WEBVTT 1 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:15.919 Welcome to Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest once 2 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:18.800 again in this edition is Darren Walton. He is a 3 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:22.280 US Marine Corps veteran who served on a reconnaissance team 4 00:00:22.359 --> 00:00:25.760 in Vietnam. He's also the author of D D MAO, 5 00:00:26.120 --> 00:00:29.600 a true story about Tigers, rock Apes, the Jungle, and War. 6 00:00:30.519 --> 00:00:32.840 In the first part of our story, Walton told us 7 00:00:32.840 --> 00:00:35.759 about becoming a marine and then going through elite training 8 00:00:35.880 --> 00:00:39.119 to become a recon marine. He also told us about 9 00:00:39.119 --> 00:00:41.719 the pivotal role of the point man on missions and 10 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:44.359 how the jungle was also an enemy for the Americans. 11 00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:47.119 In a moment, you'll hear some of his most intense 12 00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:50.200 moments under fire. But we start the second half of 13 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:53.479 Walton's story back in the jungle. As I read the 14 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:57.719 heart pounding way that he described operating in the jungle. 15 00:00:58.240 --> 00:01:02.200 In the chapter about the Jungle, as you explain what's happening, 16 00:01:02.640 --> 00:01:06.280 there's always a sentence, every couple of paragraphs saying in italics, 17 00:01:06.760 --> 00:01:09.760 where's the enemy? Where's the enemy? Because you're so close 18 00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:13.480 in they could be anywhere. And here's a paragraph that 19 00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:17.280 just really grabbed me. Every sound that wasn't yours stilled 20 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:19.640 the heart. Was the clang in the distance of cow 21 00:01:19.719 --> 00:01:23.040 bell or the sound of enemy equipment bouncing about? Were 22 00:01:23.079 --> 00:01:25.879 the whistling sounds from the shutter of rustling leaves or 23 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:29.200 enemy bodies moving through the brush? Did that twig snap 24 00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:31.719 under the paw of an animal or the booted foot 25 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:35.560 of an NVA soldier on patrol? So I mean these 26 00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:40.959 missions are sometimes taking multiple days, when every sound makes 27 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:45.760 you wonder how close a threat could be. How do 28 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:48.359 you deal with that psychologically? 29 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:53.799 Yeah, that's a good question. So remember I said, how 30 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:57.519 exhausted would be and we would bivouack at night. You'd 31 00:01:57.519 --> 00:02:01.159 fall asleep from exhaustion, and you look forward to fall asleep, 32 00:02:01.439 --> 00:02:05.519 and where you slept it was, like I said, wet, muddy, dirty. 33 00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:07.599 You tried to make it as comfortable as you could. 34 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:10.800 You had a poncho or a poncho liner, and that's 35 00:02:10.840 --> 00:02:14.680 all you had for covering. You fall asleep, and you're 36 00:02:14.719 --> 00:02:19.120 happy because now there's no more breaking brush, there's no 37 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:22.919 more jungle, there's no more listening or being alert. You 38 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:28.520 are unconscious and you're someplace else. So now it's time 39 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:30.719 to get up in the morning. And it's not like 40 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:33.680 when you get up here in the morning, you look 41 00:02:33.719 --> 00:02:36.199 forward to the day. You get up in the morning 42 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:39.360 and you start thinking, I'm going to be on alert again. 43 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:42.199 Am I gonna make it through the day? I made 44 00:02:42.199 --> 00:02:45.400 it through the day yesterday, and so all I'm trying 45 00:02:45.479 --> 00:02:47.439 to do is make it through the day so I 46 00:02:47.479 --> 00:02:50.840 could go back to sleep and forget about where I'm 47 00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:55.400 at and what I'm doing. So you're on alert constantly. 