Let them Eat Cake! Honoring Vietnam era 51黑料网 on National Vietnam War 51黑料网 Day

Vietnam era veterans and family members gathered at the 51黑料网 History Museum for coffee, cake, and conversation on March 29, National Vietnam War 51黑料网 Day. The museum鈥檚 meeting room was festooned in red, white, and blue, thanks to the decorating talents of Maggie DiRocco, spouse of U.S. Special Forces Vietnam War veteran Michael DiRocco. Michael was a museum board member and active volunteer until his death in June 2022. 鈥淚鈥檇 like to help with this party,鈥� his wife said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very meaningful day for me.鈥�

March 29, 1973 was the day United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam was disestablished and the last U.S. combat troops departed Vietnam. In addition, it marks the day the last of the known 591 POWs left Hanoi. David Grant, who dropped by with his wife Betsy, commented, 鈥淵esterday marked the 50th anniversary of the day I flew home from the Hanoi Hilton.鈥�

Honoring Vietnam 51黑料网

The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration honors all veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces from November 1, 1955 to May 15, 1975, regardless of location. More than 5,400 veterans serving during this period reside in Transylvania and Henderson counties (12.6% of Transylvania County鈥檚 population, and 9.4% of the population of Henderson County).

51黑料网 History Museum

To honor all those who served during this period, the 51黑料网 History Museum held an open house for Vietnam vets and their families, with coffee from Cup & Saucer and a patriotic sheet cake declaring 鈥淭hank you for your Service, Vietnam 51黑料网鈥� from

Vietnam 51黑料网,
Thank You for Your Service

鈥淭his informal get-together was our way of saying thank you to all who served during the Vietnam era,鈥� said museum board member Michel Robertson. 鈥淭o anyone who did not realize March 29th is a day of recognition for Vietnam era veterans, it鈥檚 never too late to say 鈥榯hank you for your service.鈥欌��

From Welcome Home, Brother

by Michel Robertson

John 鈥淟arry鈥� McCall graduated from high school in 1967 and was drafted into the Army in 1968 at age nineteen. He and nine other young men from his North Carolina mountain community reported to Fort Bragg for basic training and then to Fort Polk, Louisiana for Advanced Infantry Training. McCall鈥檚 father had provided a compelling example of answering the call of duty. An Air Force navigator during WWII, he spent one years as a German prisoner of war. 鈥淎lthough he died when we were very young, he was still a major influence on our lives.鈥�

To McCall鈥檚 regret, upon their arrival in Vietnam, his nine friends were dispersed to the 25th Infantry Division in the jungle while he was sent to the 9th Infantry Division, in T芒n Tru and T芒n An, southwest of Saigon. Nicknamed 鈥淭he Old Reliables鈥� during WWII, the 9th Infantry Division served with the Mobile Riverine Force in Vietnam鈥檚 fertile Mekong Delta, a vast maze of rice paddies broken up by rivers, swamps, narrow canals and dikes. Their mission was to secure this extremely challenging battleground against the Viet Cong Communist insurgents. During the Vietnam War the Delta was the site of many Army search-and-destroy missions.

Fighting in the Mekong Delta

鈥淥ur base camp consisted of a tent with a wooden platform, said McCall. 鈥淲e travelled primarily by helicopter which dropped us into the flooded rice paddies.鈥� The U.S. objective was to initiate battles with the Vietcong and use the Army鈥檚 superior firepower to inflict large losses. 鈥淲e would be out there anywhere from two to three weeks before they鈥檇 return to pick us up, so we had to watch our rations and ammunition supplies very carefully. Sometimes we had to walk back to our base camp.

鈥淭he helicopters didn鈥檛 have any doors, so everything was open. At first, for a little old mountain boy like me, if it had been possible, I would have jumped out. It scared me so much, but after a while I got used to it.鈥� The delta鈥檚 climate was an additional impediment during McCall鈥檚 early days in Vietnam. 鈥淚 was evacuated from the field for heat exhaustion twice. Eventually my system adjusted to the extremely hot, humid climate and I didn鈥檛 have any more trouble.鈥�

McCall once leapt from a helicopter which had been hit. 鈥淚t was spinning, so we jumped out of it. Luckily, we were over the rice paddies. We never hit solid ground. Sometimes it was chest deep. We had to wiggle our way out of the water and mud, watching for snakes and leeches.鈥� The checkerboard of rice paddies was separated by dikes of mounded dirt used to navigate the area. 鈥淲e always walked in the rice paddies. We never walked on the dikes because they were booby-trapped. It wasn鈥檛 an easy life.鈥�

During one battle, McCall rescued a First Lieutenant whose helicopter had been shot down, for which he received a Bronze Star. 鈥淲e weren鈥檛 family over there. We didn鈥檛 try to get familiar because we might not be there very long, but we always helped each other as much as possible.鈥�

In February 1969, during the Tet Offensive, McCall was shot in the arm and leg. After a week in a Saigon hospital he was flown to Tokyo where they reopened his wounds and sewed him back up. He returned to Fort Bragg where he received therapy for his arm and leg. McCall completed his active duty at Fort Bragg and received an honorable discharge.

