WEBVTT 1 00:00:12.199 --> 00:00:16.440 Welcome to Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in 2 00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:20.359 this edition is Lieutenant Doug Greenlaw. He's a US Army veteran, 3 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:24.039 a Vietnam veteran, and the recipient of the Silver Star, 4 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:28.640 two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts. He later became 5 00:00:28.679 --> 00:00:33.159 a top executive at MTV, VH one and Nickelodeon, and 6 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:36.719 also served as National Commander of the Military Order of 7 00:00:36.759 --> 00:00:40.679 the Purple Heart in twenty eighteen and twenty nineteen. He's 8 00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:44.520 the author of the memoir Forged by Lightning. From Boyhood 9 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:48.399 to the Battlefield to the Boardroom. Doug Greenlaw was born 10 00:00:48.399 --> 00:00:52.159 in Minnesota in nineteen forty four. A few years later, 11 00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:55.520 the family moved to Michigan City, Indiana, on the shores 12 00:00:55.560 --> 00:00:59.200 of Lake Michigan, where Greenlaw's father got a job working 13 00:00:59.240 --> 00:01:02.200 in a local mis Greenlaw loved growing up near the 14 00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:05.359 Great Lakes, but his most notable moment from those years 15 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:09.079 is when he was struck by lightning shortly after returning 16 00:01:09.079 --> 00:01:10.040 home from the beach. 17 00:01:10.319 --> 00:01:13.959 I was thirteen years old. We lived in a little cottage, 18 00:01:14.120 --> 00:01:17.480 a beautiful little cottage, but it was tiny. All five 19 00:01:17.519 --> 00:01:22.760 people in a little two bedroom cottage off the beaches 20 00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:25.040 of Lake Michigan. So I was down on the beach 21 00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:28.920 swimming with my friends, and there's a family reunion at home. 22 00:01:28.959 --> 00:01:32.519 So I hurried home to be at the reunion, and 23 00:01:33.079 --> 00:01:36.560 my favorite cousin showed up and he just got a 24 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:39.359 new buzz cut. So I reached up to rub his 25 00:01:39.439 --> 00:01:44.000 head his new buzz cut, and boom, lightning struck me 26 00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:46.879 right in the chest. And I don't know if you've 27 00:01:46.879 --> 00:01:51.239 ever seen it, but you get these red lines through 28 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:54.560 your chest, my neck and chest and both arms from 29 00:01:54.599 --> 00:01:58.239 the electricity going through your body. Later turns black and blue, 30 00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:03.760 not just all out myself, my cousin, and my uncle. 31 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:09.919 And it hit a tree route nearby and followed a 32 00:02:10.039 --> 00:02:11.960 route to the tree and blew the tree in half, 33 00:02:12.439 --> 00:02:16.319 split it right in half. So yeah, that was my experience. 34 00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:21.280 One of my many experiences in my crazy life was 35 00:02:21.319 --> 00:02:23.719 sort of starting with that one. 36 00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:26.479 As he moved into high school, green Law joined his 37 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:29.000 dad in the mill during the summers of his high 38 00:02:29.039 --> 00:02:30.400 school years, and. 39 00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:32.319 I did my time in the mill too. I worked 40 00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:36.439 there every summer during high school sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen. 41 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:41.280 You had to be eighteen to work there, but they 42 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:43.719 didn't have an HR department in those days. If I 43 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:46.080 said I was eighteen on the paper and I was 44 00:02:46.120 --> 00:02:48.840 strong enough to do the work, they hired me. So 45 00:02:49.560 --> 00:02:53.159 I enjoyed that, made really good money, and saved it 46 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:54.240 for college. 