48 00:02:55.919 --> 00:02:59.719 You can't ever let your guard down. You do hear 49 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:04.560 things and see things that aren't there sometimes because you're 50 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:09.439 imagining that it could be the enemy. And as I 51 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:12.840 became a short timer in the jungle as a point man, 52 00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:15.759 they actually had to take me out of the jungle 53 00:03:15.800 --> 00:03:18.960 eventually and put me on what you call an observation 54 00:03:19.120 --> 00:03:24.360 post because I would see, for instance, the bamboo or 55 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:28.039 the elephant grass would be blowing in the wind, and 56 00:03:28.280 --> 00:03:31.479 one piece wouldn't be blowing, one piece would be just stable, 57 00:03:31.879 --> 00:03:34.800 and that wasn't right, so I'd shoot it. Now, once 58 00:03:34.840 --> 00:03:38.280 I shoot it, I give away my position. Usually when 59 00:03:38.319 --> 00:03:41.080 I shot at something, there's something there. Well, it was 60 00:03:41.080 --> 00:03:44.400 a pick, so I knew that there was something there, 61 00:03:44.520 --> 00:03:47.879 but I overreacted and gave away a position. And blew 62 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:51.599 the mission, and so I became super alert that I 63 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:55.439 was shooting monkeys out of trees because I'd see something 64 00:03:55.680 --> 00:03:58.319 and I'd think right away it was the enemy. You 65 00:03:58.360 --> 00:04:00.280 would not want to be near me near the end 66 00:04:00.280 --> 00:04:03.840 of my turred duty, because anybody got my vision able 67 00:04:03.879 --> 00:04:06.759 to alert me and I would just start shooting right away. 68 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:12.000 So the only time that I felt peace is when 69 00:04:12.039 --> 00:04:14.400 I fell asleep at night the whole time. 70 00:04:14.840 --> 00:04:17.439 Well, mister Walton, let's talk about a couple of specific 71 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:19.759 missions now, and the first one I want to talk 72 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:23.240 about is perhaps the most amazing coincidence of the book, 73 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:27.199 and that's March twenty eighth, nineteen seventy. Your platoon, I 74 00:04:27.240 --> 00:04:29.600 assume this is not the Rock Ape incident, but you 75 00:04:30.040 --> 00:04:33.120 needed an extraction and the CH forty six came in 76 00:04:33.160 --> 00:04:35.360 to get you. Tell us a little bit about what 77 00:04:35.480 --> 00:04:37.839 led to the need for that extraction and then how 78 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:38.800 it proceeded from there. 79 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:42.800 I'm not certain which extraction that was, but I can 80 00:04:42.839 --> 00:04:43.319 give you. 81 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:46.199 This is the one with Dennis Welch. 82 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:49.399 Dennis Welch, Dennis and I we just talked the other 83 00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:53.319 day too, now, that guy some Yeah, we linked up. 84 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:56.759 That's a good story. I can't remember exactly, but there 85 00:04:56.839 --> 00:05:00.399 was a couple of incidentss that I remember. The one 86 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:04.519 was we're being chased through the jungle and going across 87 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:10.079 the rice patties and getting shelter and a bomb crater. 88 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:13.600 I'm not sure if that's the one, or I have 89 00:05:13.639 --> 00:05:15.199 to go back and look at the book I can't, 90 00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:20.600 Or there's one where we're being chased again, and this 91 00:05:20.680 --> 00:05:23.040 is a good one. We're coming out of the jungle 92 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:27.680 the forty six landed and and Dennis was a gunner 93 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:30.959 on the forty six. I think that was an m 94 00:05:31.160 --> 00:05:33.959 He had an fifty and he was just trying to 95 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:36.680 keep the enemy from closing in on us, and they 96 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:38.800 were getting close to us, and I knew if I 97 00:05:38.839 --> 00:05:41.399 could make it to the helicopter that I was going 98 00:05:41.480 --> 00:05:45.199 to probably stay alive. And I was fast, I was 99 00:05:45.240 --> 00:05:48.879 a good runner, and my team was passing me and 100 00:05:48.920 --> 00:05:51.720 they never beat me before, and I was running like 101 00:05:51.839 --> 00:05:55.720 I could I could run on water that day. And 102 00:05:55.759 --> 00:05:58.759 as I'm running is a good story. As I'm running 103 00:05:58.759 --> 00:06:02.480 towards the helicopter, Dennis's gun is just blazing and it's 104 00:06:02.519 --> 00:06:05.879 getting hot, and he's keeping the enemy at bay, and 105 00:06:05.959 --> 00:06:08.839 I see this one guy, one of our team members, 106 00:06:09.480 --> 00:06:12.560 running in the opposite direction. I go, what are you doing? 