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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in

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<v Speaker 1>this edition is David Rodriguez. He's a US Army veteran

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<v Speaker 1>of the Vietnam War. He received a Bronze Star with

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<v Speaker 1>a V for valor for his actions to put an

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<v Speaker 1>end to an enemy ambush in December of nineteen sixty seven.

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<v Speaker 1>He was also wounded on three separate occasions. And David,

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<v Speaker 1>thanks very much for being with us. You hear my, sir,

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<v Speaker 1>where were you born and raised?

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<v Speaker 2>I was born in Santase, California.

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<v Speaker 1>And was there a history of military service in your family?

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<v Speaker 2>My father was in the army. My uncles were all

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<v Speaker 2>in World War II, one was in Korean War, my

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<v Speaker 2>uncle was all my father's family were in a military.

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<v Speaker 1>Did that influence your decision to join?

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<v Speaker 2>No, because we were a farmer. Well, we worked in farms,

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<v Speaker 2>and so I didn't want to work in the farm anymore.

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<v Speaker 2>So I was seventeen years old and I told my dad,

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<v Speaker 2>I go, hey, I don't want to do this anymore

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<v Speaker 2>and I want to go into the army. And he said, well,

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<v Speaker 2>don't you know there was a war going on? And

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<v Speaker 2>he said yes, and so are you sure, you want

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<v Speaker 2>to go.

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<v Speaker 1>I go.

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<v Speaker 2>It's easier to stay alive and to maybe get you know,

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<v Speaker 2>get shot and killed. Oh no, I don't.

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<v Speaker 3>You know.

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<v Speaker 2>The farm is just not for me. So I decided

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<v Speaker 2>to go into the military and he signed the paperwork.

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<v Speaker 2>My mom cried, she didn't want to do it, but

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<v Speaker 2>my dad did it because that's what I wanted. I

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<v Speaker 2>went into the military.

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<v Speaker 1>So how old were you and I was seventeen.

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<v Speaker 2>Years old, nineteen sixty six.

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<v Speaker 1>Where did you do your basic training.

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<v Speaker 2>In Fort Lewis, Washington. Oh, that was during the time

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<v Speaker 2>of meningitis and there was a lot of things going

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<v Speaker 2>on that we so it was all our barrags were

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<v Speaker 2>separated when we had to go to training. We trained

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<v Speaker 2>not individually, but as a as a unit from H

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<v Speaker 2>Barracks only because of because of the meningitis that was

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<v Speaker 2>going on at the time.

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<v Speaker 1>You were later assigned to be a combat engineer.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, I did. I was a combat engineer and I

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<v Speaker 2>went to Fort Lyndwood, Missouri to get trained as EUD specialist.

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<v Speaker 2>I was an explosive specialist.

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<v Speaker 1>And tell me what the role of a combat engineer is.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, combat engineer is usually is going out and doing

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<v Speaker 2>you know, building bridges, things that need to be done

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<v Speaker 2>in a combat situation. They say, a road gets blown

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<v Speaker 2>up and they need to continue going through that road

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<v Speaker 2>while we repair the road and put it together. But

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<v Speaker 2>my job was usual was mostly explosives. I blew up things,

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<v Speaker 2>you know. Sometimes we will find mortar rounds or shells

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<v Speaker 2>that wasn't wasn't exploded, or bunkers that we needed to explode,

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<v Speaker 2>especially enemy bunkers, or even some of the foxholes and

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<v Speaker 2>stuff like that where they used to go, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>and we used to blow them up so they couldn't

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<v Speaker 2>be used again by the enemy.

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<v Speaker 1>When were you deployed to Vietnam.

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<v Speaker 2>In nineteen sixty six. What were your.

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<v Speaker 1>First impressions of Vietnam, both in terms of the war

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<v Speaker 1>and just the country itself.

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<v Speaker 2>I landed in benvoeh It was hotter than hell. It

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<v Speaker 2>was actually jungle. I've seen nothing but banana trees, and

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<v Speaker 2>I kept saying, Wow, this is almost like if you

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<v Speaker 2>were going to Panama or some place like that. And

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<v Speaker 2>it was something different because I've never been out of

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<v Speaker 2>California before, so I really wasn't prepared to see a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of stuff like that. We used to go to

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<v Speaker 2>Texas where my families that come from. And so of

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<v Speaker 2>course Texas is half desert and half you know, by

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<v Speaker 2>the ocean, so it you know, Vietnam is a beautiful place.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's put it that way. It's a very beautiful place.

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<v Speaker 2>It's got everything you can think of. It's got bananas,

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<v Speaker 2>it's got pineapples. They got mongos and stuff like that.

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<v Speaker 2>When we used to go through the through the jungle,

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<v Speaker 2>s intuff that, you know. We used to cut wild pineapple,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, and we used to eat them when we're

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<v Speaker 2>walking and stuff like that. Or we used to get

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<v Speaker 2>the bananas from the banana trees and we used to

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<v Speaker 2>sometimes we used to carry a whole stock of bananas

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<v Speaker 2>when we're out there in the jungle. Because I used

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<v Speaker 2>to be attached to the infantry as an explosive specialist.

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<v Speaker 2>That's what we do. That's what I did. So I

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<v Speaker 2>was attached to the infantry. We would carry C four

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<v Speaker 2>and explode do it. You know, we would find you know,

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<v Speaker 2>mines or ordnance that wasn't exploded or you know, bombs

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<v Speaker 2>that were dropped from the planes and didn't explode. Whether

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<v Speaker 2>that was our job is to make sure they were exploded.

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<v Speaker 2>Or got rid of.

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<v Speaker 1>You know.

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<v Speaker 2>It's not like the time when John Wayne would tear

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<v Speaker 2>apart a bomb, you know, and use all these equipment. Though.

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<v Speaker 2>We would turn on and actually put C four on

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<v Speaker 2>it and exploded in place so nobody would get hurt.

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<v Speaker 2>And then we were in charge making sure that booby

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<v Speaker 2>traps and stuff like that were disarmed. And that was

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<v Speaker 2>our job.

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<v Speaker 1>How tricky was that?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I got blown up. I kept going up. Once

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<v Speaker 2>I ended up breaking my back. I ended up going

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<v Speaker 2>to the Saigon. It wasn't as bad as I thought

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<v Speaker 2>it was going to be because they stitched me up,

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<v Speaker 2>fixed me up, and now I was back in the

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<v Speaker 2>jungle within two weeks, So it wasn't that bad. But

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<v Speaker 2>I thought I had booken my back, but it was

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<v Speaker 2>just sprained and so they just fixed me all up

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<v Speaker 2>and I was back.

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<v Speaker 1>Where were you based?

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<v Speaker 2>I was based in downtown South Vietnam, and I was

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<v Speaker 2>based in the French fort h east of or west

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<v Speaker 2>of Vietnam, next to the Cambodian border. We used to

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<v Speaker 2>go into a Cambodian border and do a lot of things.

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<v Speaker 2>I worked a little bit with the mountain yards. I

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<v Speaker 2>ended up doing some stuff up north towards Latian border,

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<v Speaker 2>and we worked with CIA in Laos for a little while,

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<v Speaker 2>so my job was kind of you know, diversed.

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<v Speaker 1>Are you allowed to tell us what you did in

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<v Speaker 1>Cambodia and Laos.

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<v Speaker 2>And Lous I can't tell you because we wasn't even beither.

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<v Speaker 2>We wasn't wasn't being Combolia. But it wasn't really a

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<v Speaker 2>big secret because everybody and you were there. Well, we

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<v Speaker 2>would go in there there in the middle of the

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<v Speaker 2>night and look for enemies and then destroy their camp,

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<v Speaker 2>getting artillery or playing dropping exprosives from planes and stuff

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<v Speaker 2>like that.

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<v Speaker 1>And what unit precisely were you with.

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<v Speaker 2>I was with the seventh of the forty seventh.

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<v Speaker 1>And when I was attached to them, what type of

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<v Speaker 1>weapons other than explosives were you using?

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<v Speaker 2>I was using an M sixteen, AR fifteen and a

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<v Speaker 2>forty five. I carried a forty five.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you have a favorite of those that you're most

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<v Speaker 1>comfortable with?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, they were doing the recall. I don't know if

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<v Speaker 2>you remember, or at one time they were doing the

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<v Speaker 2>recall of the M sixteen because they were they were

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<v Speaker 2>getting they were jamming. But you know, you get a

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<v Speaker 2>favorite to well, it becomes part of you. It's like

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<v Speaker 2>your second arm, you know. And so they were trying

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<v Speaker 2>to take my memory. They were trying to take my

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<v Speaker 2>M sixteen, and so no, you either got shot or

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<v Speaker 2>you left me alone. So my M sixteen was one

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<v Speaker 2>of my favorite ones. The forty five was just for

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<v Speaker 2>in case, and so you know you used it for

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<v Speaker 2>How can I tell you? It was close combat situations?

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<v Speaker 1>How close this was the.

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<v Speaker 2>Between me and you. I didn't take my M sixteen

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<v Speaker 2>at those time when we had to go in into

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<v Speaker 2>a special missions and stuff like that, and we would

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<v Speaker 2>just take forty fives and once we got close enough,

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<v Speaker 2>then we just turned around and took your business.

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<v Speaker 1>Other than the familiarity of the M sixteen, what did

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<v Speaker 1>you love about it? So much?

