CONG CATCHERS
A Soldiers Memories of Vietnam
Lee Halverson
with
Ed Nielsen
ISBN 978-1-63525-982-7 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-63525-983-4 (Digital)
Copyright 2017 by Lee Halverson
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.
Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
296 Chestnut Street
Meadville, PA 16335
www.christianfaithpublishing.com
Printed in the United States of America
From hilarity to horror, often in the same day!
Cong Catchers provides a detailed view of life in a combat zone. Lee Halverson served as a Military Police dog handler in Vietnam, writing daily letters to his wife back in the States. He recently used those letters to pen a well-received series of articles for his hometown newspaper. Lee then enlisted the help of Ed Nielsen to turn those articles into the continuous narrative that youre now holding. As you read these pages, youll be reminded of escapades in the movie M*A*S*H* while other events are more reminiscent of those in Full Metal Jacket or Platoon. These pages contain humorous episodes, some midnight requisitioning, also a fair share of hair-raising events. In all Cong Catchers recounts the day-to-day thoughts and experiences of a soldier and his brothers in arms serving their country and trying to make it home alive. Cong Catchers may be the most comprehensive memoir ever written by a Vietnam War veteran.
Ed Nielsen
Acknowledgements
Id like to thank my parents, Bendix and Margaret Halverson, for raising me in the Christian faith.
My daughters, Missy and Ginger, deserve to be recognized for understanding when I couldnt take them to a fourth of July fireworks display. They took it in stride when I dove into the bushes when I heard a sound similar to a rifle shot. They attended our MP dog handler reunion in St. Louis and visited with the guys in my unit. Afterwards, they told me, Dad! All those things you told us are true! And finally, they knew I needed to see the wall for its healing effects. Afterwards, they gave me a picture of a man standing at the wall touching the name of one of his lost friends. I love you.
A big thanks to Ed Nielson, who got me going on the book. The foundation that he wrote from my articles got me started and helped me to finish.
I appreciate Ginny Smith, editor of the Sioux Rapids portion of the Spencer Daily Reporter, who accepted my articles and reminded me when another one was due.
Thanks to all the people in the Sioux Rapids area that faithfully read my articles and gave me moral support. I cant forget Mrs. Fortune, my English teacher in high school who always assured me that someday I would appreciate prose and poetry. You were right, Mrs. Fortune!
And finally, thanks to Ginny. When we went to St. Louis for our reunion; the guys could have cared less if I were therethey wanted to see Ginny! She supported me and helped me through this entire undertaking. And boy, do I love you!
I would like to thank Christian Faith Publishing for accepting my writing and assisting me in the process of getting it published. A special thanks to Paula Hengle who gave me that special attention.
Foreword
I grew up on a farm in Northwest Iowa. My base of values came from a strict working-class family and the Lutheran church where I was baptized and confirmed. Therefore, Christian values and the values of a good work ethic had been ingrained within me.
After graduation from high school, I attended Iowa State University. While at Iowa State, I met my wife, Ginny. She too had been raised on the farm and in a Christian family and had very similar values as mine. Early in our relationship, we made a commitment that Jesus Christ would be the center of our marriage. Together we would pray and seek guidance from him.
When I completed my studies at Iowa State, I went about the process of finding a job. This was 1968, and the Vietnam War was in full swing. I soon learned that an able-bodied young man who was eligible for the draft would have trouble finding good employment. The reason being that once someone had gone to the work of training me, I could be drafted. Understanding this, I went to speak with the recruiters. At the time, there was a two-year enlistment available. It seemed to be my only option, so I took it.
Ginny and I wrote letters to each other every day while I was in the service. We saved not only those letters, but also the letters I received from others. Consequently, there were a lot of letters. In the back of my mind, I had always wanted to write a book about my Vietnam experience. The trouble was that to do that, I had to read the letters. We were married for twenty-two days when I left for Vietnam. The whole year I was gone was very emotional for both of us. One day in early 2000, we were sorting through some boxes that we had stored and came across the boxes of letters. We immediately took some out and began to read. Within a very few minutes, we were both in tears. It was amazing how much had been hidden down deep in our hearts.
Then in 2008, I began to write a column for the local newspaper. I found that if I used just one letter at a time and interspersed the articles with memories of my growing up on the farm, I could get through the letters. Every letter has brought back memories for both of us. Some of the memories make us laugh and some still make us cry. But the best part of it all is being able to share those memories with our family. Our daughters Missy and Ginger grew up hearing these stories. We took them to a reunion of the 981st MP Company several years ago. After wandering around for a while talking to my compatriots, Ginger came back to us and said, Dad, all those stories you have been telling us are true! Yes, to the best of my memory, they are true. I have taken the liberty of changing some of the names, but the events are real.
Most of the books about Vietnam deal with troop strength, weaponry, battles, body counts and so on. Not this one. For the most part, I am an optimist, and when I returned to the world, I decided it was important to focus on the good things that happened. The letters and our belief in Jesus Christ brought me through that year of separation and the transition I had to make when I returned home. I still have occasional nightmares, though they have diminished over the years. But there is not a day that goes by that I dont thank God for bringing me home safe and mostly sound.
Chapter 1
Entering the Army
In 1964, when I turned eighteen, I had to go to the Buena Vista County courthouse and register for the draft as was the obligation of every young American male. I never thought much more about it until years later when the war in Vietnam came to a head. Many young American boys were being drafted to fight, and there were few exclusions: Quakers, conscientious objectors, those who were physically or mentally handicapped, and those of us who were given a deferment from the draft because we were in school. Many made a career of going to college in order to avoid the draft.