47 00:02:54.439 --> 00:02:57.520 After high school, green Law went to Indiana University to 48 00:02:57.560 --> 00:03:00.879 play baseball, but college life did not suit him at 49 00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:03.919 that time, so he dropped out and joined the Army. 50 00:03:04.479 --> 00:03:07.159 And he knew right away from his athleticism and his 51 00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:10.719 leadership skills that the military was a perfect fit. 52 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:15.039 I played freshman baseball for Indiana, and I played all 53 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:18.919 the sports except basketball. I played all the sports in 54 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:22.039 high school, so I was in really good shape when 55 00:03:22.039 --> 00:03:25.400 I got to the Army. You know, I could run 56 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:30.879 a ten second one hundred yard dash. I ran in 57 00:03:30.919 --> 00:03:35.520 the Army for the testing of the candidates in the Army, 58 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:38.360 I ran a mile and under six minutes with my 59 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:41.319 boots and uniform on. So I was in really good shape. 60 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:45.439 That helped a lot. And I had leadership skills sort 61 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:50.680 of embedded into me by sports. I was usually picked 62 00:03:50.680 --> 00:03:53.719 as the captain of the baseball team and all that 63 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:57.360 as I grew up, so it fit me like a glove. 64 00:03:57.400 --> 00:04:02.240 It really did and so they would have us run 65 00:04:02.280 --> 00:04:04.599 the obstacle course, not ask him if I could do 66 00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:06.919 it again. That was fun. They said, no, shut up 67 00:04:06.919 --> 00:04:10.080 and get in line, you know. So that's the way 68 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:13.680 the army was for me. They made me a platoon 69 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:17.240 leader for a student platoon leader of both basic training 70 00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:20.800 and advanced training. So it just came to me naturally. 71 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:24.839 Green Law thrived and eventually went through Officer Candidate School, 72 00:04:25.319 --> 00:04:28.160 finishing seventh in his class of two hundred and fifty. 73 00:04:28.959 --> 00:04:33.000 Before deploying to Vietnam, he also completed jungles survival training 74 00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:36.480 in Panama. Green Law says it prepared him well for 75 00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:40.199 the triple canopy jungles of Vietnam. But he says the 76 00:04:40.199 --> 00:04:42.839 most memorable moment was when one guy on his four 77 00:04:42.920 --> 00:04:45.879 man team got attacked from one of the residents of 78 00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:46.480 the jungle. 79 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:49.759 So my point man was up maybe fifteen twenty feet 80 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:52.519 in front of me, and he screamed as loud as 81 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:54.079 he could, and I'm thinking, oh, great, they're going to 82 00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:56.480 discover us out here by the river, you know, where 83 00:04:56.480 --> 00:04:58.959 we're not supposed to be. Maybe they'll they won't let 84 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:03.240 us get our certification. So I went up to him 85 00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:05.000 and I had a little pen light. I was the 86 00:05:05.079 --> 00:05:07.399 only one that had a light, A little, tiny, little 87 00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:09.639 tiny pen light with work with your helm. I turned 88 00:05:09.639 --> 00:05:11.399 a pen light on him. I said, what the hell 89 00:05:11.399 --> 00:05:14.360 are you screaming about? He said something bit me and 90 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:17.079 I said, well where, And he said, my hand. He 91 00:05:17.240 --> 00:05:20.959 had bites on the palm of his hand and bites 92 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:24.480 under his elbow from one bite. That's how big the 93 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:29.120 mouth was on this snake. And I said, holy crap. 94 00:05:29.560 --> 00:05:31.800 I took my light and I shined it down in 95 00:05:31.959 --> 00:05:34.000 to look, you know, see maybe he was still there. 96 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:37.879 And I saw the back of this snake slide into 97 00:05:37.959 --> 00:05:41.279 the river, and his back was the size of a basketball. 