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<v Speaker 2>Very accurate? It was my buddy, my friend, and it

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<v Speaker 2>kept me alive.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you remember the first time you engaged the enemy?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh yeah, it's the first time I j engaged. In fact,

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<v Speaker 2>we would. I had just landed and it must have

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<v Speaker 2>been my first month and we were in Bearcat and

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<v Speaker 2>we went out into a night patrol out of the burm.

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<v Speaker 2>We got hit by a small venom hesa can unit

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<v Speaker 2>and I was green. I mean, I was so green,

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<v Speaker 2>and you know, my fatigues, all my greens were still

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<v Speaker 2>all my greens were still so green, they were brand new.

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<v Speaker 2>And you know, I said, you know, I got was shocked.

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<v Speaker 2>I was scared. Didn't know what to do. First thing

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<v Speaker 2>I did was hit the ground and didn't know where

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<v Speaker 2>to fire, because, you know, you were just like, where's

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<v Speaker 2>it coming from? And even though all get training that

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<v Speaker 2>you get, you get training in the military at home,

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<v Speaker 2>so it's not real combat, you know, situations. So when

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<v Speaker 2>it really hits, it's like what's going on. You don't

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<v Speaker 2>know what's happening, and you're trying to figure out what

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<v Speaker 2>to do, and no matter how much training you have,

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<v Speaker 2>you kind of forget it. But then after a while,

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<v Speaker 2>I starts coming back and you started thinking. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>it's all about thinking before you know, because the first

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<v Speaker 2>thing you start thinking about it just got kill me.

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<v Speaker 2>Especially when you start hearing around a lot of people

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<v Speaker 2>don't understand that when a bullet goes by your head,

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<v Speaker 2>it actually zings just like a bee, and it sings

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<v Speaker 2>bring zing zing, you know, and you hear the bullets

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<v Speaker 2>just going by, so you don't know where to fire

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<v Speaker 2>at because you're you're too afraid. So that was my

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<v Speaker 2>first experience and it was over real fast. We called

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<v Speaker 2>in artillery surprise, so you know, and it was over

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<v Speaker 2>within it in a couple of minutes and it was done.

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<v Speaker 2>But after that I found out that I'm in the war.

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<v Speaker 2>This is real. This is not a joke, This is

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<v Speaker 2>not what you see on TV. Now, you're this guy

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<v Speaker 2>here is trying to kill you. So either you get

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<v Speaker 2>it together or you're gonna wind up dead. And so

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<v Speaker 2>after that, things just started getting a little bit more easier.

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<v Speaker 2>Then when I got into my next firefight, and this

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<v Speaker 2>was in actually, and when they shipped me to Long

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<v Speaker 2>Time and I got attached to the seventh of the

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<v Speaker 2>forty six infant unit and so we were out on

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<v Speaker 2>patrol and then we got hit with a small unit

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<v Speaker 2>and so then I startedly know what to do. So

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<v Speaker 2>now then I started turning on and actually aiming to

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<v Speaker 2>shoot and to turn and take care of and you know,

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<v Speaker 2>take care of my job. When you first get there,

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<v Speaker 2>it's all about confusion, and that's confusion within you. After that,

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<v Speaker 2>it's all about you starting to learn about you, being

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<v Speaker 2>protective about you and your friends around you, and you

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<v Speaker 2>start seeing that this guy here is trying to protect

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<v Speaker 2>you as well as he's the other guys trying to

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<v Speaker 2>protect you, and you're all trying to protect each other

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<v Speaker 2>and fighting for what you feel is right. You know.

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<v Speaker 2>I used to when I got used to it, and

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<v Speaker 2>it took me a few months because every time we

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<v Speaker 2>went out, we always got hit. I mean it was

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<v Speaker 2>like day and night, you know, you went out, we

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<v Speaker 2>all got hit by a small uh you know, called

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<v Speaker 2>Vietnam unit or patrol. And it wasn't very they were

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<v Speaker 2>never very big. They usually are ten or fifteen men

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<v Speaker 2>and basically just for destructive, you know situations, So they

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<v Speaker 2>were sort of shooting at you and then they would run,

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<v Speaker 2>so it would be one of those situations. But after

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<v Speaker 2>a while I used to yell at them, well, if

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<v Speaker 2>you're going to shoot at me, I'm gonna shoot at

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<v Speaker 2>you and I'm going to kill you. And then that

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<v Speaker 2>became my model. I got to the point where I

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<v Speaker 2>knew if they were going to shoot at me, my

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<v Speaker 2>job was to find them, see him and shoot them.

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<v Speaker 2>And I wasn't going to die. So it was his

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<v Speaker 2>life or my life, and that's that's all it took.

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<v Speaker 2>And so I think that was my survival thing. And

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<v Speaker 2>that's what the whole time I was the three years

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<v Speaker 2>I was because I was three years in Vietnam. The

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<v Speaker 2>whole time I was there, they ever had a problem.

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<v Speaker 1>That's David Rodriguez. He's a US Army veteran of Vietnam,

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<v Speaker 1>where he was wound three times. He also received a

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<v Speaker 1>Bronze Star for his actions to thwart an enemy ambush

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<v Speaker 1>in December nineteen sixty seven. That dramatic story is next.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Greg Corumbus and this is Veterans Chronicles.

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<v Speaker 2>Sixty Seconds of Service.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in

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<v Speaker 1>this edition is David Rodriguez, who served as a US

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<v Speaker 1>Army combat engineer and served a total of three years

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<v Speaker 1>in theater in the Vietnam War. He was wounded three

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<v Speaker 1>times there, including two bayonet attacks, and we'll discuss all

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<v Speaker 1>of that in detail later in our conversation, but Sergeant

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<v Speaker 1>Rodriguez was also awarded the Bronze Star for his actions

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<v Speaker 1>in December nineteen sixty seven. As we pick up his story,

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<v Speaker 1>Rodriguez explains how he and other soldiers were ambushed almost

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<v Speaker 1>immediately after stepping off their boat. The dire situation the

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<v Speaker 1>Americans soon found themselves in, and how his actions helped

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<v Speaker 1>to neutralize the enemy.

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<v Speaker 2>We were in the world long Land Province at the time.

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<v Speaker 2>It was this was Operation Cobra Uh in December of

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<v Speaker 2>December fourth. What basically happened, we were we were on

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<v Speaker 2>the lst Navy ship and we were working off the

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<v Speaker 2>Mekon Delta at the time, so we were on these

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<v Speaker 2>barges uh uh. It was a river reinforce that we

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<v Speaker 2>were working with, actually with the fourth or the forty

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<v Speaker 2>seventh at the time, and we had disembarked off the

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<v Speaker 2>ship and so as we got off the LSTs, we

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<v Speaker 2>turned around and we we we marched maybe for about

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<v Speaker 2>a mile or so, and it was jungle area and

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<v Speaker 2>then we got into a rice paddy area where it

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<v Speaker 2>was all out of rice paddy. It was very open

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<v Speaker 2>and the jungle was on our left hand side, and

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<v Speaker 2>we were walking towards the sun. And as we were walking,

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<v Speaker 2>all of a sudden we got hit and we got

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<v Speaker 2>into it. It was what we call a U shaped ambush,

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<v Speaker 2>and then right in the middle of the machine gun

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<v Speaker 2>was there and and you know, they were just at

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<v Speaker 2>that point and we just got moved down. I mean

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<v Speaker 2>they were just because we were all standing up at

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<v Speaker 2>the time. So they started just shooting and shooting and shooting.

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<v Speaker 2>And we were in a U shaped ambush. So we

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<v Speaker 2>couldn't go this way, we couldn't go that way. You

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<v Speaker 2>only way we can go this backwards. And you're trying

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<v Speaker 2>to run against bullets. It just doesn't work. So everybody

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<v Speaker 2>just you know, jumped down and got onto the rice

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<v Speaker 2>patties and so a lot of rice patty has little

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<v Speaker 2>these little mounds, and so you're trying to hide behind

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<v Speaker 2>these mountains, but they're just not high enough. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>there's you got water, and then you got the little mound,

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<v Speaker 2>and so they're shooting at you. And they were killing

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<v Speaker 2>quite a few people. Our point man was Washington, was

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<v Speaker 2>a black gentleman, a good friend of ours. And when

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<v Speaker 2>we got hit, we got hit so hard that you know,

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<v Speaker 2>when he fell and he just had a nervous breakdown

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<v Speaker 2>because there was just so much bullets going by. And

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<v Speaker 2>I at that time, I think that they were not

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<v Speaker 2>trying to kill him because they were interested in the

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<v Speaker 2>rest of the party. And he was just stuck in

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<v Speaker 2>the middle. Saw me and one of the other guys

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<v Speaker 2>from the seventh or the forty seventh. We got together

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<v Speaker 2>and we snuck out there and we pulled them back,

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<v Speaker 2>and man, we were getting then, we were getting all

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<v Speaker 2>kinds of fire, and for some reason we just lucked out.

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<v Speaker 2>We got back and we hid behind the little mound

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<v Speaker 2>on the on the rice patty and we were just

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<v Speaker 2>getting hit. I mean, we got to the point and

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<v Speaker 2>so Don got killed. He was operator. He was the

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<v Speaker 2>radio operator. He got killed. And the radio operator was

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<v Speaker 2>there and by lieutenant. We used to call him Friendship

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<v Speaker 2>because he was from Louisiana and he was he had

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<v Speaker 2>red hair and so but we used to call him

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<v Speaker 2>Friendship because from Louisiana. So he kind of got that nickname.