107 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:15.839 You know you're crazy. It's get you know. He goes 108 00:06:15.879 --> 00:06:18.399 the guys down, Well, I got behind. I got behind 109 00:06:18.439 --> 00:06:20.680 Dennis in the helicopter. I didn't know it was Dennis 110 00:06:20.680 --> 00:06:23.519 at the time. There we had a guy down, or 111 00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:27.360 two guys down. We had two guys down, and the 112 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:30.360 guy who was going the opposite direction was the corman. 113 00:06:30.839 --> 00:06:32.959 He's out there trying to figure out who's who he 114 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:34.600 could patch up and who he can shoot up and 115 00:06:34.680 --> 00:06:38.040 keep comfortable with the morphine. And he's putting guts back 116 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:41.920 in and gluing this one guy up, trying to save 117 00:06:41.959 --> 00:06:45.040 his life, and another guy from the helicopter went out 118 00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:48.319 to help him. But to show you, as tough as 119 00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:52.079 I was, I wasn't that brave to go back out 120 00:06:52.279 --> 00:06:55.160 and and help him. I was watching this whole thing 121 00:06:55.160 --> 00:07:01.319 and I'm going, this is amazing, and that these marines 122 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:03.759 weren't going to leave those two guys out there under 123 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:07.000 that kind of conditions. And Dennis was firing everything he could, 124 00:07:07.199 --> 00:07:09.600 and there was another guy who had an M sixty 125 00:07:09.639 --> 00:07:14.079 who was trying to help Dennis out. There was another 126 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:19.519 mission that we were being chased. We made points point 127 00:07:19.560 --> 00:07:23.160 contact and I had to didd him out, did him out, 128 00:07:23.240 --> 00:07:26.240 and we had smoke grenades out there and white phosphorus, 129 00:07:26.279 --> 00:07:28.319 and we were able to break contact for a short 130 00:07:28.360 --> 00:07:31.959 period of time, and I could hear them catching us, 131 00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:34.439 and they did catch us going down to these ravines 132 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:41.120 out of the mountains, and they would be intertwined with 133 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:44.120 my team, and we were losing contact. And I was 134 00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:46.480 trying to keep up with the radio man wherever the 135 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:49.040 radio man when I wanted to be, because that's the 136 00:07:49.079 --> 00:07:52.839 only way we have contact with the rear. And the 137 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:56.399 enemy got in between us, so if I shot at 138 00:07:56.439 --> 00:07:59.399 an enemy soldier, I might miss him and hit one 139 00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:02.399 of my guys. And it was dark, and you see silhouettes, 140 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:06.639 and everybody's just fallen and over each other, rolling down 141 00:08:06.920 --> 00:08:10.079 the ravine and getting tangled up in these roots and stuff. 142 00:08:10.759 --> 00:08:12.519 And we made it to the I made it to 143 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:18.160 the bottom of the ravine, and my team we we yeah, 144 00:08:18.199 --> 00:08:21.000 somehow we got together and we started running out to 145 00:08:21.079 --> 00:08:24.319 pass across the rice paddies, trying to make it to 146 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:27.600 the other side to another jungle covering, and there was 147 00:08:27.639 --> 00:08:33.440 a bomb crater and the enemy had left let us 148 00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:35.919 be for a short period of time to get reinforcements, 149 00:08:36.440 --> 00:08:39.519 and we knew that we weren't going to be able 150 00:08:39.559 --> 00:08:42.960 to fight them off. And we were actually saying our 151 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:45.159 goodbyes to one another because we could not figure out 152 00:08:45.159 --> 00:08:46.679 how we're going to get out of this mess. And 153 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:48.879 it was going to be like, are we going