WEBVTT 1 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:15.599 Welcome to Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in 2 00:00:15.640 --> 00:00:18.879 this edition is Darren Walton. He's a US Marine Corps 3 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:22.359 veteran of the Vietnam War, during which he was involved 4 00:00:22.359 --> 00:00:26.039 in recon missions, often serving as the point man. He 5 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:28.960 is also the author of D D MAO, a true 6 00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:33.320 story about tigers, rock, apes, the Jungle and War. And 7 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:35.200 mister Walton, thanks so much for being with us. 8 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:36.159 Thank you for having me. 9 00:00:36.240 --> 00:00:37.240 Where were you born and raised? 10 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:37.399 Sir? 11 00:00:37.719 --> 00:00:40.679 I was born in San Francisco and pretty much raised 12 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:43.679 across the Golden Gate Bridge north of San Francisco in 13 00:00:43.719 --> 00:00:47.920 a county called Marin County, which was a pretty rural 14 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:50.560 at the time, and it was out of the city, 15 00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:54.119 but San Francisco is the closest city, and it's not 16 00:00:54.240 --> 00:00:56.320 too far from where I'm at right now. 17 00:00:56.600 --> 00:00:58.719 And have there been a history of military service in 18 00:00:58.759 --> 00:00:59.240 your family? 19 00:00:59.439 --> 00:01:00.439 Yeah, has been. 20 00:01:00.719 --> 00:01:03.600 My father was a Marine in World War Two in 21 00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:06.760 the Battle of Okinawa, and I didn't know until after 22 00:01:06.799 --> 00:01:10.560 he died, going through the closet through his possessions that 23 00:01:10.599 --> 00:01:13.680 I found that he'd been shot and had a purple 24 00:01:13.719 --> 00:01:17.120 heart in that battle, and that he had a brother, 25 00:01:17.239 --> 00:01:20.079 my uncle who was named after who was what they 26 00:01:20.159 --> 00:01:25.079 call a Carlson Raider in Marine Corps history, they're kind 27 00:01:25.079 --> 00:01:29.040 of a separate group of individuals that were handpicked to 28 00:01:29.079 --> 00:01:30.760 do what we ended up. 29 00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:33.439 Doing being rangers basically. 30 00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:37.359 So they were the first Ranger Battalion and they did 31 00:01:37.400 --> 00:01:40.359 some really nasty work in Pacific Islands. 32 00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:43.159 Were you drafted or did you enlist in the Marine Corps? 33 00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:44.040 That's a story. 34 00:01:45.640 --> 00:01:48.079 I was going to college and I wasn't able to 35 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:50.920 I was out of high school and here in Marin 36 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:54.359 County's we're pretty free, and so when I was going 37 00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:57.680 to college, I didn't maintain a certain grade point average, 38 00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:00.319 just as before the draft, and I was to be 39 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:05.359 drafted in the Army. And what happened was I decided 40 00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:08.400 to go look at the Marine Corps because they had 41 00:02:08.599 --> 00:02:13.159 a program special service program for athletes, and I thought 42 00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:15.800 maybe I could be a runner on the Marine Corps 43 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:19.840 track team. And I almost qualified and they actually accepted 44 00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:23.599 me to be an athlete for the Marine Corps. And 45 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:26.039 so I joined the Marine Corps thinking I would be 46 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:29.840 a track star traveling the world representing the Marine Corps. 47 00:02:30.280 --> 00:02:32.199 And what happened was my times. 48 00:02:31.879 --> 00:02:35.360 Are good and they're just borderline, but they thought with 49 00:02:35.479 --> 00:02:38.439 training and coaching that I could be a pretty good runner. 50 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:42.879 And so what happened They found that I didn't have 51 00:02:43.039 --> 00:02:45.759 enough years and to be on special services, so they 52 00:02:45.960 --> 00:02:48.080 asked me to join up for a couple more years. 53 00:02:48.599 --> 00:02:51.520 And after going through boot camp and being part of 54 00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:53.759 the Marine Corps for the short period of time that 55 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:56.800 I was there, I decided I thought maybe I'd go 56 00:02:56.919 --> 00:03:00.319 back to college, and they go, you know, that's not 57 00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:03.159 going to work for us, and so they volunteered me 58 00:03:03.479 --> 00:03:07.080 to become a ranger what they call it recon ranger, 59 00:03:07.479 --> 00:03:12.639 so it's a volunteer force. I didn't really volunteered, but 60 00:03:12.680 --> 00:03:15.159 that's where I ended up. So that's how I ended 61 00:03:15.240 --> 00:03:17.479 up in the Marine Corps. 