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<v Speaker 2>And one year with officers, especially when you're in a

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<v Speaker 2>war situation, you get pretty close to even your officers,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, especially if they're a good a good officer,

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<v Speaker 2>and so to call him Frenchy. And he got separated

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<v Speaker 2>from the RTO and you know, we needed to get

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<v Speaker 2>the radio to him so we can get air support.

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<v Speaker 2>They were just shooting us, like all of those gallery things,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, and arcades you know, they were just killing

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<v Speaker 2>us pretty bad. So Frenchie, my lieutenant, turned and says,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, geez, we're in trouble man. You know, I

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<v Speaker 2>need to get the radio. So we ended up getting

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<v Speaker 2>the radio to him and he's trying to call him

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<v Speaker 2>air support and he goes, hey, Dave, you know, is

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<v Speaker 2>there any way that you can get and moved to

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<v Speaker 2>the side and see what you can get. So I

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<v Speaker 2>moved to the side, and every time I moved to

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<v Speaker 2>the side, I was getting more fire coming at me.

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<v Speaker 2>So something happened and I just can't figure out what.

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<v Speaker 2>I jumped up and I started running, and I started

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<v Speaker 2>shooting at this one little section where this Vietnamese was

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<v Speaker 2>at and boom, boom, boom up. You know, I shot

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<v Speaker 2>him up, you know. So I got in there and

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<v Speaker 2>there was I don't know, maybe about four many meters

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<v Speaker 2>or twenty five meters or so, I can't remember exactly.

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<v Speaker 2>There was another one and so I was able to

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<v Speaker 2>take him down. So I took him down and he

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<v Speaker 2>was out of the way. And so I got to

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<v Speaker 2>a point where I ran out of Ammo. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>two stories. I ran out of Amlan. I didn't know

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<v Speaker 2>what to do. I go, what am I going to

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<v Speaker 2>do now? I'm gonna I had no more clips and nothing.

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<v Speaker 2>So I ended up picking up one of the rifles

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<v Speaker 2>at the viacom hat and the riffles. The rifle doesn't

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<v Speaker 2>make no you know what kind of it is, and so,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, I made sure that we had some AMMO,

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<v Speaker 2>and so I ended up, you know, taking down the

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<v Speaker 2>machine gun. One of the guys that was sitting in

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<v Speaker 2>the other other bunker jumped up and he ran and

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<v Speaker 2>he got fired. He got killed by some of the

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<v Speaker 2>fire that we were that we were shooting from the guys.

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<v Speaker 2>And then I started targeting the other the other foxhole

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<v Speaker 2>that they were in like a foxhole, and I started

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<v Speaker 2>firing that. I ended up killing another guy there. And

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<v Speaker 2>then by that time everything started now and then we've

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<v Speaker 2>seen that there was two other Vietnam He's just jumped

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<v Speaker 2>up and just ran and basically was old with it

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<v Speaker 2>was but by the time it was over with, there

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<v Speaker 2>was only seven of us left.

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<v Speaker 1>That's David Rodriguez. He's a US Army veteran of the

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<v Speaker 1>Vietnam War. He received the Bronze Star for helping to

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<v Speaker 1>stop an enemy ambush on his position in December nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>sixty seven. In Just a Moment, Rodriguez reflects more on

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<v Speaker 1>what happened that day, his decision to charge a machine

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<v Speaker 1>gun position, and how he somehow emerged unscathed. We will

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<v Speaker 1>also hear about the three times he was wounded in Vietnam,

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<v Speaker 1>including two bayonet wounds, and how he managed to get

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<v Speaker 1>himself in trouble while recuperating in Japan. I'm Greg Corumbus,

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<v Speaker 1>and this is Veterans Chronicles. This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>Greg Corumbus. Our guest in this edition is David Rodriguez,

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<v Speaker 1>a US Army veteran who served in the Vietnam War

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<v Speaker 1>as a combat engineer. In a moment, you'll hear how

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<v Speaker 1>Rodriguez suffered three injuries, including two different bayonet wounds, within

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<v Speaker 1>a matter of months. But right now we pick up

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<v Speaker 1>his story with deeper reflections on his actions to thwart

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<v Speaker 1>the enemy ambush in late nineteen sixty seven, including how

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<v Speaker 1>he was able to take out a machine gun position

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<v Speaker 1>with just a rifle.

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<v Speaker 2>It's not hard if you got. If you got, you

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00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:27.640
<v Speaker 2>got a guy shooting with a machine gun, and you

393
00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:30.799
<v Speaker 2>see a hit, you you hit the hit, And so

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00:20:31.160 --> 00:20:33.200
<v Speaker 2>I was aiming at the head. I ended up hitting

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<v Speaker 2>them right about here. I think when we were we

396
00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:41.039
<v Speaker 2>went out there and it was it was a good hit,

397
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<v Speaker 2>and it was, you know, one bullet, one shot and

398
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<v Speaker 2>there it took care of business. And the other vauxhole

399
00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:50.839
<v Speaker 2>we ended up getting another one. And I'm going to

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<v Speaker 2>be honest with you, I don't know. I was shooting there,

401
00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:54.519
<v Speaker 2>so I don't know if it was me to kill

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<v Speaker 2>somebody the last one that was there, or or somebody

403
00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:00.240
<v Speaker 2>else did. And then the other two they were in

404
00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:03.440
<v Speaker 2>the foxhill, jumped up and they ran, but I was

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<v Speaker 2>shooting shooting there, so I think I got him. But

406
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<v Speaker 2>you know, I'm always going to always be in I

407
00:21:08.599 --> 00:21:10.799
<v Speaker 2>was kind of guy and say maybe he was lucky

408
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<v Speaker 2>and got shot by somebody else.

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<v Speaker 1>I know, it all happened so quickly. But when you're

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<v Speaker 1>running into a hale of bullets to rescue your friend Washington,

411
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<v Speaker 1>or when you're running while under fire to the first

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<v Speaker 1>position in the U shaped ambush to take out the enemy,

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<v Speaker 1>do you remember anything specific that was running through your

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<v Speaker 1>mind at that point.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh no, it was like just happened. I don't know

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<v Speaker 2>if you would understand this, but it just happened all

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<v Speaker 2>of a sudden, you know, French, you said, hey man,

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<v Speaker 2>we're in trouble man, you know, we need to get

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<v Speaker 2>that guy. And then all of a sudden I just

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<v Speaker 2>jumped up like a crazy guy and firing away and

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<v Speaker 2>boom and got the guy, you know. And then once

422
00:21:50.680 --> 00:21:54.440
<v Speaker 2>I got there, I got it was just like I

423
00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:57.759
<v Speaker 2>was just doing it just normally. It was just boom boom,

424
00:21:57.839 --> 00:22:00.759
<v Speaker 2>boom boom, you know. And it was just like a

425
00:22:00.839 --> 00:22:04.039
<v Speaker 2>like a like a train, you know, moving on boom, boom, boom.

426
00:22:04.039 --> 00:22:07.200
<v Speaker 2>And that's all I kept doing. And I didn't even

427
00:22:07.240 --> 00:22:10.279
<v Speaker 2>know I did anything until it was old with, you know.

428
00:22:10.359 --> 00:22:14.400
<v Speaker 2>The only thing I thought was that I want to survive,

429
00:22:14.680 --> 00:22:18.279
<v Speaker 2>you know. And we were trying to get our dust

430
00:22:18.279 --> 00:22:21.000
<v Speaker 2>stops coming in and they were shooting down the helicopters.

431
00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:25.720
<v Speaker 2>Two helicopters got shot down during that time, so they

432
00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:28.599
<v Speaker 2>couldn't get dust tops in to pull the guys off.

433
00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:31.880
<v Speaker 2>So the more I was out there shooting up and

434
00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:35.160
<v Speaker 2>getting these them, especially the machine gun. The machine gun

435
00:22:35.279 --> 00:22:37.599
<v Speaker 2>was the most important out of all of them, because

436
00:22:37.799 --> 00:22:41.119
<v Speaker 2>without that one going away, it would have been even worse.

437
00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:45.359
<v Speaker 2>But it was that was aiming for the guy's head,

438
00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:48.880
<v Speaker 2>trust me, and you know, I know I took them

439
00:22:48.920 --> 00:22:52.640
<v Speaker 2>down and so and he had a big chest wound,

440
00:22:52.720 --> 00:22:56.200
<v Speaker 2>so it was it was a clean shot.

441
00:22:56.720 --> 00:22:58.799
<v Speaker 1>Did you ever think about how none of those bullets

442
00:22:58.880 --> 00:22:59.559
<v Speaker 1>hit you that day?

443
00:22:59.799 --> 00:23:02.039
<v Speaker 2>Well, my wife and I know about it, you know,

444
00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:05.240
<v Speaker 2>every once in a while we talk about it. You know. Man,

445
00:23:06.279 --> 00:23:09.839
<v Speaker 2>you know, I'm a Catholic, so you know we're believe

446
00:23:09.839 --> 00:23:11.480
<v Speaker 2>in you know, I believe in God and the whole

447
00:23:11.559 --> 00:23:15.119
<v Speaker 2>nine yards. But either he was covering me or he

448
00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:18.400
<v Speaker 2>was thinking about, man, I got a reason for you

449
00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:21.880
<v Speaker 2>to continue living, and you're just not going to die today.