to 154 00:08:48.919 --> 00:08:51.480 go out like Alamo and just stand their ground or 155 00:08:51.799 --> 00:08:54.279 some of us are writing letters or notes, you know, 156 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:57.919 to our loved ones. Some of them were crying. I 157 00:08:57.960 --> 00:08:59.960 figured out I was just going to put the clay 158 00:09:00.080 --> 00:09:02.919 moors out there and uh wait for them to come 159 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:06.279 and overrun run us and kill us. And I was 160 00:09:06.320 --> 00:09:09.279 going to go out like Davy Crockett or something like that. 161 00:09:10.360 --> 00:09:14.879 We made contact with a squadron that was coming out 162 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:19.399 and they got had to turn back because it was 163 00:09:19.399 --> 00:09:22.720 too hot of a landing zone and they couldn't get 164 00:09:22.840 --> 00:09:25.759 the ladders to us, and they didn't want to lose 165 00:09:25.799 --> 00:09:29.320 any more helicopters or lose any men, and so they 166 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:31.279 said for us to hang in there, that they'd figure 167 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:34.840 out something else. The helicopter went back and we really 168 00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:38.919 were pressed then, and out of nowhere, the Purple Foxes 169 00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:41.600 it's another squadron heard what was going on, and that 170 00:09:41.720 --> 00:09:45.559 was with Dennis Welch again, and they said, we here 171 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:48.679 were you're you know, Papa smoke, so we can find you. 172 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:51.919 We're coming in and our radios don't seem to be working, 173 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:55.720 so uh, headquarters hasn't told us to abort the mission, 174 00:09:55.879 --> 00:09:57.919 and we're going to come in and do what we 175 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:01.320 can for you. So they came in. Right before they 176 00:10:01.399 --> 00:10:04.000 came in, there was someone to call OV. Ten broncos 177 00:10:04.039 --> 00:10:07.720 that came in, and there was a broncho pilot and 178 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:12.519 an aerial observer who found us and coordinated the extraction 179 00:10:12.759 --> 00:10:18.399 with some Cobra helicopters. And then Dennis Welched the gunner 180 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:23.440 again and his squadron, the Purple Foxes, maintained that helicopter 181 00:10:23.879 --> 00:10:28.120 and dropped the ladder one hundred foot ladder to us. 182 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:30.679 They couldn't land and we had to climb up the 183 00:10:30.759 --> 00:10:33.720 ladder while they're being shot at. Now we're climbing up 184 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:36.279 the ladder. I'm looking at this helicopter and start to 185 00:10:36.279 --> 00:10:39.039 looked like Swiss cheese. And again I'm saying, let's get 186 00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:41.279 out of here, but we can't leave until last guy 187 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:43.639 is secure. And we have these what they call Swiss 188 00:10:43.639 --> 00:10:46.639 saddles for repelling that have d rings, and we link 189 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:50.720 up on the ladder and they pull us out there. Again, 190 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:57.320 there's certain individuals who broke protocol and saved our lives unconditionally. 191 00:10:57.399 --> 00:11:01.200 And basically late years later, I talk to the gunner, 192 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:03.600 Dennis Welch, and he said, we weren't going to leave 193 00:11:03.639 --> 00:11:06.559 you guys out there to die. That's not he goes, 194 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:08.879 we just don't give a shit. But the you know what, 195 00:11:09.159 --> 00:11:10.799 they're trying to tell us that we just turned the 196 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:14.399 radio off. He goes, I remember that mission, and he 197 00:11:14.519 --> 00:11:18.200 saved our lives. That the helicopter pilot more than anybody 198 00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:21.320 had to keep that helicopter stable while he's taken rounds 199 00:11:21.960 --> 00:11:24.919 big balls. I don't know how they could do that. 200 00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:29.320 That squadron, I can't tell you how much Recon loves them. 201 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:35.720 And then the ov Ten pilots, the Bronco pilots finding 202 00:11:35.799 --> 00:11:38.960 us out there and coordinating the extraction. Now I'm going 203 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:42.080 to be middle of July, I'm going to go meet 204 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:48.320 some of these aerial observers and pilots down in San Diego. 