62 00:03:17.960 --> 00:03:20.000 Now you mentioned boot camp. Marine Corps boot camp is 63 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:23.000 pretty famous for not exactly being a resort, So how 64 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:26.000 did you deal with that and what do you remember 65 00:03:26.120 --> 00:03:27.280 most about that challenge. 66 00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:31.080 I had been a county champion in distance running in 67 00:03:31.159 --> 00:03:34.000 cross country and track, and I was one of the 68 00:03:34.039 --> 00:03:38.319 better runners in the state and competed in some marathons, 69 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:40.800 and so I was in pretty good shape when I 70 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:43.759 went to boot camp, and I thought that the boot 71 00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:46.680 camp really wasn't that challenging. I could climb their open 72 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:49.360 ten minutes. I could run the course. It's a three 73 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:52.479 mile course, and I was running in under sixteen minutes. 74 00:03:52.879 --> 00:03:54.360 So I got a little cocky, you know. 75 00:03:54.360 --> 00:03:57.000 I could do fifty push ups, and I'd give him 76 00:03:57.000 --> 00:03:58.840 an extra ten for later on, put it in the 77 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:00.400 bank for me because I know I'm going to be 78 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:03.639 doing some more later on. And they were frustrated with 79 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:08.240 me because of my physical conditioning was far superior than 80 00:04:08.280 --> 00:04:12.479 anybody in my platoon. They even got so frustrated that 81 00:04:12.599 --> 00:04:15.360 on the three mile run that they put sand in 82 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:17.600 my pack and still had me go run. And I 83 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:22.519 still lead and win the three mile course. And the 84 00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:25.680 whole concept of being in the military Marine Corps especially 85 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:28.959 is you stay with your platoon, and you stay with 86 00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:31.680 the slowest guy, and you're no better than the slowest 87 00:04:31.720 --> 00:04:32.439 guy on your team. 88 00:04:32.519 --> 00:04:35.319 Of course I had to go show off. Eventually. 89 00:04:35.319 --> 00:04:37.600 It put me in what they call a motivation platoon, 90 00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:39.879 and I was in it for one week. I came 91 00:04:39.920 --> 00:04:44.120 out of motivation platoon. They did break me, and I 92 00:04:44.199 --> 00:04:46.480 was a good little Marine, and I learned how to 93 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:51.160 polish my boots and polish my brass starts my uniform, 94 00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:55.639 and I learned what being a good marine was. If 95 00:04:55.639 --> 00:04:59.079 you think you can get through without getting broke. They 96 00:04:59.519 --> 00:05:00.519 broke me eventually. 97 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:03.759 Yes, I love the euphemistic title there, of the motivation. 98 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:07.240 They found some way to get to you physically. Wasn't 99 00:05:07.240 --> 00:05:08.879 going to do it. They always find something, right. 100 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:12.639 Yeah, it was what they call sleep deprivation, and they 101 00:05:12.639 --> 00:05:15.040 had me to do it. They had me breaking rocks 102 00:05:15.079 --> 00:05:17.800 and putting them in a bucket and piling make it, 103 00:05:17.879 --> 00:05:21.360 you know, taking them across the you know, the field 104 00:05:21.399 --> 00:05:24.639 and making a rock pile. And then I'd get back 105 00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:28.519 to my rack after you know, chow and go to sleep, 106 00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:30.639 and the new drill structure have come in and say, 107 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:33.199 you didn't want that rock pile there? Who gave me 108 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:35.079 orders to put it there? Put it back to where 109 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:37.639 it was? And so I was doing that all night 110 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:42.720 and all day, and uh, I figured that if I 111 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:44.319 was ever going to get out of there, I'd better 112 00:05:44.680 --> 00:05:45.839 learn how to be a marine. 