450
00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:25.599
<v Speaker 2>I just don't know. I mean, it was just it's

451
00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:28.759
<v Speaker 2>just like I said, everything happened so fast, and maybe

452
00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:32.599
<v Speaker 2>there was just like an umbrella over here or some

453
00:23:32.759 --> 00:23:34.880
<v Speaker 2>kind of a what they call it in Star Trek

454
00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:37.640
<v Speaker 2>when they have the cloaking device around me or something,

455
00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:41.400
<v Speaker 2>you know, because I don't know why they didn't shoot me.

456
00:23:42.119 --> 00:23:44.000
<v Speaker 2>I mean, there was a whole bunch of bullets going

457
00:23:44.039 --> 00:23:46.000
<v Speaker 2>all over the place and you should have seen it.

458
00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:47.599
<v Speaker 2>It was just like and then you can see the

459
00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:52.359
<v Speaker 2>tracers as I was running, because it becomes like a

460
00:23:52.440 --> 00:23:55.640
<v Speaker 2>ray gun, so many tracers firing from a machine gun,

461
00:23:55.839 --> 00:23:57.599
<v Speaker 2>and it was like a ray gun. And so I'm

462
00:23:57.720 --> 00:24:00.160
<v Speaker 2>running and I'm seeing all this red stuff going by,

463
00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:02.839
<v Speaker 2>and I'm just running and running, and then boom, when

464
00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:05.319
<v Speaker 2>I hit the foxhole where the first one was at.

465
00:24:06.119 --> 00:24:09.079
<v Speaker 2>Then they continue firing at the rest because of course

466
00:24:09.480 --> 00:24:12.079
<v Speaker 2>they couldn't hit me, you know. So then I that's

467
00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:14.880
<v Speaker 2>when I ended up taking out the second foxhole, got him,

468
00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:17.359
<v Speaker 2>you know, And then that's when I ended up. I

469
00:24:17.480 --> 00:24:20.400
<v Speaker 2>was able to be in a better position to take

470
00:24:20.440 --> 00:24:22.880
<v Speaker 2>out the machine gun. Once I got the machine gun

471
00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:26.440
<v Speaker 2>out of the way, everything else was okay, because the

472
00:24:26.519 --> 00:24:29.960
<v Speaker 2>machine gun was our worst enemy. Then that that's machine

473
00:24:29.960 --> 00:24:33.720
<v Speaker 2>gun knocked down two helicopters. When you got two helicopters

474
00:24:33.720 --> 00:24:36.839
<v Speaker 2>that went down and their dust off helicopters there, they're

475
00:24:36.920 --> 00:24:39.240
<v Speaker 2>you know, they got the big red cross on them.

476
00:24:40.200 --> 00:24:42.440
<v Speaker 2>That's the lifeline for all of us. There had to

477
00:24:42.519 --> 00:24:45.880
<v Speaker 2>be some kind of or something going around. I mean

478
00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:49.079
<v Speaker 2>when I was running, but uh, I never got hit once,

479
00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:52.400
<v Speaker 2>not once, you know. And man, there was a whole

480
00:24:52.440 --> 00:24:53.039
<v Speaker 2>bunch of them.

481
00:24:53.359 --> 00:24:55.240
<v Speaker 1>So you mentioned there were only seven of you still

482
00:24:55.279 --> 00:24:58.440
<v Speaker 1>able to fight of the other eighteen, Uh, did many

483
00:24:58.480 --> 00:24:59.039
<v Speaker 1>of them recover?

484
00:25:00.279 --> 00:25:02.839
<v Speaker 2>I don't know, because a lot of them went back.

485
00:25:04.039 --> 00:25:06.599
<v Speaker 2>We had a lot of body bags, a lot of

486
00:25:06.680 --> 00:25:11.160
<v Speaker 2>them were wounded. I don't know, because we regrouped and

487
00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:15.039
<v Speaker 2>then we continued with our mission. General two star General

488
00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:20.279
<v Speaker 2>O'Connors flew in his helicopter and he came in. He

489
00:25:20.599 --> 00:25:26.000
<v Speaker 2>assessed the situation that happened, and well, actually always expect

490
00:25:26.039 --> 00:25:28.960
<v Speaker 2>for at the time, so he gave me automatically, he

491
00:25:29.000 --> 00:25:31.440
<v Speaker 2>made me into a sergeant ride away as you and

492
00:25:31.480 --> 00:25:34.319
<v Speaker 2>so I got a field promotion as a sergeant right there.

493
00:25:34.359 --> 00:25:37.119
<v Speaker 2>And then let's put it, it was an interesting day.

494
00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:40.599
<v Speaker 1>So you still continued with the mission even though you

495
00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:42.079
<v Speaker 1>lost almost three quarters of ye.

496
00:25:42.200 --> 00:25:44.200
<v Speaker 2>Right, yeah, because the only thing we were going to

497
00:25:44.279 --> 00:25:47.680
<v Speaker 2>do is basically God, there was a couple of huts

498
00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:51.359
<v Speaker 2>that they were thinking that they had weapons, and so

499
00:25:52.200 --> 00:25:56.480
<v Speaker 2>our units, you know, after everything happened, when the plane

500
00:25:57.039 --> 00:26:01.039
<v Speaker 2>they brought in air support, they brought in napalm and

501
00:26:01.079 --> 00:26:03.799
<v Speaker 2>so most of that stuff got burned down. And so

502
00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:07.799
<v Speaker 2>like General O'Connors, you know, called us and talked to

503
00:26:07.839 --> 00:26:10.960
<v Speaker 2>the tennis says, can you guys continue the mission? You guys,

504
00:26:11.200 --> 00:26:13.319
<v Speaker 2>you know, everything is basically clear, but we just wanted

505
00:26:13.359 --> 00:26:15.519
<v Speaker 2>to make sure that whatever it's left behind, you guys

506
00:26:15.559 --> 00:26:18.319
<v Speaker 2>can take care of it, and we did. I actually

507
00:26:18.359 --> 00:26:20.279
<v Speaker 2>the following day they picked us up in the morning

508
00:26:20.839 --> 00:26:22.440
<v Speaker 2>and we went back to the ships.

509
00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:27.640
<v Speaker 1>Well, mister Rodricoz, you were wounded three times in Vietnam, miraculously,

510
00:26:27.720 --> 00:26:31.000
<v Speaker 1>not that day in December of nineteen sixty seven, but

511
00:26:31.079 --> 00:26:35.200
<v Speaker 1>the first time was late January, early February, around the

512
00:26:35.240 --> 00:26:38.920
<v Speaker 1>time of the tet offensive. Right, explain what was happening

513
00:26:38.920 --> 00:26:39.960
<v Speaker 1>that day and what happened.

514
00:26:40.119 --> 00:26:42.400
<v Speaker 2>Oh, we were out in we were actually out in

515
00:26:42.440 --> 00:26:48.400
<v Speaker 2>the jungle. We were in northern Vietnam in tours Way

516
00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:52.240
<v Speaker 2>City and we were in the jungle area there and

517
00:26:52.279 --> 00:26:55.839
<v Speaker 2>then we got ambushed. And as we were kind of

518
00:26:55.880 --> 00:26:59.200
<v Speaker 2>falling back a little bit to get ourself positioned, there

519
00:26:59.279 --> 00:27:02.319
<v Speaker 2>was some Viet coom there and one of them rose

520
00:27:02.440 --> 00:27:05.960
<v Speaker 2>up and bend ated me on my right side, punctured

521
00:27:05.960 --> 00:27:10.720
<v Speaker 2>by lung and pulled out. But my partner spooke, you know,

522
00:27:11.319 --> 00:27:13.440
<v Speaker 2>we've always worked together. I mean we were together for

523
00:27:13.480 --> 00:27:16.359
<v Speaker 2>the whole three years. He lives in Santa Rosa, California.

524
00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:19.039
<v Speaker 2>I live in Oakdale, California. Said we're still good friends,

525
00:27:19.559 --> 00:27:22.000
<v Speaker 2>and he turned on it. You know, because I yelled,

526
00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:24.160
<v Speaker 2>I go wow, you know, and this guy was trying

527
00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:28.359
<v Speaker 2>to caut his rifle to shoot me, and I spooked

528
00:27:28.400 --> 00:27:31.960
<v Speaker 2>torn and shot him and he pulled back and and

529
00:27:32.359 --> 00:27:35.079
<v Speaker 2>he died. You. So that was my first one. And

530
00:27:35.119 --> 00:27:37.599
<v Speaker 2>it was just, uh, he just came out of the bushes.

531
00:27:37.640 --> 00:27:40.200
<v Speaker 2>It was something that was a surprise because we were

532
00:27:40.240 --> 00:27:43.759
<v Speaker 2>actually right in the middle of a small unit of

533
00:27:43.880 --> 00:27:46.559
<v Speaker 2>Vietcom so we were you know, it was all about

534
00:27:46.759 --> 00:27:49.279
<v Speaker 2>it wasn't hand to hand, but it was pretty close

535
00:27:49.319 --> 00:27:49.640
<v Speaker 2>to it.

536
00:27:49.799 --> 00:27:51.799
<v Speaker 1>What's that like? Being that close to the enemy?

