational video. America cannot return to greatness in the future if we do not truly understand the greatness of our past. That is why I am writing an article series to tell a few of these little-known but moving “untold stories” of American greatness. Other articles in this series have included trailblazing Marines throughout US history; how George Washington single-handedly ended dangerous infighting in the Revolutionary Army; how St. Michael saved a U.S. Marine from Korean Communists; and tales of military heroism for Armed Forces Day.
Today, March 29, is Good Friday 2024, but it is also annually marked as National Vietnam War Veterans’ Day. As I wrote last year, veterans of the Vietnam War are perhaps the most underappreciated veterans in American history. “There was no fanfare to greet us when we returned from the war…We might have been coming back from a walk to the corner grocery store,” recalled Capt. James R. McDonough. But even that doesn’t capture the full reality.
Vietnam veterans were actively vilified and attacked by radical “peace” activists when they came home, as were the veterans’ families. My great-uncle Bruce Webb was a Marine killed in Vietnam, and his widow received phone calls telling her that her husband deserved to die. Her house was broken into and mementos of her dead husband’s military career were stolen. And the attacks didn’t stop after the first few years. I personally saw someone get in the face of a man wearing a Vietnam veteran hat and scream insults at the veteran for having served in the military. “Disrespect for Vietnam vets is fact, not fiction,” wrote Vietnam veteran Bob Feist. He described spitting, egging, insults; he bought a wig to hide his military haircut. And these weren’t isolated incidents. “I am not aware of many Vietnam vets who were not subjected to some disrespect, either personal or from the culture that called us ‘baby killers.’” The insults were often based on exaggerations or myths of American abuses in Vietnam.
58,220 American soldiers died in the war, and up to 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers and over 2 million civilians were killed as well—not to mention the many tens of thousands murdered by the Communist North Vietnamese both during and after the war (we left many Vietnamese to die with our withdrawal that was celebrated as “peace”). As even the New York Times admitted, “Terrorism was a central component of [Communist] Viet Cong strategy.” I saw some of the barbaric tools used in the terrorism during my recent trip to Vietnam. So why am I telling you this? Because there are hundreds of thousands of American soldiers who were mocked instead of praised, attacked instead of celebrated, partly because US leaders made serious mistakes and partly because the media lied. We need to set that wrong right. So today, on National Vietnam War Veterans’ Day, I want to share the stories of a few Medal of Honor recipients from Vietnam.
I previously wrote about Fr. Vincent Capodanno, the Navy chaplain serving with U.S. Marines nicknamed the “Grunt Padre.” While Capodanno and his 5th Marines were serving in the “infamous” Que-Son Valley, they found themselves severely outnumbered by the vicious Communist Viet Cong. Fr. Capodanno insisted on going with the reinforcements to the thick of the fighting, and the fighting became so intense it was sometimes hand-to-hand. “Father Vince went among the wounded and dying, giving last rites and taking care of his Marines. Wounded once in the face and suffering another wound that almost severed his hand, he moved to help a wounded corpsman [medic] only yards from an enemy machine gun. Father Capodanno died taking care of one of his men.” The last Marine whom the priest helped before going to aid the medic recalled the chaplain telling him, “Stay quiet Marine. You will be ok. Someone will be here to help you soon. God is with us all this day.” It is peculiarly appropriate to remember Fr. Capodanno on this Good Friday, as one survivor of the battle, Corporal James Hamfeldt, compared the priest to Christ, since he gave his life to save others. “In my life,” Hamfeldt said of Fr. Capodanno, “he is a saint.”
Army Sgt. John Franklin Baker Jr. was en route in 1966 to help another unit already fighting when enemy fire opened on Baker and his comrades. Baker moved to the column’s head and he and another soldier remarkably managed to take out two enemy bunkers.
“When his comrade was mortally wounded, Sgt. Baker, spotting 4 Viet Cong snipers, killed all of them, evacuated the fallen soldier and returned to lead repeated assaults against the enemy positions, killing several more Viet Cong. Moving to attack 2 additional enemy bunkers, he and another soldier drew intense enemy fire and Sgt. Baker was blown from his feet by an enemy grenade. He quickly recovered and single-handedly destroyed 1 bunker before the other soldier was wounded. Seizing his fallen comrade's machine gun, Sgt. Baker charged through the deadly fusillade to silence the other bunker. He evacuated his comrade, replenished his ammunition and returned to the forefront to brave the enemy fire and continue the fight.”