98 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:44.279 Since then I researched it and I found out would 99 00:05:44.279 --> 00:05:49.079 be a green anaconda. And they they're fairly docile, but 100 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:53.839 they strike when they're molting skins coming off. They're sort 101 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:56.160 of pain. It gets over their eyes. They can't see 102 00:05:56.240 --> 00:06:00.439 very well. They'll strike. Then they strike when they're hungry 103 00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:04.519 to get food. They'll they'll grab a live jungle pig 104 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:07.199 and drag it into the water, drown it and then 105 00:06:07.240 --> 00:06:10.240 swallow it. And the rare human being they will do 106 00:06:10.279 --> 00:06:13.600 that too, very rare. I couldn't believe the size of 107 00:06:13.639 --> 00:06:15.959 the mouth. It had to be a fourteen inch right. 108 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:19.560 Fortunately that team member turned out to be just fine. 109 00:06:20.279 --> 00:06:22.839 Green Law then got a week at home before deploying 110 00:06:22.839 --> 00:06:25.920 to Vietnam. From everything he had learned as an incoming 111 00:06:25.959 --> 00:06:30.399 platoon commander who hadn't seen combat yet, green Law knew 112 00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:33.040 that he should rely heavily on the experience of his 113 00:06:33.199 --> 00:06:37.040 platoon sergeant, and that's what he planned to do. But 114 00:06:37.160 --> 00:06:41.360 once he arrived at his new platoon, that plan abruptly changed. 115 00:06:41.759 --> 00:06:44.399 So I got there and I met the company commander 116 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:46.800 out in the jungle, and I said, sir, I'm Lieutenant 117 00:06:46.839 --> 00:06:49.360 green Law, or your new platoon leaders, just replacing a 118 00:06:49.639 --> 00:06:52.600 guy that was killed a couple of days before. And 119 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:55.480 he said, okay, your platoon has You're out here at 120 00:06:55.560 --> 00:06:59.040 nine o'clock, from nine o'clock to noon in a circle 121 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:01.920 nine to new like a clock. That's where your men 122 00:07:01.959 --> 00:07:04.120 are go take it over. So I'm going over there, 123 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:08.279 and I'm expecting Clint Eastwood, you know, or Rambo. So 124 00:07:08.319 --> 00:07:10.439 I said the first guy I saw, I said, I'm 125 00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:13.079 Lieutenant Greenlaw, the new platoon leader. I want to see 126 00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:15.600 the platoon sergeant. Bring him to me, said yes, sir, 127 00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:19.279 takes off. Excuse my language. I mean, I'm not supposed 128 00:07:19.279 --> 00:07:22.600 to talk about people overweight, but this guy was. I'll 129 00:07:22.680 --> 00:07:26.439 just put it nicely, he says. Obese individual sloshed over 130 00:07:26.519 --> 00:07:30.040 to me. Before I could say anything, he says, are 131 00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:31.800 you the new platoon leader? And I said yes, I 132 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:35.720 am Lieutenant green Law. And he said, man, I'm glad 133 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:38.040 you're here. I know nothing about running a platoon. It's 134 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:41.519 all yours. And I'm thinking, oh, oh no. My whole 135 00:07:41.519 --> 00:07:43.519 life flashed in front of me. I think I got 136 00:07:43.560 --> 00:07:46.800 struck by lightning again. My training was good, so I 137 00:07:46.839 --> 00:07:49.519 knew what to do. I had to replace him, but 138 00:07:49.560 --> 00:07:52.079 I didn't have any As a first lieutenant, I had 139 00:07:52.120 --> 00:07:55.759 no authority to fire my platoon sergeant. It's a military 140 00:07:55.800 --> 00:07:58.279 you know. He asked to be done officially. I fired 141 00:07:58.279 --> 00:08:01.319 his ass right there on the spot, and I said, 142 00:08:01.560 --> 00:08:03.800 the helicopter is still out there. That dropped me off. 143 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:08.360 He's unloading food and gear. Get on that helicopter and 144 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:12.040 get out of here. And he did. He took. He 145 00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:14.600 didn't even get his stuff. He just grabbed his rifle 146 00:08:14.680 --> 00:08:18.160 and ran to that helicopter. And the company commander comes 147 00:08:18.199 --> 00:08:19.519 over to me. He said, what the hell did you 148 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:22.000 just do? I said, well, I fired my platoon sergeant 149 00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:24.639 and I hired one of my best squad leaders. I 150 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:26.839 found a guy that had been there nine months. He 151 00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:29.920 knew what he was doing. He's a sergeant. I promoted 152 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:32.320 