537
00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:56.119
<v Speaker 2>Scary because you have to remember if you turn and

538
00:27:56.160 --> 00:27:58.480
<v Speaker 2>you see somebody there and this guy's trying to cauck

539
00:27:58.519 --> 00:28:01.240
<v Speaker 2>his rifle to shoot you, you know, and he's just

540
00:28:01.279 --> 00:28:04.319
<v Speaker 2>as scared as you. Uh, And then you you're nervous

541
00:28:04.359 --> 00:28:06.359
<v Speaker 2>because all of a sudden, he wasn't expecting him to

542
00:28:06.359 --> 00:28:09.519
<v Speaker 2>be that close. You're you're nervous, and then you're getting

543
00:28:09.559 --> 00:28:12.000
<v Speaker 2>yourself to prepare to shoot him. So it's all about

544
00:28:12.039 --> 00:28:13.519
<v Speaker 2>you shooting him before he shoots you.

545
00:28:13.720 --> 00:28:16.079
<v Speaker 1>How long did it take you to recover from the bayonet?

546
00:28:16.680 --> 00:28:19.000
<v Speaker 2>Oh? This one here, I ended up going to Osaka.

547
00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:22.880
<v Speaker 2>They I went to Saigon, and then from Saigon I

548
00:28:22.880 --> 00:28:27.920
<v Speaker 2>went to Osaka. They ended up putting a little rubber

549
00:28:27.960 --> 00:28:31.240
<v Speaker 2>holes in in the wound and they put it into

550
00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:33.759
<v Speaker 2>my lung and then blew my lung up and then

551
00:28:33.759 --> 00:28:36.039
<v Speaker 2>they turn to put this is what the doctor told me,

552
00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:38.160
<v Speaker 2>and so what they're going to do. And then they

553
00:28:38.240 --> 00:28:41.160
<v Speaker 2>blowed my lung back up, and then they put some

554
00:28:41.559 --> 00:28:45.519
<v Speaker 2>crazy blue to glue the my lung, and then of

555
00:28:45.559 --> 00:28:47.880
<v Speaker 2>course they sealed me up after they did that. And

556
00:28:47.920 --> 00:28:51.440
<v Speaker 2>then of course I remember the doctor says, whatever you do,

557
00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:55.720
<v Speaker 2>don't inhale real deep, okay, do small? You know, He's like,

558
00:28:55.759 --> 00:28:57.359
<v Speaker 2>you're patting like a dog. I go, what are you

559
00:28:57.440 --> 00:28:59.599
<v Speaker 2>talking about? He goes, if you do it in hell,

560
00:28:59.640 --> 00:29:02.480
<v Speaker 2>you're gonna open that sucker back up and we're gonna

561
00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:06.039
<v Speaker 2>have to go back into her. So and but you

562
00:29:06.039 --> 00:29:08.640
<v Speaker 2>know that, you know how crazy glu is, right, it

563
00:29:09.119 --> 00:29:12.200
<v Speaker 2>seals up pretty fast. So you know he said, because

564
00:29:12.240 --> 00:29:15.319
<v Speaker 2>he said ten minutes, just don't be breathing real hard,

565
00:29:15.440 --> 00:29:17.759
<v Speaker 2>you know, just pat like a dog. He goes for

566
00:29:17.880 --> 00:29:21.680
<v Speaker 2>ten minutes that you'll be okay. And that was that

567
00:29:21.799 --> 00:29:23.799
<v Speaker 2>was fun because I was in Japan at the time,

568
00:29:24.920 --> 00:29:26.279
<v Speaker 2>got in trouble in Japan too.

569
00:29:26.759 --> 00:29:28.359
<v Speaker 1>I want to know about that. In just a second.

570
00:29:28.359 --> 00:29:31.200
<v Speaker 1>I'm still marveling at the fact that they literally crazy

571
00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:32.000
<v Speaker 1>glued your wound.

572
00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:35.880
<v Speaker 2>Yes they did. That's that's actually they do that. Now.

573
00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:40.240
<v Speaker 2>You know, when they don't want to use stitches, they'll

574
00:29:40.359 --> 00:29:43.400
<v Speaker 2>they'll seal you up with with some crazy glue, or

575
00:29:43.440 --> 00:29:46.000
<v Speaker 2>they'll put those little tea patches on you.

576
00:29:46.440 --> 00:29:48.079
<v Speaker 1>Okay, how did you get in trouble in Japan?

577
00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:51.880
<v Speaker 2>Well? After I got I was in the hospital. And

578
00:29:51.920 --> 00:29:54.960
<v Speaker 2>this is the this is the fun part. Okay, we

579
00:29:54.960 --> 00:29:58.559
<v Speaker 2>were in the hospital and we needed to you know,

580
00:29:58.880 --> 00:30:01.359
<v Speaker 2>me and this other guy were I was feeling fine

581
00:30:01.359 --> 00:30:03.880
<v Speaker 2>and he was being fine. We didn't have no clothes,

582
00:30:03.920 --> 00:30:06.160
<v Speaker 2>we were just in hospital clothes and the robes, right,

583
00:30:06.960 --> 00:30:10.240
<v Speaker 2>So we snuck out and got out from the gate,

584
00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:13.680
<v Speaker 2>and we went to a pub. So we're drinking and drinking,

585
00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:18.160
<v Speaker 2>and finally the guy spoke broken Englishes. How you pay?

586
00:30:19.200 --> 00:30:22.880
<v Speaker 2>I said, yeah, we're gonna pay. How you pay? Yeah,

587
00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:24.799
<v Speaker 2>give us a couple more beers. You know, we were

588
00:30:24.839 --> 00:30:30.279
<v Speaker 2>drinking those those big old long pine bottles of what

589
00:30:30.359 --> 00:30:37.400
<v Speaker 2>was it called not sporo, And I'll never forget this.

590
00:30:38.119 --> 00:30:39.599
<v Speaker 2>So the guy got all mad and he called the

591
00:30:39.680 --> 00:30:43.000
<v Speaker 2>MP's on us. So and PTE comes in. He goes,

592
00:30:43.079 --> 00:30:46.279
<v Speaker 2>what are you guys doing here? I said, well, we

593
00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:48.079
<v Speaker 2>decided to take a walk and we've seen this pub.

594
00:30:48.119 --> 00:30:49.440
<v Speaker 2>He goes, well, you guys ain't got no money. How

595
00:30:49.480 --> 00:30:50.960
<v Speaker 2>you guys are going to pay this? I go the

596
00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:53.880
<v Speaker 2>military is going to pay for it. So they put

597
00:30:53.920 --> 00:30:56.720
<v Speaker 2>us in the jeep, took us back to the base,

598
00:30:57.039 --> 00:31:00.359
<v Speaker 2>and that mart center was so mad. I mean he's

599
00:31:00.440 --> 00:31:03.839
<v Speaker 2>so mad that he came out yelling and yelling. Of

600
00:31:03.960 --> 00:31:06.559
<v Speaker 2>course I didn't know what he was saying. I don't

601
00:31:06.599 --> 00:31:09.920
<v Speaker 2>know if the army ended up paying for it, but

602
00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:12.720
<v Speaker 2>we drank about four or five beers, and it's you know, hey,

603
00:31:13.599 --> 00:31:16.279
<v Speaker 2>when you're in Japan, you do what did japan people do? Right?

604
00:31:16.799 --> 00:31:20.200
<v Speaker 2>So I had a ball, got in trouble at.

605
00:31:20.480 --> 00:31:22.960
<v Speaker 1>A little bit, just a little bit. You were ban

606
00:31:23.079 --> 00:31:26.839
<v Speaker 1>at it again around September of nineteen sixty eight.

607
00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:29.640
<v Speaker 2>It was in September. Well, that was a good one.

608
00:31:30.079 --> 00:31:33.640
<v Speaker 2>That was probably one of the most interesting ones because

609
00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:36.440
<v Speaker 2>I got banned it. We were in a jungle. We

610
00:31:36.440 --> 00:31:39.680
<v Speaker 2>were in Longland Promise next to the French fort, and

611
00:31:39.720 --> 00:31:44.240
<v Speaker 2>we were working around the fort because we were getting

612
00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:46.880
<v Speaker 2>some info that we were getting the one hundred of

613
00:31:47.000 --> 00:31:51.039
<v Speaker 2>the five hundred five first North Endomease regulars were going

614
00:31:51.119 --> 00:31:53.319
<v Speaker 2>to be coming in there. So we were turning around

615
00:31:53.359 --> 00:31:57.400
<v Speaker 2>scoping the area and getting our bearings and things ready. Well,

616
00:31:57.440 --> 00:31:59.920
<v Speaker 2>all of a sudden we ran into a few vname

617
00:32:00.400 --> 00:32:02.200
<v Speaker 2>but there was a couple of them hiding and we

618
00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:04.799
<v Speaker 2>didn't know it. So when we were passing through the

619
00:32:04.920 --> 00:32:07.480
<v Speaker 2>through the trail, one of them jumped up and stabbed

620
00:32:07.440 --> 00:32:10.200
<v Speaker 2>me around my left hand side. And he stabbed me

621
00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:12.400
<v Speaker 2>and he stuck me all the way so hard. He

622
00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:15.240
<v Speaker 2>didn't reach my lung, but his his band that got

623
00:32:15.279 --> 00:32:19.799
<v Speaker 2>stuck between my ribs. Well, as he pulled pulled back,

624
00:32:19.839 --> 00:32:23.599
<v Speaker 2>it wouldn't come out. I pulled back and again my

625
00:32:23.640 --> 00:32:26.480
<v Speaker 2>partner spooke. I go, hey, spool, get this guy. So

626
00:32:26.880 --> 00:32:29.559
<v Speaker 2>I go. So he grabbed my arm. I go. He goes.

