Glyn Haynie - Soldiering After The Vietnam War: Changed Soldiers In A Changed Country

SOLDIERING
AFTER THE
VIETNAM
WAR

CHANGED SOLDIERS
IN A CHANGED COUNTRY

A MEMOIR

GLYN HAYNIE

Copyrighted Material

Soldiering After the Vietnam War: Changed Soldiers in a Changed Country

Copyright 2018 by Glyn Haynie. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout prior written permission from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

For information about this title or to order other books and/or electronic media, contact the publisher:

Glyn Haynie
www.glynhaynie.net
glyn@glynhaynie.com

ISBNs:
Hardback 978-0-9982095-5-5
Paperback 978-0-9982095-3-1
eBook 978-0-9982095-4-8

Printed in the United States of America

Cover Design, Interior Design, and Editing: 1106 Design, Phoenix, AZ
Author Photograph: Shannon Prothro Photography

John William, I love and miss you

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Prologue

CHAPTER 1 Fort Benning, Georgia

Living with Fear

Moving Out

Rifle RangeFirst Assignment

Wayne Coming Home

Reenlisting

CHAPTER 2 Heilbronn, Germany

New Unit and Mission

Race, Drugs, and Alcohol

The First Months

A Long Summer

Leadership Training

A Train Ride

Climbing a Mountain

CHAPTER 3 Wayne Arrives

Deploy the Nukes for War

Driving to Stuttgart

French Commando School

Time to Leave

CHAPTER 4 Fort Campbell, Kentucky

Reporting for Duty

Week of the Eagles

Training National Guard Soldiers

Infantry Advance NCO Course

New Assignment

CHAPTER 5 Drill Sergeant Duty

Learning to Be a Drill Sergeant

Still Learning

A Day on the Trail

Old Friends

Co-ed Basic Training

Integrated Basic Training

Wayne Becomes a Drill Sergeant

Volunteer for Recruiting

CHAPTER 6 RecruitingSanta Ana, California

Reporting for Work

My New Duties

First Year

The Softball Team

Iranian Crisis

A Baby and a Move

CHAPTER 7 RecruitingState College, Pennsylvania

First Sergeant Assignment

Dad Is Dying

Mike and a Reunion

Time to Move

CHAPTER 8 Fort Bliss, Texas

Going to Fort Bliss

Starting the Course

Staying at Fort Bliss

CHAPTER 9 Time to Retire

Afterword

The Fallen

Postscript: The Vietnam War Documentary

A Vietnam Veteran Speaks

My Thoughts During the Halftime Show

Finally the End, but Not for Me

About the Author

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to my brother John Wayne Haynie for contributing photographs and researching and providing information on our family members military service and for verifying information about our assignments together.

Thank you to Dusty Rhoades, Dennis Stout, Jay Robinson, Chuck Council, Bruce Nugent, John Baxter, and Leslie Pressley for the photographs.

Thanks to Don Ayers for the photograph of the young soldier on the cover.

Special thanks to David Armstrong, John Felchak, Richard and Leah Kelly, and my wife, Sherrie, for helping me to get the book ready for publication.

Thank you, First Platoon, for being my brothers.

PROLOGUE

Word to the Nation: Guard zealously your right to serve in the Armed Forces, for without them, there will be no other rights to guard.

P RESIDENT J OHN F . K ENNEDY

I enlisted in the Army July 28, 1968, and, after my infantry training, flew to Vietnam, March 10, 1969, at the age of 18, and my older brother, Wayne, 20 years old, sat next to me on the long flight to a foreign land and an unpopular war. Two weeks after my 19th birthday, Wayne left for Korea, and I went to serve with the First Platoon Company A 3rd Battalion/1st Infantry Regiment 11th Infantry Brigade Americal (23rd) Infantry Division. The First Platoon patrolled the area of the Quang Ngai Province in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. We, as a platoon, survived fighting the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Vietcong, ambushes, sappers, and psychological operations, with the enemy telling us to surrender, leave, or get wiped out, while building a firebase.

During my one-year tour, I experienced many hardships, including the death of 13 platoon brothers and the wounding of 12, three of the 12 wounded more than once. The first time I repeated the names of the 13 killed was early morning of August 16, 1969. A squad member woke me because I was reciting the names out loud in my sleep, and he feared it might attract the enemy. The death of the 13 followed me the rest of my life. I wasnt haunted by them and didnt avoid their presence. I wanted them with me. I wanted to honor them and keep their memory alive. This wasnt a burden but a responsibility and honor I freely accepted. With this responsibility, my time in Vietnam wasnt forgotten, either. The 13 men who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country are Bruce Tufts, Juan Ramos, Eldon Reynolds, Jerry Ofstedahl, Robert Swindle, Richard Wellman, Paul Ponce, Joe Mitchell, James Anderson, Danny Carey, Gary Morris, Roger Kidwell, and Willmer Matson.

I thought I would never remember the details of my time in war 47 years ago, but all I had to do was sit in my office chair behind my computer and tap out one line on the keyboard to read on the screen. Thats when I saw the details of the forgotten events of years past right in front of me, never thinking how painful it may be to go back to my days in Vietnam. Reading my book When I Turned Nineteen: A Vietnam War Memoir, you will have a better understanding of me, the young 19-year-old who returns home from an unpopular war and the influences, challenges, and decisions I faced after the war.

Inspired by a mixture of nostalgia and military service after the Vietnam War, I write of my journey as a United States Army Noncommissioned Officer and my yearning to see my brothers of First Platoon. Since memories can get lost in the clutter of time, Ive attempted to share those 20 years of service as honestly as possible. The paths I took after coming home from war werent predetermined but decided by events and how people I met along the way guided me on the decisions made. Im sure fighting and surviving the Vietnam War influenced the decisions, too.

After doing the job my country sent me to do, I returned home to a country that had changed. The war in Vietnam was an unpopular war. Many Americans at home despised and vilified returning soldiers. There were few Welcome Home signs, cheers, or parades. Instead, often there were protestors. There was hate, name-calling, and disrespect. Young soldiers already impacted by their combat experiences in Vietnam now had to deal with the depression, anger, and resentment caused by their fellow countrymen. Some returning soldiers used alcohol or drugs, sometimes both, to deal with the aftermath of combat and war, and the treatment received after coming home.

Despite this, I continued to serve my country. Staying in the Army, I rose through the ranks: Squad Leader, Platoon Sergeant, Drill Sergeant, First Sergeant, finally becoming an instructor at the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy (USASMA) and retiring after 20 years of service.

My story isnt about war but of service to country and the consequences of that service for soldiers and their families. There are no claims that I had an extraordinary career, but my career did coincide with extraordinary times within the Army, and I met extraordinary soldiers, NCOs, and officers along the way. Soldiers today are experiencing far more hardships than I had, with their many deployments and separations from their families. They have my highest respect.