113 00:05:45.959 --> 00:05:46.360 I did. 114 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:49.240 They broke me. It was pretty I didn't think. I 115 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:51.519 thought I was tougher than that, but the Marine Corps 116 00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:52.639 they have ways. 117 00:05:52.920 --> 00:05:56.560 So at what point did you after basic training move 118 00:05:56.639 --> 00:05:59.720 towards recon ranger training. How soon was that? 119 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:04.040 Well, let's see, I went to from San Diego, ended 120 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:06.639 up going to Camp Pendleton, and then I was thrown 121 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:11.839 into a recon training group. And these guys were pretty 122 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:15.959 focused individuals. I like being with them because they were tough, 123 00:06:16.279 --> 00:06:21.040 they liked the challenge. They're in great shape physically, they 124 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:24.800 were as good as anybody that I ran into. And 125 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:26.720 I could hang with them and they could hang with me, 126 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:29.519 and they're very competitive. 127 00:06:29.720 --> 00:06:30.720 I enjoyed that part. 128 00:06:30.839 --> 00:06:32.000 What did the training consist of? 129 00:06:32.279 --> 00:06:36.720 Oh boy, A lot of running, well you ready for that. 130 00:06:37.639 --> 00:06:40.639 A lot of what they call wrecking where you have 131 00:06:40.680 --> 00:06:44.199 a backpack about sixty pounds and you go on these 132 00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:47.879 long what they call you hump all day up these 133 00:06:47.959 --> 00:06:49.959 mountains and hills in the desert. 134 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:51.360 And Camp Pendleton. 135 00:06:51.879 --> 00:06:56.319 We would do some swimming, a lot of repelling, you know, 136 00:06:56.720 --> 00:07:00.160 different all kinds of different schools. We'd already gone your 137 00:07:00.199 --> 00:07:04.439 boot camp, So the challenges that we had now was 138 00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:08.519 mostly honing our skills to be rangers, and that would 139 00:07:08.519 --> 00:07:12.680 be going to the range, learning how to do demolition work. 140 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:17.720 They would have courses for us to complete where they've 141 00:07:17.800 --> 00:07:20.560 tried to ambush us in certain situations. They would give 142 00:07:20.600 --> 00:07:23.800 us situations and see how we handle them. They had 143 00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:27.120 a lot of psychological programs where they'd put you in 144 00:07:27.160 --> 00:07:30.120 a situation just to see how you'd react. They would 145 00:07:30.199 --> 00:07:34.800 use live fire, crawling under constantine, or bob wire, and 146 00:07:34.839 --> 00:07:37.839 they want to make sure that you could handle the 147 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:44.079 stress and pressure. We did fifty mile hikes with the 148 00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:48.040 backpack full gear, and so we just was mostly just 149 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:50.439 learning skills. After boot camp. 150 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:52.319 Did most guys make it through or was there a 151 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:54.120 pretty high attrition rate there. 152 00:07:54.360 --> 00:07:56.480 By the time I was with the group. 153 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:01.360 Actually, they're pretty desperate for men at that time, so 154 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:04.360 I don't think they lowered their standards, but the standards 155 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:07.600 aren't as high as they are today. And that's the 156 00:08:07.639 --> 00:08:10.680 one thing that I found was all the men I 157 00:08:10.759 --> 00:08:14.920 was with psychologically they were tough. They were guys that 158 00:08:15.040 --> 00:08:15.959 were a lot. 159 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:16.120 You know. 160 00:08:16.199 --> 00:08:19.079 I lived in a bubble in this county called Brinn County, 161 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:22.040 north of San Francisco, where life was really easy. 162 00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:23.839 I was just you know, as a kid would I do. 163 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:27.000 I went out surfing, I went out spear fishing, I 164 00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:32.000 went skiing up in the mountains. I was backpacking, hiking, camping. 165 00:08:32.799 --> 00:08:35.519 You know, I had so much freedom, and I was 166 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:40.440 really enjoying life. Were the guys I was working with had. 167 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:43.639 I heard stories about them having to get up at 168 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:45.679 four or five in the morning and go milk cows 169 00:08:45.720 --> 00:08:48.879 and do a lot of chores before they even went 170 00:08:48.919 --> 00:08:53.039 to school in the morning. They would the Midwest kids 171 00:08:53.320 --> 00:08:55.720 guys were pretty tough. Then there were the guys from 172 00:08:55.759 --> 00:08:58.799 the South. They were poor. The guys from the South. 173 00:08:59.159 --> 00:09:01.600 And there's some black guys on the team from from 174 00:09:01.639 --> 00:09:04.960 Baton Rouge and some my team leader eventually was from 175 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:07.080 Baton Rouge. And hearing their stories in the summer, in 176 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:09.960 the heat, and you know, and the jobs that they 177 00:09:10.039 --> 00:09:13.200 did was pretty horrendous compared to what would I do. 178 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:16.200 I served and had bonfires on the beach and drank 179 00:09:16.279 --> 00:09:18.240 beer in case you smoked the doobie. 