627
00:32:29.680 --> 00:32:31.519
<v Speaker 2>If I pull you and he goes forward, you're gonna

628
00:32:31.559 --> 00:32:34.920
<v Speaker 2>go through you. He goes. And this guy keeps pulling

629
00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:36.680
<v Speaker 2>and if you'll go back, it's gonna go through you.

630
00:32:37.200 --> 00:32:39.200
<v Speaker 2>So I go, man, I don't care what you do.

631
00:32:39.359 --> 00:32:42.240
<v Speaker 2>Get your foot pull him off of me. So when

632
00:32:42.319 --> 00:32:44.279
<v Speaker 2>he ended up putting his foot in his chest and

633
00:32:44.440 --> 00:32:47.519
<v Speaker 2>pulled me, pulled me out, and then we ended up

634
00:32:47.519 --> 00:32:50.759
<v Speaker 2>shooting this guy. Uh. I was so darn mad. I

635
00:32:50.799 --> 00:32:53.319
<v Speaker 2>filled him full of holes. I mean, this gentleman was

636
00:32:54.039 --> 00:32:57.240
<v Speaker 2>he wasn't gonna move for forever. I got so mad

637
00:32:57.279 --> 00:32:59.839
<v Speaker 2>because I ended up. It hurt so damn bad. I

638
00:33:00.039 --> 00:33:02.319
<v Speaker 2>could have died because if I would have went forward,

639
00:33:02.799 --> 00:33:06.079
<v Speaker 2>he the rifle would have went through me. If I

640
00:33:06.079 --> 00:33:08.839
<v Speaker 2>would have went backwards, the rifle would have went through me.

641
00:33:09.279 --> 00:33:11.920
<v Speaker 2>You know, the band one way or the other, I was,

642
00:33:12.039 --> 00:33:15.319
<v Speaker 2>I would have been dead. But again, remember I was

643
00:33:15.319 --> 00:33:17.559
<v Speaker 2>telling you, you know, there's always somebody that protecting you,

644
00:33:17.640 --> 00:33:21.920
<v Speaker 2>putting that that uh that dog on a cloak around you,

645
00:33:22.039 --> 00:33:24.799
<v Speaker 2>so you you know, you get killed. And so it

646
00:33:24.920 --> 00:33:29.799
<v Speaker 2>was funny afterwards because everybody started the story went through

647
00:33:29.839 --> 00:33:33.240
<v Speaker 2>the whole ship, and everybody started laughing about it and saying,

648
00:33:34.319 --> 00:33:37.200
<v Speaker 2>so you kept telling Spook to pull you, and he

649
00:33:37.279 --> 00:33:40.319
<v Speaker 2>kept telling you to, uh, be careful because if it

650
00:33:40.359 --> 00:33:42.920
<v Speaker 2>can go through you, I go. Well, I didn't know

651
00:33:42.960 --> 00:33:44.880
<v Speaker 2>what else to tell me. So everybody, and you know,

652
00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:48.200
<v Speaker 2>it was a it was a good story. When we

653
00:33:48.200 --> 00:33:50.839
<v Speaker 2>were in based, everybody started laughing and it was a

654
00:33:50.920 --> 00:33:53.119
<v Speaker 2>joke thing for a little while, you know.

655
00:33:53.599 --> 00:33:55.440
<v Speaker 1>Did it take long to recover from that one?

656
00:33:55.720 --> 00:33:58.359
<v Speaker 2>Oh? No, I would actually well, And I ended up

657
00:33:58.400 --> 00:34:01.279
<v Speaker 2>getting the medic came in, you know, he patched me up,

658
00:34:01.319 --> 00:34:03.960
<v Speaker 2>He cleaned it out and stuff like that, put some

659
00:34:03.960 --> 00:34:06.359
<v Speaker 2>stuff on it. But when I got back to base,

660
00:34:06.400 --> 00:34:08.760
<v Speaker 2>they ended up swollowing up and it was all read

661
00:34:08.840 --> 00:34:13.599
<v Speaker 2>for a while. It got infected and it was indeed,

662
00:34:13.679 --> 00:34:16.760
<v Speaker 2>it just hit the bone and got caught within the

663
00:34:16.800 --> 00:34:19.679
<v Speaker 2>bone between the two bones, you know. But what happened

664
00:34:19.679 --> 00:34:21.639
<v Speaker 2>against the band that was just dirty and stuff like that.

665
00:34:21.719 --> 00:34:25.719
<v Speaker 2>So it got infected. And about three weeks later I

666
00:34:25.760 --> 00:34:27.480
<v Speaker 2>was fine. I was out there again like a demy.

667
00:34:27.880 --> 00:34:30.159
<v Speaker 1>And a couple of months later you got wounded again.

668
00:34:30.440 --> 00:34:32.880
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Like, but that one, wasn't it? That one? Wasn't

669
00:34:32.920 --> 00:34:35.760
<v Speaker 2>that that? Remember, I was telling you that was like

670
00:34:35.840 --> 00:34:38.719
<v Speaker 2>a bumble bee hitting you. We were we were in

671
00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:40.840
<v Speaker 2>h where was I We were in the rice petty.

672
00:34:40.840 --> 00:34:43.079
<v Speaker 2>I think at that time we turned around. We were

673
00:34:43.079 --> 00:34:45.639
<v Speaker 2>we were out there in the bush and they had

674
00:34:45.679 --> 00:34:49.800
<v Speaker 2>some snipers out there, and I don't know, as I

675
00:34:49.920 --> 00:34:52.400
<v Speaker 2>was walking, I guess I must. I guess they were

676
00:34:52.480 --> 00:34:54.840
<v Speaker 2>aiming for my head or something, and my arm must

677
00:34:54.840 --> 00:34:56.800
<v Speaker 2>have went up or something and they hit me. I

678
00:34:56.840 --> 00:34:59.000
<v Speaker 2>got the little hole right there. You shook and see

679
00:34:59.000 --> 00:35:01.119
<v Speaker 2>you can still see the little ho where it went

680
00:35:01.159 --> 00:35:03.599
<v Speaker 2>through and it came out to this other side. But

681
00:35:03.639 --> 00:35:06.480
<v Speaker 2>that was I mean that one. It was really nothing.

682
00:35:06.559 --> 00:35:08.360
<v Speaker 2>I mean I didn't even get those stitchers or nothing.

683
00:35:08.960 --> 00:35:11.960
<v Speaker 1>It's amazing that you just take it all in stride.

684
00:35:12.559 --> 00:35:13.800
<v Speaker 1>When did your deployment end.

685
00:35:14.760 --> 00:35:18.480
<v Speaker 2>Oh, I got out of there in late sixty eight,

686
00:35:18.639 --> 00:35:23.440
<v Speaker 2>almost in fact December, I think just before Christmas. I

687
00:35:23.519 --> 00:35:25.239
<v Speaker 2>came home just before Christmas.

688
00:35:25.960 --> 00:35:29.840
<v Speaker 1>Many Vietnam soldiers, as you know, were treated horribly when

689
00:35:29.880 --> 00:35:32.880
<v Speaker 1>they came home. Did you experience any of that?

690
00:35:33.559 --> 00:35:37.519
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I tried to stay away from it. We came

691
00:35:37.559 --> 00:35:40.840
<v Speaker 2>back to California. I was at home for thirty days,

692
00:35:40.840 --> 00:35:44.039
<v Speaker 2>and they had a lot of the protests, but in

693
00:35:44.079 --> 00:35:46.880
<v Speaker 2>San Jose it was more you didn't have a lot

694
00:35:46.880 --> 00:35:49.719
<v Speaker 2>of the big major colleges that they were doing this stuff.

695
00:35:50.239 --> 00:35:55.159
<v Speaker 2>So I really didn't get involved with it. When I

696
00:35:55.320 --> 00:35:58.639
<v Speaker 2>you know, I went back to I had thirty day

697
00:35:58.719 --> 00:36:01.639
<v Speaker 2>leave and I went to Fort in Inward, Missouri as

698
00:36:01.679 --> 00:36:07.760
<v Speaker 2>a DII in training and I was training explosives. We

699
00:36:07.840 --> 00:36:10.199
<v Speaker 2>used to have a lot of protesters, and then I

700
00:36:10.239 --> 00:36:15.239
<v Speaker 2>got moved back to Fort Campbell, Kentucky where the Green

701
00:36:15.239 --> 00:36:21.239
<v Speaker 2>Beret units are at, and that's armor MAO were with

702
00:36:21.280 --> 00:36:24.320
<v Speaker 2>one hundred and sixty eight Special Forces I was attached to.

703
00:36:25.519 --> 00:36:27.280
<v Speaker 2>Went back there and I with a di there for

704
00:36:27.280 --> 00:36:29.719
<v Speaker 2>a little while, and then I got out of the military.

705
00:36:30.239 --> 00:36:33.440
<v Speaker 1>That's US Army veteran David Rodriguez, who served as a

706
00:36:33.440 --> 00:36:37.960
<v Speaker 1>combat engineer during the Vietnam War. Up next, mister Rodriguez

707
00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:41.000
<v Speaker 1>tells us about his work with the American GI Forum

708
00:36:41.559 --> 00:36:44.239
<v Speaker 1>and why he says the care of our veterans still

709
00:36:44.280 --> 00:36:48.199
<v Speaker 1>has a long way to go. I'm Greg Corumbus, and

710
00:36:48.280 --> 00:36:54.599
<v Speaker 1>this is Veterans Chronicles. This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus.

