'Thank you for your service'

You hear this expression a lot — thank you for your service. 

Actually, veterans with veteran’s caps hear that a lot and they appreciate it. You also hear people say “welcome home” to returning veterans, from World War I, World War II and the Korean War, but it sure wasn’t that way when us Vietnam veterans came home. Most didn’t even mention they were Vietnam vets, including me. I and others just went about our business. But at the same time, we had hidden memories, most of them bad, and we held them within ourselves. 

When someone says, “thank you for your service,” it is a very nice comment, but they don’t know anything about the soldier. He could have been stationed stateside, or he could have suffered the horrors of war. It actually doesn’t make any difference — he or she served.  

The returning Vietnam veterans didn’t talk about it as too many of the American public looked down on us. Called Vietnam veterans things like baby killers and others. Even though, in my time there, killing babies just didn’t happen. However, yes, young Vietnamese boys were shot and killed, but not very often, that is probably where the term came from. What the public didn’t know, and wouldn’t believe it anyway, is that some of these same young boys would throw grenades in the back of trucks, killing American soldiers. 

What would you do if a grenade was thrown into a truck that you were riding in? Those throwing the grenades even included women, believe it or not. It was not very common, but it happened. Most of us didn’t trust the civilians; some worked for the Americans in the daytime, but were really Viet Cong and would try to kill you at night. If riding in a jeep or truck, when we passed the locals, we would always watch them.  

I tell our civilians that it is hard for them to understand. And I understand that; you can hear all kinds of things and believe it. But unless you were there, unless you experienced these things, no way can you understand. Things like the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese, booby trapping dead American soldier’s bodies with grenades. American soldiers killed on the battlefield, later recovered with their genitals stuffed in their mouths. It is hard to believe, but it happened. 

I was not a front-line infantryman, but I was in the 1st Infantry Division, I saw our troops go into battle, I know the sounds of bullets wishing past my head. And I saw the aftermath as our unit took care of those killed in action. The sound of the helicopters bringing in the dead soldiers not an hour or two into the battle. No one reading this has seen 30-35 dead American soldiers all laid out being processed to be identified, put in body bags and being processed to be shipped home. I would look at these dead soldiers, and knew than in two or three days, their wives, mothers and other family members would know that their loved one had been killed in action. To this day, when I hear the whap, whap, whap of helicopter blades it still reminds me of one thing, death. 

Roger Gregory served as captain in the 1st Infantry Division and served in Vietnam. He is a Priest River businessman.