180 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:18.960 You know. 181 00:09:19.200 --> 00:09:22.320 And so hanging with these guys, I learned that the 182 00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:26.360 life for me was pretty good and for other guys 183 00:09:26.360 --> 00:09:29.360 in the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps wasn't that tough 184 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:32.720 for them, because like me, they had a lot tougher 185 00:09:32.759 --> 00:09:34.919 boot camp for them, getting up at five in the morning, 186 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:37.759 and I mean, you go to chow hall, for instance. 187 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:41.519 They didn't mind the food they enjoyed, you know, the food, 188 00:09:41.919 --> 00:09:43.919 and I'm looking at the food and I'm wondering. 189 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:44.720 What I'm eating. 190 00:09:44.840 --> 00:09:46.879 I mean, I don't you know they called it so 191 00:09:46.919 --> 00:09:50.360 os ship on the Shingle uh. And you know, I 192 00:09:50.360 --> 00:09:52.919 didn't know what chip beef was, and I didn't think 193 00:09:52.919 --> 00:09:55.759 it was that great. But these guys loved it, and 194 00:09:55.799 --> 00:09:58.000 they would eat anything, and they had an appetite. And 195 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:00.840 I'm going, I'm being a little picky, like, why would 196 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:03.960 you eat this stuff here? Because where I live, we 197 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:07.000 get fresh fruit and vegetables and fish from the ocean. 198 00:10:07.240 --> 00:10:09.759 You know, I wasn't used to eating that kind of food, 199 00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:13.200 so I was a little spoiled. And I learned real 200 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:16.320 quick that I was living in a bubble. Where I 201 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:16.840 grew up. 202 00:10:17.159 --> 00:10:19.600 I had a good When were you sent to Vietnam 203 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:20.919 in I was. 204 00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:23.399 Sent to Vietnam in nineteen sixty nine, the end of 205 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:28.519 sixty nineteen sixty nine, and I spent thirteen months in Vietnam. 206 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:31.919 That's Darren Walton, a US Marine Corps veteran of the 207 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:35.759 Vietnam War. Mister Walton was a Special Forces Marine who 208 00:10:35.799 --> 00:10:39.519 often served as point man on a reconnaissance team. Still 209 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:41.799 to come in this first half of mister Walton's story 210 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:45.159 of service. He will explain how the Jungles of Vietnam 211 00:10:45.399 --> 00:10:48.360 were another enemy that his team had to contend with 212 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:52.600 every single day, from the mud and muck to alternatively 213 00:10:52.679 --> 00:10:57.240 sweltering and freezing on many days, razor sharp foliage, and 214 00:10:57.279 --> 00:11:01.559 even dangerous animals, including these so called rock apes that 215 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:05.039 are often classified as folklore in official accounts of the war, 216 00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:08.840 but they were very real. Walton will also take us 217 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:11.919 inside critical life and death decisions that had to be 218 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:15.759 made within just a few seconds. But up next, Walton 219 00:11:15.799 --> 00:11:18.440 tells us how the six man recon teams were assembled, 220 00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:22.399 how they functioned in Vietnam, and what their objectives usually 221 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:26.559 consisted of. Stay with us. I'm Greg Corumbus and this 222 00:11:27.080 --> 00:11:30.360 is Veterans Chronicles sixty Seconds of Service. 223 00:11:30.679 --> 00:11:33.600 This sixty seconds of Service is presented by T Mobile. 224 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:36.799 T Mobile offers exclusive discounts for a veteran and military 225 00:11:36.840 --> 00:11:40.320 families and are proud supporters of the National Defense Network. 