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On 7 Feb 67, two days before I turned 19, I began basic training. I got on the bus in Long Beach CA in the late afternoon which took us to Fort Ord CA. After Basic Training I went to Fort Gordon GA for AIT (Advanced Infantry Training), then on to Fort Benning GA for Airborne Training. Then it was on to Fort Campbell KY for Jungle Training. In Mid Dec 67 we flew on Lockheed C-141 starlifters to the Bien Hoa Airport.
We went to Vietnam to serve our country for various reasons. Some of us were drafted and some of us volunteered. Some of us thought we were fighting a noble cause to free the Vietnamese people from Communist oppression. They say there are no atheists in foxholes. Some of us were believers and some were not. Some of us got a second chance. Some of us didn't.
Convoy 10 wheelers took us to Cu Chi, northwest of Saigon (III Corp). We were introduced to the ways of the vietnamese and participated in training drills, to acclimate us to the hot weather. On our first night out in the jungle we spent the evening laying around in the bushes. We did not rest easy as it was STRANGE being in a real war zone. Any noise made us jump. We could not talk or smoke. No shooting may have taken place that night but you got scared over and over again. We were all in this together and it was our first taste of the terror which was to come. Most of us prayed and asked God just to get us through the night.
When it was time to go on patrol, the point man walked several meters out in front of everyone else. His purpose was to serve as the eyes and ears for the unit. We trusted him and followed him through suspected enemy territory. We literally placed our lives in his hands. I was our squad's machine gunner.
We got on 4 propeller C-130's and flew up to Hue (I Corp) where I remained till I was wounded.
On 13 Mar 68 I was hit in the head by schrapnel (metal fragments). I lost my left eye. I was flown by huey helicopter with the other KIA's and wounded to a tent hospital in Da Nang, 60 miles away. After being assessed, I was flown to the Naval Hospital Ship, USS Sanctuary. There I was operated on and remained for 15 days. On 1 Apr 68 I was flown with hundreds of other wounded servicemen to an Air Force Base in San Francisco. From there, I was flown by helicopter to Letterman General Hospital to a waiting ambulance. From there I was carried inside by stretcher. After recuperating I was sent home in July to await retirement which became effective on 7 Aug 68.
Some may think me bitter for what happened to me as it profoundly changed the course of my life. I am not bitter in the least, though. I am forever thankful to God for sparing my life and giving me a second chance. The only thing that really saddens me is all those who DIDN'T get that second chance. I guess that is why I spend so much of my time trying to help my fellow veterans. I went to church as a boy but I didn't know the meaning of having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ until after I was wounded in Viet Nam. Wondering why I was spared put me on a spiritual journey that resulted in finding and accepting Christ as my personal Savior.
Where was God in Vietnam? Was He MIA? Did He go AWOL? Whether we acknowledged it then or not God was right there beside us.
For some of us, a bigger war began when we got home, in the form of PTSD. Vietnam veterans, for the most part, have seen life and death in such a way that their lives have been forever changed. Many feel like "prisoners of war". And we still need a Point Man even though we are thousands of miles and many years from Southeast Asia.
Being the leader of a Point Man group gives me the opportunity to help those who are hurting and I can surely understand where they're coming from. I am still 100% disabled due to my injury in Vietnam and am unable to work because of a severe memory impairment but I don't have to sit back and play the part of a victim. I will do what I can to assist those who need and want help and I will do it till the day I die!
If you're ready to make Jesus Christ your Point Man, to lay it all down, pray this simple prayer with an honest heart:
Help me, God. Let me cry those tears that have been buried for so long. Mighty warrior, I lost my youth and my innocence in those jungles, but you saved me. You made the ultimate sacrifice. You died on the cross for me. From now on, whenever I speak about Nam, I want YOU to be a part of the story. I am tired of all the suffering that war put me and my loved ones through. I want to lay my burden down. I'll never find my way home with the weapons this world has to offer. I ask you, the POINT MAN, to lead the way to freedom. The day has come and the time is now and I will follow You. In Jesus name, AMEN
Point Man International Ministries
since 7/31/98