205 00:11:49.159 --> 00:11:52.080 And they invited me because of the book. They want 206 00:11:52.279 --> 00:11:55.039 me to let the whole These guys are old now 207 00:11:55.399 --> 00:11:57.720 and I get to thank them because I've never got 208 00:11:57.759 --> 00:12:00.000 a chance to thank them for what they did for us. 209 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:02.039 So I'm meeting with a lot of these guys that 210 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:05.320 were instrumental and save in my life and my team's life. 211 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:09.159 That's Darren Walton, a US Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam, 212 00:12:09.639 --> 00:12:13.360 where he often served as point man on a recon team. 213 00:12:13.399 --> 00:12:16.320 Still to come, Walton will tell us how the American 214 00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:19.720 revulsion towards the war prompted him to hide his service 215 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:23.399 for more than forty years. But up next, the Dennis 216 00:12:23.399 --> 00:12:27.200 Welch story hit closer to home than Walton would realize 217 00:12:27.279 --> 00:12:31.240 until many decades later. That's next. I'm Greg Corumbus and 218 00:12:31.320 --> 00:12:35.440 this is Veterans Chronicles sixty Seconds of Service. 219 00:12:35.720 --> 00:12:38.679 This sixty Seconds of Service is presented by T Mobile. 220 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:41.840 T Mobile offers exclusive discounts for a veteran and military 221 00:12:41.879 --> 00:12:45.360 families and are proud supporters of the National Defense Network. 222 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:48.440 Visit t mobile dot com slash military to learn more 223 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:51.519 about how they support our military community. A new Veteran's 224 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:55.600 Hub will open in Plymouth, Massachusetts later this year. Pl 225 00:12:55.720 --> 00:12:59.159 One City Street will provide everything from job placement services 226 00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:03.519 and counseling to social activities and help securing housing. The 227 00:13:03.559 --> 00:13:07.039 service at Brickfield's Hub will provide a welcoming environment and 228 00:13:07.080 --> 00:13:10.799 support tailored to the unique challenges faced by veterans transitioning 229 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:15.039 to civilian life. According to the Argyle Community Trust, It's 230 00:13:15.080 --> 00:13:19.159 being supported by Plymouth based contractor Retain Limited, which has 231 00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:22.879 supported veterans with jobs within the group. Today's sixty seconds 232 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:25.799 of Service is brought to you by Prevagen. Prevagen is 233 00:13:25.799 --> 00:13:29.200 the number one pharmacist recommended memory support brand. You can 234 00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:32.480 find Prevagen and the Vitamin Aisle in stores everywhere. 235 00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:36.320 This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in 236 00:13:36.360 --> 00:13:40.000 this edition is US Marine Corps veteran Darren Walton, who 237 00:13:40.039 --> 00:13:44.200 often served as point man on a reconnaissance team Still 238 00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:46.720 to Come. Walton tells us about the mission where his 239 00:13:46.840 --> 00:13:50.440 weapon failed at the worst possible time, how the Marines 240 00:13:50.440 --> 00:13:54.000 helped a Vietnamese orphanage with help from the unlikeliest of allies, 241 00:13:54.639 --> 00:13:56.799 and how returning to the US forced him to keep 242 00:13:56.799 --> 00:14:00.840 his service a secret for more than forty years. But 243 00:14:00.919 --> 00:14:03.159 we pick up his story with the explanation of how 244 00:14:03.240 --> 00:14:06.320 Dennis Welch saving his life on those extraction missions in 245 00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:11.679 Vietnam hit really close to home. A few decades later, Dennis. 246 00:14:11.399 --> 00:14:15.000 Welch was him and I were in high school together. 