The forward element received the order to withdraw, so Baker carried a wounded man to the rear and went back to evacuate another. Snipers began firing at him but Baker attacked and killed the snipers!
“After evacuating the wounded man, he returned to cover the deployment of the unit. His ammunition now exhausted, he dragged 2 more of his fallen comrades to the rear. Sgt. Baker's selfless heroism, indomitable fighting spirit, and extraordinary gallantry were directly responsible for saving the lives of several of his comrades, and inflicting serious damage on the enemy. His acts were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.”
Navy Lt. Thomas G. Kelley was in charge of eight “river assault craft” extracting an Army infantry company on a canal bank in Kien Hoa province. An armored troop carrier reported a loading ramp’s mechanical failure, just as the Viet Cong opened fire on the Americans from the other canal bank. Kelley told the boats to form a protective “cordon,” with the one carrier raising its ramp manually and being protected by the others, but he knew that his men were in a very dangerous situation.
“[He] boldly maneuvered the monitor in which he was embarked to the exposed side of the protective cordon in direct line with the enemy’s fire, and ordered the monitor to commence firing. Suddenly, an enemy rocket scored a direct hit on the coxswain’s flat, the shell penetrating the thick armor plate, and the explosion spraying shrapnel in all directions. Sustaining serious head wounds from the blast, which hurled him to the deck of the monitor, Lt. Cmdr. Kelley disregarded his severe injuries and attempted to continue directing the other boats. Although unable to move from the deck or to speak clearly into the radio, he succeeded in relaying his commands through one of his men until the enemy attack was silenced and the boats were able to move to an area of safety. Lt. Comdr. Kelley’s brilliant leadership, bold initiative, and resolute determination served to inspire his men and provide the impetus needed to carry out the mission after he was medically evacuated by helicopter.”
Kelley survived and went on to become a lieutenant commander.
Marine Private First Class (Pfc) James Anderson Jr. was with his company in dense jungle near Cam Lo in 1967, trying to extract a reconnaissance patrol that was under siege. With his platoon as lead element, Anderson and his comrades suddenly found themselves under heavy enemy fire. The platoon attempted to return fire.
“Pfc. Anderson found himself tightly bunched together with the other members of the platoon only 20 meters from the enemy positions. As the firefight continued several of the men were wounded by the deadly enemy assault. Suddenly, an enemy grenade landed in the midst of the marines and rolled alongside Pfc. Anderson's head. Unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his personal safety, he reached out, grasped the grenade, pulled it to his chest and curled around it as it went off. Although several marines received shrapnel from the grenade, his body absorbed the major force of the explosion. In this singularly heroic act, Pfc. Anderson saved his comrades from serious injury and possible death. His personal heroism, extraordinary valor, and inspirational supreme self-sacrifice reflected great credit upon himself and the Marine Corps.”
Air Force Capt. Gerald Orren Young was flying escort for a helicopter aiming to accomplish an Army ground reconnaissance team’s rescue in 1967—two helicopters had already been taken down trying the same task, and with the team on a steep slope, “unusual airmanship” was required to rescue them this time. One rescue helicopter was hit by enemy fire but did extract three men. The helicopter’s commander advised Young to abandon any further rescue effort due to the enemy fire.
“With full knowledge of the danger involved, and the fact that supporting helicopter gunships were low on fuel and ordnance, Capt. Young hovered under intense fire until the remaining survivors were aboard. As he maneuvered the aircraft for takeoff, the enemy appeared at point-blank range and raked the aircraft with automatic-weapons fire. The aircraft crashed, inverted, and burst into flames. Capt. Young escaped through a window of the burning aircraft. Disregarding serious burns, Capt. Young aided one of the wounded men and attempted to lead the hostile forces away from his position. Later, despite intense pain from his burns, he declined to accept rescue because he had observed hostile forces setting up automatic-weapons positions to entrap any rescue aircraft. For more than 17 hours he evaded the enemy until rescue aircraft could be brought into the area.”
Young survived and reached the rank of lieutenant colonel.
To all who served in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War—thank you for your service.
(The opening paragraphs of this article were adapted from my Vietnam Veterans’ Day Untold Stories from last year. Read about multiple military heroes of the Vietnam War HERE.)