711
00:36:55.119 --> 00:36:58.440
<v Speaker 1>Our guest in this edition is David Rodriguez, a US

712
00:36:58.599 --> 00:37:01.679
<v Speaker 1>Army veteran who served three years in the Vietnam War,

713
00:37:02.440 --> 00:37:05.559
<v Speaker 1>endured three different wounds, and received the Bronze Star for

714
00:37:05.639 --> 00:37:08.840
<v Speaker 1>his valor in ending an enemy ambush against him and

715
00:37:08.880 --> 00:37:13.880
<v Speaker 1>his fellow soldiers in December nineteen sixty seven. Mister Rodriguez

716
00:37:13.920 --> 00:37:17.320
<v Speaker 1>is now the National Commander for the American GI Forum,

717
00:37:17.760 --> 00:37:21.519
<v Speaker 1>which serves as a voice for Hispanic veterans. He told

718
00:37:21.519 --> 00:37:24.880
<v Speaker 1>me about the advocacy the American GI Forum does for

719
00:37:24.920 --> 00:37:28.480
<v Speaker 1>our veterans and why medical care for them still needs

720
00:37:28.519 --> 00:37:30.239
<v Speaker 1>to improve a lot.

721
00:37:30.440 --> 00:37:35.599
<v Speaker 2>Our job is to drone and help our veterans. I

722
00:37:35.639 --> 00:37:39.320
<v Speaker 2>think that our veterans are still getting treated pretty bad.

723
00:37:40.119 --> 00:37:40.280
<v Speaker 1>You know.

724
00:37:40.559 --> 00:37:45.760
<v Speaker 2>I'm a of course a disabled bet myself, and the

725
00:37:45.800 --> 00:37:49.000
<v Speaker 2>treatment that we get. See the VA always saying that

726
00:37:49.039 --> 00:37:53.599
<v Speaker 2>we're progressing on how we're treating our veterans in the

727
00:37:53.639 --> 00:37:57.440
<v Speaker 2>hospital and stuff like that. But it's easy for them

728
00:37:57.480 --> 00:38:00.639
<v Speaker 2>to say on TV and senor that this is what

729
00:38:00.760 --> 00:38:03.280
<v Speaker 2>we're doing that, but when you actually go to the

730
00:38:03.280 --> 00:38:06.159
<v Speaker 2>hospital and you see some of the other veterans, and

731
00:38:06.719 --> 00:38:09.039
<v Speaker 2>for you to go see your doctor, it takes one

732
00:38:09.079 --> 00:38:13.800
<v Speaker 2>whole year. If you had a primary doctor at the VA,

733
00:38:14.360 --> 00:38:17.719
<v Speaker 2>you could not go see him. You can go to

734
00:38:17.719 --> 00:38:21.000
<v Speaker 2>the emergency room, but you could not. If you call

735
00:38:21.079 --> 00:38:23.719
<v Speaker 2>to say I need appointment with my primary doctor, they

736
00:38:23.719 --> 00:38:26.920
<v Speaker 2>would say, I tell you to go to the emergency room. Well,

737
00:38:26.960 --> 00:38:29.920
<v Speaker 2>then why do you need a primary doctor for. And

738
00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:33.719
<v Speaker 2>so we were talking just a few days ago with

739
00:38:33.920 --> 00:38:38.159
<v Speaker 2>some of the veterans reps that came to visit us,

740
00:38:38.199 --> 00:38:39.719
<v Speaker 2>and I asked them the same thing, and I go,

741
00:38:40.559 --> 00:38:47.960
<v Speaker 2>we're getting too much bow and not enough answers. You know,

742
00:38:48.039 --> 00:38:53.360
<v Speaker 2>in California, they broke the state up and three partials.

743
00:38:53.400 --> 00:38:57.840
<v Speaker 2>You got Southern, Central, and Northern. I'm in northern California.

744
00:38:57.880 --> 00:39:00.519
<v Speaker 2>I used to be in central California. So when they

745
00:39:00.599 --> 00:39:02.920
<v Speaker 2>transferred me, I mean, I used me as an example.

746
00:39:03.239 --> 00:39:05.480
<v Speaker 2>When they transferred me, they told me they had to

747
00:39:05.519 --> 00:39:09.679
<v Speaker 2>go to the northern part of uh California, uh Medical

748
00:39:09.760 --> 00:39:15.639
<v Speaker 2>Hospital for the VA. So okay, So my primary doctor

749
00:39:15.840 --> 00:39:17.960
<v Speaker 2>is in San Jose where I used to go all

750
00:39:17.960 --> 00:39:20.440
<v Speaker 2>the time. So then I had a transfer to it.

751
00:39:20.760 --> 00:39:22.719
<v Speaker 2>And I'm gonna use this for an example. To the

752
00:39:22.760 --> 00:39:25.480
<v Speaker 2>modesto clinic. Well, I go and went to go see

753
00:39:25.519 --> 00:39:29.119
<v Speaker 2>my doctor there, and you know, they get my medications.

754
00:39:29.480 --> 00:39:33.199
<v Speaker 2>But instead of getting my medications, sees they tell me, well,

755
00:39:33.440 --> 00:39:39.320
<v Speaker 2>call your old doctor and to get your medications. So okay, simple, right,

756
00:39:39.760 --> 00:39:43.239
<v Speaker 2>call my old doctor. Well I called my old doctor.

757
00:39:43.480 --> 00:39:45.559
<v Speaker 2>Oh you're not part of us anymore. You got to

758
00:39:45.599 --> 00:39:49.159
<v Speaker 2>go back to your doctor over here. And so I

759
00:39:49.199 --> 00:39:51.280
<v Speaker 2>called my doctor over here. He goes, oh, we have

760
00:39:51.360 --> 00:39:53.960
<v Speaker 2>to make another appointment, but your appointment ain't scheduling the

761
00:39:53.960 --> 00:39:57.599
<v Speaker 2>next year. So medication. So what I did, cause I'm

762
00:39:57.599 --> 00:40:01.480
<v Speaker 2>on SOL security, I went ahead and got Kaiser. So

763
00:40:01.559 --> 00:40:05.119
<v Speaker 2>now I go to Kaiser. I'd rather pay the money

764
00:40:05.559 --> 00:40:08.559
<v Speaker 2>and get my medication and see my doctor when I

765
00:40:08.679 --> 00:40:12.400
<v Speaker 2>want to see him. And so when we ask the

766
00:40:13.920 --> 00:40:17.440
<v Speaker 2>Department of Veterans Affairs some of these and it's sad

767
00:40:17.519 --> 00:40:22.239
<v Speaker 2>because they can't answer those questions for you. You know,

768
00:40:22.320 --> 00:40:24.639
<v Speaker 2>they come and they speak in front of the audience,

769
00:40:25.280 --> 00:40:29.320
<v Speaker 2>but they can't answer that question. You know, Well, you

770
00:40:29.320 --> 00:40:32.559
<v Speaker 2>know you have to go back and talk to the

771
00:40:32.679 --> 00:40:35.119
<v Speaker 2>primary doctor and if he can't do it, you got

772
00:40:35.159 --> 00:40:38.559
<v Speaker 2>to talk to the assistant manager or the director or

773
00:40:38.239 --> 00:40:41.639
<v Speaker 2>the director and on or not. Well, why should I

774
00:40:41.639 --> 00:40:44.079
<v Speaker 2>have to go to the director, the assistant director that

775
00:40:44.159 --> 00:40:46.920
<v Speaker 2>want to be director, or the in between director. Why

776
00:40:46.960 --> 00:40:49.840
<v Speaker 2>do I have to go see him when I should

777
00:40:49.840 --> 00:40:53.000
<v Speaker 2>be able to get the treatment that I want. It's

778
00:40:53.119 --> 00:40:55.920
<v Speaker 2>including other veterans that I that I see and I

779
00:40:55.960 --> 00:41:01.400
<v Speaker 2>talk to. I don't think the veterans are getting treated

780
00:41:01.480 --> 00:41:04.880
<v Speaker 2>very good and positions like mine are able to turn

781
00:41:05.039 --> 00:41:09.199
<v Speaker 2>and talk to the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

782
00:41:09.840 --> 00:41:12.960
<v Speaker 2>Last year I had a chance to go visit with

783
00:41:13.119 --> 00:41:16.079
<v Speaker 2>the Undersecretary and we brought some of these things up.

784
00:41:17.119 --> 00:41:19.519
<v Speaker 2>And it's easy for them to say because remember, they

785
00:41:19.559 --> 00:41:23.880
<v Speaker 2>get paid high dollars and they got beautiful benefits, they

786
00:41:23.920 --> 00:41:27.559
<v Speaker 2>got good medical they've got the whole thing. But what

787
00:41:27.599 --> 00:41:30.280
<v Speaker 2>we got is not what they got. So when you

788
00:41:30.320 --> 00:41:33.000
<v Speaker 2>ask them, oh, we're going to check into it. So

789
00:41:33.039 --> 00:41:35.679
<v Speaker 2>it's easy for them to have a legal pad and

790
00:41:35.679 --> 00:41:39.480
<v Speaker 2>write all these things down. But then I'm not there

791
00:41:39.679 --> 00:41:41.320
<v Speaker 2>to see it happen or if it goes into the

792
00:41:42.800 --> 00:41:46.039
<v Speaker 2>trash can, I don't know. So I never seen anything

793
00:41:46.079 --> 00:41:49.760
<v Speaker 2>really happen. So what we do again, we try harder

794
00:41:49.760 --> 00:41:55.199
<v Speaker 2>to try to get more of our programs seen by

795
00:41:55.239 --> 00:41:58.119
<v Speaker 2>the Department of Veterans Affairs. If not, we try to

796
00:41:58.159 --> 00:42:00.480
<v Speaker 2>make sure that our congressmen and our centers know that

797
00:42:00.559 --> 00:42:05.280
<v Speaker 2>we're not getting treated good. But you know what politics is.