247 00:14:15.039 --> 00:14:17.519 He was a football player, and he'd come out and 248 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:20.159 he was on the track team as a shot putter 249 00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:23.080 and a discus thrower, and he'd watch me run races 250 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:26.279 because I could beat most guys and I was always 251 00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:30.159 going for a record, and so the track team would 252 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:32.720 always come and watch me run wherever I was. And 253 00:14:32.759 --> 00:14:34.279 he was one of those guys that came out to 254 00:14:34.279 --> 00:14:36.440 watch me run. So I knew who he was in 255 00:14:36.519 --> 00:14:41.440 high school and we talked, and I knew his girlfriend, 256 00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:45.000 and his girlfriend was the same class. And I went 257 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:49.279 to school with his girlfriend since junior high school or 258 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:53.440 even earlier in Nevado, and eventually he married her. Is 259 00:14:53.480 --> 00:14:57.799 a high school sweetheart, and they got married right after 260 00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:01.799 he came home from Vietnam. I would go on a mission, 261 00:15:02.200 --> 00:15:04.639 and you know, we'd get it. We'd get in the 262 00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:09.080 chopper in the purple Foxes would be our date, insert 263 00:15:09.159 --> 00:15:12.399 us and extract us. And I'd be sitting there in 264 00:15:12.440 --> 00:15:16.720 the helicopter and he'd be sitting there behind his gun 265 00:15:17.960 --> 00:15:22.120 for you know, many missions we were together. So at 266 00:15:22.120 --> 00:15:25.440 a high school reunion years years later, I go, Dennis, 267 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:27.639 where you've been? He goes, I was in the Marine Corps. 268 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:29.879 I go where were you? And he goes, I was 269 00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:33.000 at Danang. He goes a marble mountain. I go, what 270 00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:35.279 were you? He goes, I was a gunner. He goes, really, 271 00:15:35.559 --> 00:15:38.759 what year? And he goes, well, nineteen seventy. I go 272 00:15:38.919 --> 00:15:41.360 I was there. He goes, who are you with? And 273 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:45.000 I said first recon And he told me his call 274 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:47.960 signed and I said, this is my call sign. He goes, well, 275 00:15:48.039 --> 00:15:52.320 our squadron was assigned to your team to insert and 276 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:55.000 extracts you guys. And I go, well, we must have 277 00:15:55.080 --> 00:15:58.399 been on the same helicopter together, and he goes, yeah, 278 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:00.399 we had to be. He goes, how can he didn't 279 00:16:00.440 --> 00:16:03.559 say hi to me? And I go, Dennis, how would 280 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:06.240 I recognize you? I wasn't thinking about an old high 281 00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:08.600 school buddy. They go, you could have said hi to me. 282 00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:11.320 I'm sitting right next to you. He goes, you're all 283 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:14.960 painting it up. How could I recognize you? So we 284 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:19.399 were on these missions together and we've become it's kind 285 00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:23.559 of nice because when you for many, many years, Greg, 286 00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:26.559 I tell you, there's nobody I could talk to about 287 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:30.759 what I've been through. When I ran into Dennis Welsh, 288 00:16:31.080 --> 00:16:33.279 he was on those missions the same as I was. 289 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:34.960 I was on the ground and he was in the air. 290 00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:39.639 And we laughed today because what he saw was a 291 00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:43.360 completely different war than what I saw, even though it 292 00:16:43.480 --> 00:16:46.000 was the same war, because when you're down low, I 293 00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:49.519 don't have the perspective of he has. He goes now 294 00:16:49.559 --> 00:16:51.200 that one mission I was telling you about where we 295 00:16:51.240 --> 00:16:53.679 were in the bomb crater, I put in the report 296 00:16:53.720 --> 00:16:56.000 that there's maybe twenty thirty guys who were going to 297 00:16:56.200 --> 00:16:58.919 overrun us, and Dennis said, no, there was over one 298 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:02.039 hundred guys from where they were looking at that were 299 00:17:02.039 --> 00:17:04.799 surrounding us. That we weren't getting out of there alive. 300 00:17:05.160 --> 00:17:08.200 And so he had a different way of looking at things. 