him the staff sergeant, which I had no authority to do. 153 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:36.000 So he's now my platoon sergeant. And he said what 154 00:08:36.039 --> 00:08:37.919 and the hell you don't have any authority to do that, 155 00:08:38.039 --> 00:08:40.000 And I said, well I did it, and so I 156 00:08:40.039 --> 00:08:42.840 had my first really good stare down. I looked him 157 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:44.320 right in the eye. I did this once more in 158 00:08:44.360 --> 00:08:46.919 my career or two, and it works. I stared at him. 159 00:08:47.080 --> 00:08:49.799 I didn't blame, I said, sir, I told him exactly 160 00:08:49.879 --> 00:08:52.200 what that guy said to me. I said, this is war. 161 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:54.360 I don't have time to sit around and wait for 162 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:56.639 a bureaucracy to take care of this. I took care 163 00:08:56.679 --> 00:08:58.720 of it. And he stared at me and he said 164 00:08:58.840 --> 00:09:02.000 finally he blamed, turned and walked it with Okay, but 165 00:09:02.039 --> 00:09:04.080 don't do anything like that again until you talk to me. 166 00:09:04.360 --> 00:09:08.120 Green Law also described his new duties and responsibilities as 167 00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:09.159 a platoon commander. 168 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:13.120 Make sure we survived. My first job this and also 169 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:16.759 as company commander later on. I didn't want anybody to die, 170 00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:20.320 so I try to be smart. I try to stay 171 00:09:20.360 --> 00:09:24.720 ahead of the enemy, and my job was to save lives, 172 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:27.360 not take lives. We took a lot of lives of 173 00:09:27.399 --> 00:09:30.759 the enemy, don't get me wrong. But I had a 174 00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:33.960 really good ratio on my side with my men, so 175 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:36.399 I'm very careful to take care of them. I make 176 00:09:36.440 --> 00:09:40.639 sure they we had and every company, infantry company and 177 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:44.799 every infantry platoon. You have not experts, but you have. 178 00:09:45.159 --> 00:09:48.559 Lets say that you know medicine a little bit. Blood 179 00:09:48.559 --> 00:09:51.120 doesn't bother you all of a sudden. You're the medic. 180 00:09:51.399 --> 00:09:53.759 We make you the medic. Somebody else is good with 181 00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:58.279 C four high explosives, they're good with They're good with 182 00:09:58.519 --> 00:10:02.840 explosives and tech skills with their hands. He becomes the expert. 183 00:10:03.320 --> 00:10:06.480 I had experts for every area. My last name is 184 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:09.480 green Law, so my nickname my whole life from childhood, 185 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:13.679 so today it's law Law. I said, don't call me sir, 186 00:10:14.159 --> 00:10:16.759 don't salute me, don't salute me. Out here, the snipers 187 00:10:16.759 --> 00:10:19.559 are looking for the guy getting saluted. The snipers will 188 00:10:19.559 --> 00:10:22.320 shoot three people. They'll shoot the guy next to me 189 00:10:22.759 --> 00:10:25.440 and the other guy next to me, usually the radio man. 190 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:28.440 They shoot him and then they shoot me. So the 191 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:33.720 platoon loses its communications. It's leadership, and so that's what 192 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:37.480 they're smart. People are smart, you know. These these Vietcong 193 00:10:37.559 --> 00:10:42.399 were local peasants, but they weren't stupid. They had IQs 194 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:45.159 just like everybody else, and they figured this stuff out. 195 00:10:45.240 --> 00:10:50.200 So I tried to motivate everybody to and work together 196 00:10:50.240 --> 00:10:54.480 as a team, team building, and not to be afraid. 197 00:10:55.080 --> 00:10:57.120 The more bold you are, the more likely you are 198 00:10:57.120 --> 00:11:00.840 to survive. If you're a coward, you're gonna get shot, 199 00:11:00.840 --> 00:11:03.960 probably right in the back. So we we had we 200 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:06.480 had a great relationship. It was it was a wonderful 201 00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:09.759 learning experience for me. I was twenty twenty two, almost 202 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:12.679 twenty three when I took over that platoon. I was 203 00:11:12.679 --> 00:11:15.320 twenty three when I took over the company a company 204 00:11:15.399 --> 00:11:19.919 later on in another area. So it's survival, survival and 205 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:21.039 kill everything, you see. 206 00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:24.080 He got even more specific about the challenge of finding 207 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:26.240 and avoiding enemy booby traps. 