226 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:43.399 Visit t mobile dot com slash military to learn more 227 00:11:43.399 --> 00:11:46.559 about how they support our military community. As some know, 228 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:50.240 war often follows veterans home long after a conflict ends. 229 00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:53.720 The co founder of Burn pits. Three sixty, an organization 230 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:57.000 focused on helping veterans exposed to toxic chemicals, wants to 231 00:11:57.000 --> 00:11:59.879 invite the public to their fundraiser to help those vets cope. 232 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:02.960 I feel great about it. If anything, it helped prolong 233 00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:06.360 my life for my family and my kids, Warred Suarez, 234 00:12:06.360 --> 00:12:10.000 a CORPUS Christy Army veteran, said. Suarez said he was 235 00:12:10.039 --> 00:12:11.960 exposed to burn pits when he was deployed in a 236 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:15.000 rag back in twenty ten, and he's had health problems 237 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:18.159 ever since then. Today's sixty seconds of Service is brought 238 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:21.440 to you by Prevagen. Prevagen is the number one pharmacist 239 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:24.559 recommended memory support brand. You can find Prevagen and the 240 00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:26.960 Vitamin Aisle in stores everywhere. 241 00:12:27.159 --> 00:12:31.080 This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumba's our guest this 242 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:34.480 week is Darren Walton, a US Marine Corps veteran of 243 00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:37.879 the Vietnam War who often served as point man on 244 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:41.639 a reconnaissance team. Walton now picks up his story, explaining 245 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:44.080 how those teams were assembled and deployed. 246 00:12:44.440 --> 00:12:47.480 Well, I was put into a team that had been 247 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:52.639 in the bush for quite a while, and I filled 248 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:55.480 a hole, and so originally I was what they call 249 00:12:55.519 --> 00:12:59.799 a secondary radio man, so a recon team, everyone knows 250 00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:02.639 how to do everyone's job, and they know how to 251 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:06.919 do it fairly well. So I was a radio man 252 00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:09.799 for a short period of time, and I found that 253 00:13:09.799 --> 00:13:13.559 that wasn't a real comfortable position in the fact that 254 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:16.759 I was getting shot at a lot because I had 255 00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:20.120 a radio with an antenna walking through the jungle and 256 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:20.480 I was. 257 00:13:20.440 --> 00:13:22.279 A walking target. 258 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:27.080 Eventually a position came open as a point man, and 259 00:13:27.159 --> 00:13:29.720 after a couple of patrols, I became a point man 260 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:35.159 because of the team leader. He was the serget kind 261 00:13:35.159 --> 00:13:38.039 of trusted me and we worked together really really well. 262 00:13:38.519 --> 00:13:42.480 Now we were putting You know, you have a company. 263 00:13:42.679 --> 00:13:45.159 I was an echo company. In each an echo company 264 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:49.440 you had six man teams and then they would insert 265 00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:52.440 a quorman on a patrol. And in a company there 266 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:56.159 was like four or five different teams. So the company 267 00:13:56.200 --> 00:13:57.279 is really really small. 268 00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:00.600 And put in a. 269 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:03.679 Hooch with all these guys and you're with each other 270 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:06.559 twenty four to seven. You have to learn to get 271 00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:12.000 along with one another, and occasionally, because of the geography 272 00:14:12.039 --> 00:14:14.080 of where we came from, that was hard to do. 273 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:18.080 You know, the guys I was with they like to 274 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:24.320 drink Jack Daniels wild Turkey. I was from the West Coast, 275 00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:27.399 and I like beer and smoking a joint once in 276 00:14:27.399 --> 00:14:27.840 a while. 277 00:14:28.440 --> 00:14:29.120 And I was. 278 00:14:29.080 --> 00:14:32.720 Considered a dope addic, a drug addict, and a hippie. 279 00:14:32.919 --> 00:14:36.080 And I'd listened to Jimmy Hendrix and they were listening 280 00:14:36.120 --> 00:14:39.759 to some country Western music or motown music, and their 281 00:14:39.799 --> 00:14:44.360 conversations would be, you know, how they you know, what 282 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:48.039 kind of a what they call a funny car or something, 283 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:50.279 I forget what they call them, these racing cars. What 284 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:52.399 kind of car do you have, Darren? I got a 285 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:54.679 pretty I got a VW with a sunroof, and I 286 00:14:54.720 --> 00:14:56.200 got a surfboard. 