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Retired Military Col. Miguel Monteverde spent an intense 12 months in fight in Vietnam. As a 25-year-old artillery captain within the A Shau Valley throughout 1969, he commanded 100 males and a battery of six weapons.
“We have been attacked very closely on the bottom one night time, mid-June 1969. And we fought identical to the Civil Warfare artillery,” mentioned Monteverde, from Los Angeles. “Regardless of all {our capability} for firing lengthy distance, we have been firing proper up shut, and we efficiently defeated that assault, with no fatalities of our personal. The enemy suffered very heavy casualties, they usually by no means attacked us on the bottom once more.”
Monteverde was amongst a dozen Vietnam veteran volunteers who shared relics and reminiscences of the battle on the Nationwide Museum of the U.S. Military at Fort Belvoir as a part of Vietnam Veterans Day on March 29.
Effectively south of the A Shau Valley, close to Saigon, Military Spc. 4 Bob Dunn of Milwaukee, Wisc., was an Military policeman and was “volun-told” that he could be a Ok-9 handler.
After coaching in Korea, he and his accomplice Duke, a German Shepherd sentry, spent most of a 12 months with the 212th Navy Police Firm, on solitary night time patrols guarding the Lengthy Binh Ammunitions Depot, which Dunn referred to as the “largest ammunitions depot on this planet at the moment.” (Coincidentally, the 212th MP Firm is now assigned at Fort Belvoir.)
“We labored at night time, by ourselves,” Dunn mentioned. “We have been the one friendlies on the perimeter as the primary line of protection ought to one thing occur to the ammunition dump.”
After a 12 months with out harm to him or his accomplice, Dunn mentioned it was considered one of his saddest days to complete his tour and depart Duke behind.
“I used to be with him greater than I used to be with another of the troops that I used to be assigned,” he added. “We performed collectively; I labored with him on patrol by ourselves at night time so he was my accomplice for that complete 12 months – that was a really unhappy second.”
Tammy Name, museum director, whose father was a Vietnam veteran, welcomed guests to the daylong exhibition and mentioned the struggle occurred at a time of nice social change within the nation.
“The main target wasn’t the identical and the help wasn’t the identical. In earlier wars, our veterans come residence, they usually come residence to a hero’s welcome as they need to,” she mentioned. “Our Vietnam veterans deserve that very same recognition. They usually did not get it at the moment.”
Name added that she is happy that the day of commemoration was formally established in 2017.
Monteverde, who mentioned that his life on Military bases insulated him from a lot of the social protests, sadly famous how Vietnam-era veterans weren’t seen as heroes, as had been the case in prior conflicts, although it wasn’t by means of their very own doing.
“Troopers go the place their nation sends them. And so I’m very glad now that we’re starting to acknowledge the contribution of the little children of America who fought in Vietnam,” Monteverde mentioned.
Monteverde mentioned he’s proud to volunteer as a part of Vietnam Veterans Day commemoration on the museum, which he mentioned does a splendid job of telling the private tales of troopers and the collective sacrifices they made for the nation.
“We consider the Military writ massive as a monolithic group. And when persons are upset with nationwide coverage, they have a tendency to throw rocks on the Military,” he added. “And people rocks find yourself hitting the younger males and the ladies who’re doing their finest to defend the nation. And … they’re not at fault.”
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