208 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:30.080 It's very very difficult. You have you have to work slow, 209 00:11:30.440 --> 00:11:32.480 and you don't look for the wire. You'll never see it. 210 00:11:33.240 --> 00:11:36.320 Because it's about shin hai, and it's it's like a 211 00:11:36.360 --> 00:11:39.279 piece of thread, metal thread. You know, you can't even 212 00:11:39.320 --> 00:11:43.360 see it. Uh, So you have to look for abnormalties, 213 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:50.279 look for some leaves that have been crushed in there. 214 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:53.159 Back in they're putting, putting all this together, the trip wire, 215 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:56.200 and they were all they weren't all that careful, and 216 00:11:56.240 --> 00:11:58.879 so you could tell something was going on somewhere. So 217 00:11:58.919 --> 00:12:02.440 we would stop and take a really close look, go 218 00:12:02.480 --> 00:12:05.240 inch by inch until you saw the wire. Once you 219 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:08.519 had the wire, you can't touch it. You have to 220 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:11.480 step over it. And it's usually about shinhai, so it's 221 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:15.559 fairly easy to step over. But uh, there's no easy 222 00:12:15.559 --> 00:12:19.360 solution to it. And once in a while, including me 223 00:12:20.039 --> 00:12:22.240 later on, that's that's what got me. It was a 224 00:12:22.279 --> 00:12:26.799 trip wire. It's a little luck and a lot of 225 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:32.200 a lot of hard work to an intense pressure. One 226 00:12:32.200 --> 00:12:34.440 way you can avoid it is to stay off the paths. 227 00:12:35.399 --> 00:12:38.240 Don't take a path. You see a worn path, like 228 00:12:38.279 --> 00:12:41.399 to a village. Don't take that path because the villagers 229 00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:44.200 all know where the booby traps are and we don't. 230 00:12:44.799 --> 00:12:48.320 And so we get off the main drag to it. 231 00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:51.600 You know, the main the main path to a village 232 00:12:51.679 --> 00:12:55.120 might be oh, you know, eight feet wide. Still it's 233 00:12:55.159 --> 00:12:58.440 not a road or anything. It's just crushed jungle path. 234 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:01.120 So we avoided those. We use the paths out in 235 00:13:01.159 --> 00:13:02.840 the middle of the jungle where they were small and 236 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:06.279 you could it was. It wasn't a lot of use, 237 00:13:06.279 --> 00:13:10.759 if any use. But so avoid the path and be 238 00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:15.440 real careful and be a superman. You know, in combat, 239 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:20.720 you become a super person of yourself, a super green Law. 240 00:13:21.559 --> 00:13:25.120 Your eyes are wider, your prefer vision is better, you 241 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:28.679 can see, you know, during during combat, you can see better. 242 00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:32.120 You can smell things you couldn't smell before. You know, 243 00:13:32.159 --> 00:13:35.720 you were stronger with all the adrenaline pumping on your heart. 244 00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:39.559 So you become a super being of yourself in combat. 245 00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:42.799 And I always thought that was interesting. Probably it's the 246 00:13:42.799 --> 00:13:44.919 same in sports. You know, you get out there playing 247 00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:46.840 some kind of a sport. I don't care what it is. 248 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:50.440 It's not like you're laying on the couch. You're pretty 249 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:53.960 fired up. Well, was picture that in extreme and that's 250 00:13:53.960 --> 00:13:54.919 what combat is like. 251 00:13:55.240 --> 00:13:58.559 That's a US Army veteran and Vietnam veteran Doug green Law. 252 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:01.720 In a moment, they'll share the details of the harrowing 253 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:05.960 day that earned him the Silver Star. I'm Greg Corumbus 254 00:14:06.200 --> 00:14:09.039 and this is Veterans Chronicles. 