West Tenn. Vietnam Veterans share memories of time over seas
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McKENZIE, Tenn. — Thousands of Vietnam Veterans across the Volunteer State are honored for their service in the United States’ longest-running war. The Vietnam War took more than three million lives. Nearly 50,000 men and women from Tennessee were among those who served. “I had a bullet come through my pants leg but did not touch the skin,” Charles Smith said. Smith served 20 years in the Air Force, and he spent 341 days of that time in Vietnam. “It wasn’t a very happy day, but I didn’t go to Canada,” William Robertson said about the day he found out he was drafted to head to Vietnam. Robertson served as an Operations Sgt. in the U.S. Army. He said he remembers one of the best care packages he received while over seas. “The most enjoyable one was boxes of pizza I guess — you didn’t see those in Vietnam,” he said. Charles Smith was an aircraft load master with the Air Force. He said one of his best memories also revolves around food, Mother’s Day and a military aircraft. He said one day he was assigned to deliver cows and pigs, which would then be slaughtered by Vietnamese soldiers for food. “That’s a heck of a way to remember Mother’s Day,” he said. Other West Tennesseans enlisted. “I knew it when I volunteered,” David Hopper said. “I mean, that was the only thing that was going, and I knew I was going to go to Vietnam.” Hopper spent more than three years as a Marine. He and his brother enlisted in the buddy system. This meant both brothers could not be sent into combat at the same time. Hopper’s brother was sent first but was pulled out after being wounded twice. Hopper said that’s when he decided to volunteer to leave his post as a military police officer in Hawaii and fight in Vietnam. These soldiers say they’re proud to have served their country — but they remember cold returns to the South when they deployed out of Vietnam. “If they knew you were a Marine and they knew you was just coming back from Nam, they had a different opinion of you,” Hopper said. Robertson said he had similar memories of his return. “We didn’t get any recognition when we came home,” he said. Since 2008, the Volunteer State has recognized March 29 as Vietnam Veterans Day, something one vet says is appreciated but also needs to be shared with the next generation of soldiers. “I don’t think we get as much attention as some of the guys in Iraq coming back will get, but they deserve it now,” U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Earl Sullivan said. “Our war is passed — it’s their turn now.”