Coming Home: Challenges and the Effects of Agent Orange

Back home, protestors, accustomed to viewing disturbing images and updated body counts on the nightly news, vented their frustration with the government鈥檚 policies on returning soldiers. Coming through the San Diego airport in uniform, Sergeant First Class Larry McCall endured verbal abuse and insolent treatment from many of his countrymen. 鈥淭hey called me a pot-head, among other things. I was around the stuff over there, but I didn鈥檛 use it. I had other things on my mind. I couldn鈥檛 understand why they were so negative about us. We were asked to go and we went. And when we came back, they looked at us as if we weren鈥檛 human beings. Today people come up to me and say, 鈥榯hank you.鈥� It feels good, but I wonder where they were fifty years ago.鈥�

Larry and his wife, Elaine, homecoming queen and captain of the football team, were high school sweethearts. Elaine was valedictorian of her graduating class. She was a college student when Larry left for Vietnam and remembers similarly rude behavior on campus. 鈥淲e were engaged before Larry left and I was a student at Asheville/Buncombe Technical College,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淚 was in the student union when a guy sitting near me asked, 鈥榃hy do you want to be engaged to somebody who鈥檚 going to come home with no arms or legs?鈥� I was so shocked that I slapped him in the face. I assumed I鈥檇 be in big trouble, but the teacher in my next class said to me, 鈥楪ood for you!鈥� The whole thing was out of character for me, but that fellow never said anything ugly to me again.鈥�

Like many Vietnam veterans, McCall suffered from PTSD. After arriving in the states, he was met by his family at a bus station at Fort Bragg. His fianc茅e, Elaine, came up behind him to give him a welcoming hug. 鈥淢y first instinct was to knock her away because of what I鈥檇 been through.鈥� Elaine had her own story to tell. 鈥淥ne day, several years after he got back, a helicopter flew over our house while we were sleeping. He woke up and was frantic. He said 鈥榃here am I?鈥� The helicopter sounds really scared him.鈥�

The most lasting effects of McCall鈥檚 tour in Vietnam were serious health issues related to the toxic defoliant, Agent Orange. 鈥淲e recognized the areas that had been sprayed because they looked like somebody had burned everything around, and there was a big fog. They brought in the planes and sprayed the soldiers in the field along with the vegetation. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 know exactly what it was until we came stateside and started having health issues. I couldn鈥檛 eat anything. I almost died.鈥� McCall suffered a heart attack and pancreatitis with resultant diabetes. 鈥淚 only have one-third of my pancreas.鈥�

Fine Dining in the Mekong Delta

Army Private Curtiss L. Poteat left the tranquility of Marion NC for South Vietnam in 1969, having trained as a Military Policeman to work on Army Patrol Boats (PBRs). 鈥淲hen I graduated from high school, my draft number was three, so I went ahead and joined the Army. The uncle I鈥檓 named after was on PT boats in WWII, and I liked McHale鈥檚 Navy, so I thought river boats would be a cool job.鈥�

Providing River Security – Mobile Riverine Force

South Vietnam, especially the Mekong Delta in the south, is marked by numerous waterways presenting serious logistical obstacles to U.S. ground forces. To resolve this problem, the Navy created the Mobile Riverine Force — a partnership between the Army and Navy in fighting the war in the rice paddies, canals, and treacherous waterways of the south.
Poteat was assigned to the Army 18th MP Brigade as a member of the 458 Sea Tigers. These boats, armed with 50 caliber machine guns, M60 machine guns, automatic grenade launchers, and personal weapons, provided essential water-borne security for river operations.

Door Gunner David Smale鈥檚 Lecture 鈥淪cramble the Seawolves鈥� Draws Large Audience
On Thursday, April 25, Brevard resident David Smale told stories of his Vietnam experience as
door gunner and Crew Chief with the Navy鈥檚 first and only dedicated attack helicopter gunship
squadron.

This group of Seawolf professionals became the most decorated Navy squadron in Naval
aviation history.

A recently completed documentary, "Scramble the Seawolves" will be shown on UNC-TV on
Sunday, May 26, at 4:00 pm.