General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: What happened after the US ran from Vietnam? n/t [View all]pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)they were just ordinary Army grunts, draftees and enlistees, doing what they had to do and just trying to make it home. Their bravery in combat went mostly unremarked and unrecognized.
Except to those of us who were with them. Some may have earned Bronzes, and fewer were awarded Silvers. But many deserving soldiers went unrewarded for their heroism in battle. I received a valorous decoration probably just because I was an officer.
My Battalion Commander and his Executive Officer came to see me at the evac hospital after I was wounded, and the Colonel said he would make sure I was recognized. My face was ballooned out horribly from a head wound and swathed in bandages. and I had a trache tube so I couldn't talk. So I just gave them a thumbs-up and those two old warriors burst into tears and fled the room.
But they gave me a medal.