255 00:14:08.919 --> 00:14:10.600 Sixty seconds of Service. 256 00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:13.840 This sixty seconds of Service is presented by T Mobile. 257 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:17.600 T Mobile offers exclusive discounts for veterans and military families 258 00:14:17.799 --> 00:14:21.080 and are proud supporters of the National Defense Network. Visit 259 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:24.080 tmobile dot com slash military to learn more about how 260 00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:28.080 they support our military community. Army veteran John Pierce found 261 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:31.159 in a community garden in Los Angeles aimed at providing 262 00:14:31.240 --> 00:14:35.200 veterans with a peaceful space to heal and connect. After 263 00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:39.240 experiencing PTSD himself, John wanted to offer other veterans in 264 00:14:39.399 --> 00:14:44.080 environment where they could find tranquility and support. The garden 265 00:14:44.120 --> 00:14:48.240 not only offers fresh produce, but also therapy through gardening activities, 266 00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:51.960 creating a space for veterans to meet and share their stories. 267 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:55.480 Today's sixty seconds of Service is brought to you by Prevagen. 268 00:14:55.799 --> 00:14:59.279 Prevagen is the number one pharmacist recommended memory support brand. 269 00:14:59.559 --> 00:15:01.639 You can find I'm Prevagent and the Vitamin Aisle in 270 00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:05.399 stores everywhere. For more great veteran stories, just go to 271 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:07.679 National Defense Network dot com. 272 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:11.799 This is Veterans Chronicles I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in 273 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:15.600 this edition is US Army and Vietnam veteran Doug Greenlaw. 274 00:15:15.879 --> 00:15:18.720 Green Law now shares the story of Thanksgiving Day nineteen 275 00:15:18.840 --> 00:15:23.840 sixty seven when his platoon was overwhelmingly outnumbered by enemy forces, 276 00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:26.799 and he tells us about the actions that led to 277 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:28.519 him receiving the Silver Star. 278 00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:33.279 I was with a one ninety six infantry. It's light infantry, 279 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:35.919 so they put us in helicopters and flew us to 280 00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:40.600 hot areas during the Tet offensive. So we fought almost 281 00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:43.399 every day. They would fly us to where something's happening. 282 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:46.799 They flew us to this one area. I was a 283 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:50.320 lead platoon for my company, and what our job was 284 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:54.720 to fly with the helicopter land pop green smoke, which 285 00:15:54.759 --> 00:15:58.200 means okay, and then they rest can come in in 286 00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:02.039 an area that we've secured. Well, the pilots got mixed 287 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:06.639 up with the map. They landed us one thousand meters 288 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:10.000 farther than where we're supposed to be left off, and 289 00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:12.919 that happened to be right in front the battalion of 290 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:17.519 North Vietnamese, which was about probably four hundred between four 291 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:21.480 hundred and five hundred men at that time. I had 292 00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:24.360 forty two men in my platoon, so it was us 293 00:16:24.440 --> 00:16:29.799 against them, and it was hell. Everything you can possibly imagine, 294 00:16:30.039 --> 00:16:33.720 including hand to hand combat, happened that day. When it 295 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:36.679 got to be hand to hand, I had to call 296 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:42.000 in a phantom jet to bring air support, and I 297 00:16:42.039 --> 00:16:45.519 asked this guy, this pilot, to drop bombs on my 298 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:49.679 own position because we were so close they were overrunning us, 299 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:52.919 and he did that and some of my guys. I 300 