287 00:14:56.240 --> 00:14:56.399 You know. 288 00:14:56.639 --> 00:14:59.240 So they couldn't comprehend where I was coming from. And 289 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:01.720 I didn't understand what wrenching on a car was, or 290 00:15:02.200 --> 00:15:05.080 what a dual carburetor was, or you know, you know, 291 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:09.200 fuel injection was, you know, and they're talking about racing 292 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:12.159 muscle cars is what they call them, you know, and uh, 293 00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:16.480 and so we there's some disconnects on the you know, 294 00:15:16.600 --> 00:15:20.360 in the rear, but in the jungle, after it's all 295 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:23.240 said and done, they didn't care, and I didn't care 296 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:29.240 what their belief system or politics, were we could trust 297 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:32.679 one another, and we became Once you go into jungles 298 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:36.480 a few times and the stress of combat and you 299 00:15:36.519 --> 00:15:42.759 survive an ambush or a firefight, you you start getting 300 00:15:42.759 --> 00:15:45.279 a little spiritual and you look at each other and 301 00:15:45.320 --> 00:15:48.519 go and each one of us has proven to each 302 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:50.559 other that we would be there for each other no 303 00:15:50.639 --> 00:15:54.159 matter what. So it's a badge of honor. Eventually, after 304 00:15:54.200 --> 00:15:56.919 you've been on a few missions that you can trust 305 00:15:56.919 --> 00:16:01.679 one another. And when you developed that trust, that bond. Geographics, religion, 306 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:06.120 color doesn't matter. We're all we're all in this together 307 00:16:06.360 --> 00:16:10.720 and we all love each other. And we're dysfunctional family 308 00:16:10.759 --> 00:16:14.000 back in the rear, but in the jungles we were 309 00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:19.039 focused and nobody let each other down, never, not once. 310 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:23.080 So after all that training and building the camaraderie in 311 00:16:23.159 --> 00:16:25.639 the unit, what's it like to go out on that 312 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:28.399 first mission known this is this is the real thing, 313 00:16:28.919 --> 00:16:31.000 especially the first time you met the enemy. 314 00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:34.440 Well, it's a ritual actually, And you watch these guys 315 00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:37.919 on your first mission, and you're watching them and they're 316 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:42.320 painting themselves up, and they all have a particular way 317 00:16:42.480 --> 00:16:44.879 of they think their artists or something, and they have 318 00:16:44.919 --> 00:16:47.240 a particular way of painting their faces up that's going 319 00:16:47.320 --> 00:16:50.799 to keep them camouflaged in the jungle. And I had 320 00:16:50.840 --> 00:16:53.799 no idea what my face was going to be painted like, 321 00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:56.279 so I had to come up with a traditional way 322 00:16:56.399 --> 00:16:59.639 that they could recognize me with my pain on. So 323 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:04.079 and I noticed on every patrol that their faces were 324 00:17:04.119 --> 00:17:07.640 always painted differently, but they always painted each other. Each 325 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:11.440 one had the same markings the way they painted themselves up. 326 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:14.440 And they were quiet, and it was almost like a ritual, 327 00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:17.599 and you could tell that they were someplace else. So 328 00:17:17.799 --> 00:17:22.640 I was excited. The adrenaline was really high because now 329 00:17:22.680 --> 00:17:26.319 I get to prove myself and they wouldn't talk to me, 330 00:17:26.440 --> 00:17:30.319 They wouldn't have much to do with me. They didn't 331 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:31.640 know if I was going to fit in or not, 332 00:17:32.200 --> 00:17:35.000 and so they kind of ignored me. And I had 333 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:37.680 to go out and in the jungle. And you know, 334 00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:40.440 we had missions, and we were told what our mission 335 00:17:40.519 --> 00:17:44.440 might be, and I think my first mission was to 336 00:17:44.519 --> 00:17:48.640 go scout out a staging camp behind enemy lines and 337 00:17:49.240 --> 00:17:54.000 gather information intel on how big the staging camp was, 338 00:17:54.119 --> 00:17:58.559 how many North Vietnammese Army soldiers were there, how long 339 00:17:58.599 --> 00:18:01.559 they've been there, with their morale was like if their 340 00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:04.960 clothes were clean or dirty, if their boots are shiny 341 00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:07.319 or not, and it was so it was mostly just 342 00:18:07.359 --> 00:18:11.759 a reconmission to take the gather information. So it didn't 343 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:14.799 look like it was going to be a very difficult mission. 