301 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:12.839 And so Dennis and I have done some talks about this, 302 00:17:13.599 --> 00:17:17.960 you know, locally, and so we've been invited to some talks. 303 00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:21.720 Actually our last they did a film with Dennis and 304 00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:26.519 I at George Lucas's studio before they tore it down, 305 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:29.680 and so we're the last ones to be filmed at 306 00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:31.640 George Lucas's private studio. 307 00:17:31.960 --> 00:17:34.319 That's a that's a great footnote in history as well. 308 00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:34.799 Yeah. 309 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:37.039 Now the mission, the mission you mentioned just a moment ago. 310 00:17:37.400 --> 00:17:39.720 Is that the one from June of nineteen seventy for 311 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:41.400 which you received the citation? 312 00:17:41.720 --> 00:17:45.839 Now that one, do you know? To be honest with you, 313 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:50.680 there are so many like that. It's a combination of 314 00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:54.799 missions that they wrote that I can't remember that one. 315 00:17:54.960 --> 00:17:56.000 What I'm trying to tell you. 316 00:17:55.960 --> 00:17:57.519 The thing that stands out from that, and I don't 317 00:17:57.519 --> 00:17:59.240 know if this happened in other missions that maybe you 318 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:03.319 can effect on that is that everything's about to come 319 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:05.799 to a head and your weapon malfunctions. 320 00:18:06.039 --> 00:18:10.599 Oh yeah, able, Okay, that's true. Yeah that now, Yeah, 321 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:15.000 you did a little trigger that mission. Yeah, that was crazy. 322 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:18.559 That's and I did get a citation for that. My 323 00:18:18.920 --> 00:18:23.160 rifle did malfunction. The citation says that I was cool, 324 00:18:23.400 --> 00:18:26.640 calm and collective and I didn't panic, And that's whole 325 00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:34.039 bunch of bullshit. Uh, Marines, are you know that they're cool, 326 00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:36.759 calm and collective. They couldn't put that as shipping and 327 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:39.519 pissing my pants because I couldn't get that, you know, 328 00:18:39.640 --> 00:18:42.640 round to go off, and I got two guys that 329 00:18:42.759 --> 00:18:45.119 I killed one and the other guy had his barrel 330 00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:47.680 pointed at me, and I knew I was going to 331 00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:50.799 get killed and somehow hitting and you know, I just 332 00:18:50.920 --> 00:18:54.160 beat the ship out of that rifle and I got 333 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:58.559 a round off and killed him too. But the way 334 00:18:58.599 --> 00:19:01.720 they wrote it up the story was not the way. 335 00:19:02.119 --> 00:19:04.519 That wasn't reality. They had to make it look like 336 00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:08.680 I was a real marine, and I did panic and 337 00:19:10.440 --> 00:19:15.079 I was screaming and yelling. That said and done. I 338 00:19:15.160 --> 00:19:20.720 never walked point again with an sixteen after that, and 339 00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:25.319 there had to be a better way because I couldn't 340 00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:28.400 take the chance of jamming up on me again. But 341 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:29.319 that did happen. 342 00:19:29.400 --> 00:19:33.440 Yes, that's Darren Walton, a US Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam, 343 00:19:33.799 --> 00:19:37.000 where he often served as point man on a recon team. 344 00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:40.039 In Just a Moment, Walton shares how he hid his 345 00:19:40.119 --> 00:19:43.400 service for decades after coming home to a nation, and 346 00:19:43.559 --> 00:19:45.880 especially a part of the country that was hostile to 347 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:49.480 the war, and he explains how marines helped the Vietnamese 348 00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:52.960 Orphanage after raising funds from the last people he'd expect 349 00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:57.599 it to help. I'm Greg Corumbus and This is Veterans' Chronicles. 