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:55.120 lost some of my guys, but I saved most of them, 301 00:16:55.879 --> 00:16:59.360 and it worked. It pushed them back away from us, 302 00:17:00.200 --> 00:17:02.960 and it was hell fire. We fought for five hours 303 00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:05.240 before they could catch up to us from where they 304 00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:08.960 were supposed to be a thousand meters behind us. So 305 00:17:09.039 --> 00:17:10.839 it took them five hours to get to us through 306 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:13.680 the jungle and everything. And when they got to us, 307 00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:16.440 a lot went on. You know, hand to hand combat 308 00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:19.480 is hard to describe. You kill somebody with your bare 309 00:17:19.519 --> 00:17:23.359 hands or your knife or your weapon. I'll give you 310 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:26.400 one example that I put in the book. Because we 311 00:17:26.400 --> 00:17:30.799 were bringing jet bombs on our own people, everybody had 312 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:34.559 to get down, obviously, and I saw a little trench, 313 00:17:35.160 --> 00:17:38.119 a handmade trench, about twenty feet from me, so I 314 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:41.200 ran and jumped into that trench. I got in there 315 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:44.880 and there were four North Vietnamese soldiers inside that in 316 00:17:44.920 --> 00:17:48.960 that trench, locked and loaded, and I just snapped a 317 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:53.799 new load of bullets into my AR fifteen, locked it in, 318 00:17:54.440 --> 00:17:56.480 and just then I jumped in and there they were. 319 00:17:57.200 --> 00:17:59.960 So I killed all four of them with my weapon. 320 00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:04.720 The sixteen fire so many shots in a second or 321 00:18:04.759 --> 00:18:08.599 a minute. You only have like eighteen rounds in your magazine. 322 00:18:09.079 --> 00:18:12.400 And I told my men, don't ever leave it on automatic. 323 00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:15.920 You'll be out of ammunition in one second. So I 324 00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:18.119 just popped them all. What we used to call in 325 00:18:18.279 --> 00:18:21.839 those days. I stitched them from their genitals to their brain. 326 00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:26.240 They all fell dead, and one of them dove into 327 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:30.279 a tunnel at the end of the trench, had a 328 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:33.200 little canvas flap on it. And I was out of 329 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:35.359 ammunition and I saw him. I took my helmet off 330 00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:37.559 and I threw it at him, trying to stall him 331 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:39.920 so I could get a hold of him. I missed 332 00:18:39.960 --> 00:18:43.640 him and he dived in. To my stupidity, I dived 333 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:46.519 into that tunnel after this guy. I got in there 334 00:18:46.759 --> 00:18:49.519 about ten feet in its dark, and I could hear 335 00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:51.599 the muffles of the war going on out front of 336 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:55.319 the artillery and everything coming in, the bombs being dropped 337 00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:59.319 by the jet, and I didn't see the guy. And 338 00:18:59.359 --> 00:19:02.079 I started getting my night vision opening up a little bit, 339 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:04.759 coming in from that bright sunlight. I saw a form 340 00:19:04.839 --> 00:19:07.000 in front of me, ten feet in front of me 341 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:09.559 or so, and I saw that the tunnel took a 342 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:13.559 hard right turn. And these tunnels had been there a 343 00:19:13.559 --> 00:19:16.680 long time. They're hard as a rock, it's almost like 344 00:19:16.759 --> 00:19:20.559 cement smooth on the inside, and they've been there. There 345 00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:24.680 are hospitals in them. There are sleeping quarters. One time 346 00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:27.359 we stumbled on a tunnel that had a young woman 347 00:19:27.400 --> 00:19:31.680 and her baby hiding from us in there, so they 348 00:19:31.720 --> 00:19:34.920 lived in these tunnels. I knew my men were up 349 00:19:34.920 --> 00:19:37.720 there wondering where the hell their leader went. So they're 350 