344 00:18:15.240 --> 00:18:18.039 So after you know, we complete our mission, to go 345 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:21.240 to a debriefing, and nobody had any problems with me. 346 00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:23.720 So I had you know, you know, I didn't freak 347 00:18:23.799 --> 00:18:26.160 out or I didn't show it that I had fear, 348 00:18:26.519 --> 00:18:30.519 even though there was I was. You got the adrenaline 349 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:33.000 rushi and then that the fear, and you got all 350 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:36.039 these emotions, and it's like, uh, you have to learn 351 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:39.200 to control it, you know. And I remember my first mission, 352 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:42.039 and I remember second. I remember the first time I 353 00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:45.640 was in combat. I was scared. I was really scared. 354 00:18:46.200 --> 00:18:48.559 And the guys I was with had been you know, 355 00:18:48.599 --> 00:18:52.400 I'd been shot at for many missions before me, and 356 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:55.599 I wondered how come they weren't afraid like I was 357 00:18:55.640 --> 00:18:58.640 so afraid. But apparently, as I found out later, that 358 00:18:58.680 --> 00:19:02.079 fear never goes away. Able to put it in their 359 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:05.960 back pocket and deal with the mission. 360 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:09.920 That's Darren Walton, a US Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam, 361 00:19:10.279 --> 00:19:13.319 where he often served as point man on a recon team. 362 00:19:13.960 --> 00:19:16.839 When we come back, Walton talks about his first recon 363 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:22.039 missions in Vietnam. I'm Greg Corumbus and this is Veterans Chronicles. 364 00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:27.599 This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in 365 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:31.200 this edition is US Marine Corps veteran Darren Walton, who 366 00:19:31.240 --> 00:19:34.480 often served as point man on a reconnaissance team. In 367 00:19:34.519 --> 00:19:37.240 a moment, he will explain how the jungle in Vietnam 368 00:19:37.319 --> 00:19:40.240 was an enemy to Americans all by itself. But we 369 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:43.039 now pick up Walton's story as he describes what a 370 00:19:43.079 --> 00:19:45.559 recon point man had to be looking out for. 371 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:50.519 Mostly we were in their backyard, so there weren't as 372 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:54.039 many pungee pits or booby traps, and they weren't trying 373 00:19:54.039 --> 00:19:56.400 to set up to ambushes because they wouldn't think that 374 00:19:56.440 --> 00:19:59.640 there'd be a team like us out there. And so 375 00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:04.119 if we got spotted out there, I haven't had screwed 376 00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:07.400 up somehow, because you're not supposed to be spotted, and 377 00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:11.079 we're usually we're breaking brush and not on the trails. 378 00:20:11.079 --> 00:20:13.759 But many times you can't get through the jungle because 379 00:20:13.799 --> 00:20:16.119 of these vines to call them. Wait a minute, vines. 380 00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:18.400 You're getting tangled up and in the heat and the 381 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:21.480 mud and the muck, and you're climbing over giant roots 382 00:20:21.559 --> 00:20:25.400 and slipping and sliding on these hills, and you're exhausted 383 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:29.799 and you haven't even gotten close to your mission yet, 384 00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:32.359 to where you need to be. And so you find 385 00:20:32.359 --> 00:20:36.160 a trail, and when you walk the trail, then you 386 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:39.599 have to become spider man. All your spider senses have 387 00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:42.960 got to click in, you know, and they do. And 388 00:20:43.079 --> 00:20:48.480 it's amazing how we don't use our senses unless we 389 00:20:48.680 --> 00:20:52.000 really need to. And as a point man, I could 390 00:20:52.079 --> 00:20:55.359 see things, I could hear things, I could smell things 391 00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:59.440 way beyond the time. You know, you just get suspicious, 392 00:20:59.480 --> 00:21:02.680 and so I am. I did find some pungy pits. 393 00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:08.400 I did run into an ambush occasionally, and I found 394 00:21:08.519 --> 00:21:10.960 you know, I knew it was an ambush before it happened, 395 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:14.200 because I was that good. But the problem was is 396 00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:17.559 when you ran into another patrol out there and you 397 00:21:17.640 --> 00:21:21.400 make point to point contact, that's where it gets exciting. 398 00:21:21.640 --> 00:21:23.880 And there's nothing I can do about that. They're quiet, 399 00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:26.319 we're quiet. They're doing their job. We're doing ours. And 400 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:28.599 all of a sudden, we're bumping into one another. And 401 00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:31.519