350 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:03.200 This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in 351 00:20:03.240 --> 00:20:06.920 this edition is US Marine Corps veteran Darren Walton, who 352 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:10.599 often served as point man on a reconnaissance team. In 353 00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:13.960 this final portion of our conversation, Walton reflects on the 354 00:20:14.039 --> 00:20:17.480 forty plus years that he kept his military service quiet 355 00:20:17.960 --> 00:20:19.440 and what it means to him to be able to 356 00:20:19.480 --> 00:20:22.559 talk about it now. But we continue now with a 357 00:20:22.599 --> 00:20:26.519 story about unlikely allies in two ways. It's about US 358 00:20:26.599 --> 00:20:29.759 service members determined to help kids at a Vietnamese orphanage 359 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:32.799 and how the Marines got help from the last people 360 00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:34.160 they expected it from. 361 00:20:34.440 --> 00:20:38.720 There was a village where there was a Buddhist orphanage 362 00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:45.240 with German doctors volunteer doctors, and the kids there were 363 00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:49.680 just precious and they were ostracized from the village because 364 00:20:49.720 --> 00:20:53.720 there may be a mixed race, and they were casts 365 00:20:53.759 --> 00:20:56.599 from the village and they had to go live with 366 00:20:56.599 --> 00:21:00.839 the Buddhist nuns and had no money, no food, and 367 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:05.680 they were trying to keep these kids healthy somehow. They 368 00:21:05.799 --> 00:21:10.799 they'd come into our compound occasionally and we'd give them 369 00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:14.960 chocolate bars and they you know, make sure our hooches 370 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:17.799 were cleaned, and they waited for us because we'd played 371 00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:21.039 baseball with them and play catch with them, and they 372 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:25.000 liked that, and uh uh we treated them really well 373 00:21:25.079 --> 00:21:27.880 and we got we got more out of having them around, 374 00:21:28.279 --> 00:21:31.359 uh than anybody else. And uh, this is what made 375 00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:34.200 me proud of the Americans. You know that I was 376 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:38.279 with my little team of six guys. We did another 377 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:42.920 team and we would get baseball gloves from the exchange 378 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:45.480 or from home. They'd sent us some baseball gloves and 379 00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:49.519 we'd played catch with them and give them chewing gum 380 00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:55.079 and and they seemed to really enjoy a game. But 381 00:21:55.119 --> 00:21:59.559 they they were struggling. And so a group of us 382 00:21:59.559 --> 00:22:03.160 decided what if we went up to command and talk 383 00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:07.680 to the chaplain or talk to some of the you know, 384 00:22:08.279 --> 00:22:13.319 kernels to help the orphanage ot And basically what we 385 00:22:13.400 --> 00:22:15.640 got was a run around saying we were fighting a war. 386 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:19.359 We can't worry about Buddhist kids. Uh, we have enough 387 00:22:19.400 --> 00:22:22.799 to worry about and uh uh we got a war 388 00:22:22.839 --> 00:22:28.160 to fight. So I wrote home saying can you send 389 00:22:28.200 --> 00:22:32.119 me a care package? And I need food, medicine and 390 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:37.400 clothing for these kids and my town in Nevado. It 391 00:22:37.480 --> 00:22:39.839 was right in the middle of when we were having 392 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:43.880 protests and and and there's a lot of chaos back 393 00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:49.599 in the sixties with the Black Panthers and protests and riots. 394 00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:52.559 There are a lot of riots going on, and anti 395 00:22:52.680 --> 00:22:56.480 war riots and Kent State where college kids were getting 396 00:22:56.519 --> 00:23:02.079 shot at and killed, and so them that's weren't well received. 397 00:23:02.559 --> 00:23:06.279 And so and mostly my neighborhood. They were going to 398 00:23:06.279 --> 00:23:09.920 Berkeley and San Francisco State and they were the protesters, 399 00:23:10.039 --> 00:23:14.400 and I was someone who they resented. Now, even though 400 00:23:14.440 --> 00:23:17.440 we grew up as kids, I was the enemy to 401 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:20.240