00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:39.480 all up there not knowing what to do. I said, 351 00:19:39.480 --> 00:19:41.480 I better get up there because they don't know how 352 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:46.079 to handle this calling in the jet. So I turned 353 00:19:46.079 --> 00:19:49.519 to leave, and I heard this rustling behind me, and 354 00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:54.319 this guy was coming at me. He had ammunition. He 355 00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:57.400 fired one shot. I turned around, he fired one shot, 356 00:19:57.400 --> 00:20:00.240 and I hit right over my head into the top 357 00:20:00.279 --> 00:20:02.759 of the tunnel. You could feel it falling on my 358 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:06.880 neck and sweat. And uh, he obviously missed. The next 359 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:09.759 shot whiz right by my ear. I could hear it. 360 00:20:10.599 --> 00:20:14.759 The third shot, it nicked my my right shoulder, just 361 00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:17.119 just barely a nick, more of a burn than an 362 00:20:17.160 --> 00:20:20.839 actual shot. So I said, I got to charge this guy. 363 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:24.000 And I charged him, and I was out of ammunition. 364 00:20:24.279 --> 00:20:29.480 I took my, uh my Gerber commando knife from my side. 365 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:33.880 It's a dagger, long dagger, and it was it was 366 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:36.279 as sharp as a needle at one end and and 367 00:20:36.680 --> 00:20:40.480 it was like a razor blade sharp down down the sides. 368 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:44.279 So I charged him and I heard a click. He 369 00:20:44.359 --> 00:20:47.240 was out of ammunition too. So when I he turned 370 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:50.279 and ran to go around the turn I told you about, 371 00:20:50.920 --> 00:20:53.160 and I grabbed him by the heel. I pulled him 372 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:57.319 around and I stabbed him in the calf of his leg, 373 00:20:57.400 --> 00:21:01.240 into his into the bone, pulled out, brought him up 374 00:21:01.240 --> 00:21:04.359 to me, and finished him off. And it turns out 375 00:21:04.759 --> 00:21:06.880 they think, and the reason I got the silver Star, 376 00:21:06.920 --> 00:21:10.319 I think versus the bronze. They think that he might 377 00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:15.240 have been the battalion commander. That was a formal tunnel. 378 00:21:15.559 --> 00:21:18.160 It wasn't recently Doug, it had been there a long time, 379 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:21.960 and that trench is probably the entrance to that battalion 380 00:21:22.039 --> 00:21:27.359 level leaders ship's rule. He probably slept in there. I 381 00:21:27.400 --> 00:21:30.440 got back out to my men and we held him 382 00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:35.720 off till my support came five hours later. By that time, 383 00:21:36.359 --> 00:21:40.039 three and a half hours later, most of us survived. 384 00:21:39.799 --> 00:21:42.480 Much more from Doug Greenlaw's story of service. In just 385 00:21:42.519 --> 00:21:47.640 a moment on Veterans Chronicles, this is Veterans Chronicles. I'm 386 00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:51.720 Greg Corumbus. Our guest is US Army veteran and Vietnam 387 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:55.519 War veteran Doug green Law. A moment ago, we heard 388 00:21:55.519 --> 00:21:59.240 green Law's intense account of protecting his platoon while badly 389 00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:03.319 outnumbered and fighting hand to hand in a North Vietnamese tunnel. 390 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:05.599 What goes through your mind in a moment like that. 391 00:22:06.039 --> 00:22:09.519 Is it reverting to how you've been trained, realizing that 392 00:22:09.559 --> 00:22:11.839 it's either him or me that's going to emerge from 393 00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:15.039 this fight alive. Or is it simply instinct. 394 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:17.799 You hit all the points. It's all that mixed up 395 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:21.400 into one person. It turns out we were bigger, we 396 00:22:21.400 --> 00:22:25.240 were stronger. They had on their side, they had a 397 00:22:25.319 --> 00:22:29.880 strong loyalty to their country. You know this is their country, 398 00:22:29.920 --> 00:22:33.519 not ours. They lived there, their families are there, so 399 00:22:33.559 --> 00:22:37.759 they fight equally as strong as we do. But we 400 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:41.960 were always physically stronger. It's either him or me. The 401 00:22:41.960 --> 00:22:44.599