798
00:42:05.920 --> 00:42:09.079
<v Speaker 2>Politics is all about numbers. And if you don't have

799
00:42:09.199 --> 00:42:14.159
<v Speaker 2>enough numbers to shake your hand and they want to

800
00:42:14.199 --> 00:42:17.039
<v Speaker 2>kiss your baby and make sure you vote for me.

801
00:42:17.599 --> 00:42:20.360
<v Speaker 2>People like me as a commander, and people in the

802
00:42:20.400 --> 00:42:23.320
<v Speaker 2>American Legion in VFW and some of the other organizations,

803
00:42:23.360 --> 00:42:25.920
<v Speaker 2>and I belonged to all of them. The sad part

804
00:42:25.920 --> 00:42:28.480
<v Speaker 2>about it is that we're getting pushed to the back,

805
00:42:29.239 --> 00:42:31.679
<v Speaker 2>and our poor veterans are not getting the treatment that

806
00:42:31.679 --> 00:42:34.519
<v Speaker 2>they need. So we got to continue fight and work.

807
00:42:34.599 --> 00:42:37.400
<v Speaker 2>That's what the American JF form is doing. We're fighting

808
00:42:38.159 --> 00:42:41.960
<v Speaker 2>homeless veterans is a big deal in Stockton, California. I

809
00:42:42.000 --> 00:42:47.039
<v Speaker 2>live in Oakdale in Stockton, California. We finally got opened

810
00:42:47.119 --> 00:42:50.760
<v Speaker 2>up a small apartment complex that was going to be

811
00:42:52.079 --> 00:42:55.440
<v Speaker 2>demolition and we were able to get them to not

812
00:42:56.320 --> 00:43:00.400
<v Speaker 2>demolish it and they refabbed it and so now we

813
00:43:00.480 --> 00:43:03.320
<v Speaker 2>got some homeless veterans in it. But the thing is

814
00:43:03.360 --> 00:43:06.639
<v Speaker 2>that what is the Apartment of Veterans Affairs doing for

815
00:43:06.719 --> 00:43:09.840
<v Speaker 2>homeless vet Oh? Yeah, I can show you a whole

816
00:43:09.840 --> 00:43:13.760
<v Speaker 2>bunch of PSAs about what they're doing, But man, I'm

817
00:43:13.800 --> 00:43:16.159
<v Speaker 2>in the field all day long, and I sure don't

818
00:43:16.159 --> 00:43:19.199
<v Speaker 2>see it. You know, they're saying that they're they're giving

819
00:43:19.360 --> 00:43:21.960
<v Speaker 2>money to these people, but I'm trying to figure out

820
00:43:22.400 --> 00:43:26.199
<v Speaker 2>what people they're giving the money to. Congloments, people that

821
00:43:26.280 --> 00:43:28.599
<v Speaker 2>live on this kind of thing that yeah, they have

822
00:43:28.840 --> 00:43:32.800
<v Speaker 2>maybe some apartment complexes, they get paid big bucks, but

823
00:43:32.920 --> 00:43:34.679
<v Speaker 2>do they really treat the veterans like the way it's

824
00:43:34.679 --> 00:43:38.480
<v Speaker 2>supposed to be? These are the things that the American

825
00:43:38.559 --> 00:43:42.480
<v Speaker 2>GF Forum is fighting for, making sure that homeless veterans

826
00:43:42.639 --> 00:43:44.920
<v Speaker 2>don't be just you know, thrown out in the street.

827
00:43:45.880 --> 00:43:48.840
<v Speaker 2>A lot of them right now are working from the

828
00:43:48.840 --> 00:43:50.960
<v Speaker 2>counties and stuff like you know, Section eights and stuff

829
00:43:51.039 --> 00:43:54.239
<v Speaker 2>like that, and they're they're they're going out there and

830
00:43:54.639 --> 00:43:56.920
<v Speaker 2>getting Section hs because they don't got any money and

831
00:43:56.960 --> 00:44:00.239
<v Speaker 2>they're allowed to by by the federal government to be

832
00:44:00.239 --> 00:44:02.440
<v Speaker 2>able to get a home to sleep in. If they

833
00:44:02.480 --> 00:44:05.360
<v Speaker 2>don't have any money, they go to the county and

834
00:44:05.559 --> 00:44:08.880
<v Speaker 2>apply for a Section eight and if they get if

835
00:44:08.480 --> 00:44:11.239
<v Speaker 2>there's a home to get it, nine times out of ten,

836
00:44:11.280 --> 00:44:13.880
<v Speaker 2>the people that own the homes or or the apartment

837
00:44:13.920 --> 00:44:15.679
<v Speaker 2>complex that they're going to rent, they don't want to

838
00:44:15.719 --> 00:44:19.320
<v Speaker 2>runt into veterans. And I can't understand that. Yeah, they'll

839
00:44:19.360 --> 00:44:22.280
<v Speaker 2>runt into a fact. I understand the family needs it too,

840
00:44:22.480 --> 00:44:24.719
<v Speaker 2>but so it is a veteran. He's the one that

841
00:44:24.760 --> 00:44:27.880
<v Speaker 2>went out there and fought for you. So those are

842
00:44:27.880 --> 00:44:29.840
<v Speaker 2>the things that we're fighting for right now. And it's

843
00:44:29.920 --> 00:44:34.960
<v Speaker 2>and it's and it's hard because the amount of of

844
00:44:35.199 --> 00:44:38.719
<v Speaker 2>of help that we're getting is not the help that

845
00:44:38.760 --> 00:44:43.320
<v Speaker 2>we need. And no matter how much anybody says you can.

846
00:44:43.440 --> 00:44:46.599
<v Speaker 2>You can look at all those PSAs and smile and say, Wow,

847
00:44:46.719 --> 00:44:50.199
<v Speaker 2>they're doing a fantastic job. But it's not true, and

848
00:44:50.239 --> 00:44:51.400
<v Speaker 2>I see it every single day.

849
00:44:51.800 --> 00:44:54.920
<v Speaker 1>Well, thank you for the work that you're doing. Veterans

850
00:44:55.039 --> 00:44:57.400
<v Speaker 1>not getting the care they need when they need it

851
00:44:57.400 --> 00:45:01.880
<v Speaker 1>from the vas is something thing everybody should be demanding,

852
00:45:02.039 --> 00:45:06.320
<v Speaker 1>and that that that improved drastically. What are you most

853
00:45:06.360 --> 00:45:07.760
<v Speaker 1>proud of from your service?

854
00:45:08.559 --> 00:45:11.360
<v Speaker 2>I think what I'm most proud of is said my sons,

855
00:45:12.079 --> 00:45:14.400
<v Speaker 2>because they always ask me questions about the military, and

856
00:45:14.440 --> 00:45:17.320
<v Speaker 2>I tell them all the things that we'd done. And

857
00:45:17.480 --> 00:45:19.880
<v Speaker 2>I always tell them that, you know, even though we

858
00:45:19.880 --> 00:45:22.440
<v Speaker 2>were in the war, some of the children when I

859
00:45:22.480 --> 00:45:24.719
<v Speaker 2>was in Vietnam, we used to help. We used to

860
00:45:24.719 --> 00:45:28.800
<v Speaker 2>give them some of our money and and we used

861
00:45:28.800 --> 00:45:31.719
<v Speaker 2>to buy clothes and and the p X and when

862
00:45:31.760 --> 00:45:33.599
<v Speaker 2>we went out we would give them clothes and stuff

863
00:45:33.639 --> 00:45:36.960
<v Speaker 2>like that. We did a lot of stuff in some

864
00:45:37.039 --> 00:45:40.000
<v Speaker 2>of the small villages. There was a lot of us

865
00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:43.400
<v Speaker 2>that would go out there and help, you know, build

866
00:45:43.440 --> 00:45:46.760
<v Speaker 2>some of the churches. A lot of the churches, especially

867
00:45:46.800 --> 00:45:49.480
<v Speaker 2>because there was a lot of Catholic churches there, they

868
00:45:49.519 --> 00:45:51.719
<v Speaker 2>would be you know, bombed and stuff like that, and

869
00:45:51.719 --> 00:45:53.800
<v Speaker 2>we would fix them. And there would be a lot

870
00:45:53.840 --> 00:45:57.360
<v Speaker 2>of orphan homes there, a lot, I mean a lot,

871
00:45:57.400 --> 00:45:59.480
<v Speaker 2>a lot, a lot, and so we would go in

872
00:46:01.199 --> 00:46:03.280
<v Speaker 2>some of the time times we would get our sea

873
00:46:03.400 --> 00:46:05.239
<v Speaker 2>rations and stuff like that, and we would take them

874
00:46:06.360 --> 00:46:08.960
<v Speaker 2>to the orphans' houses and we were given to them.

875
00:46:09.119 --> 00:46:10.559
<v Speaker 2>So I used to tell my kids that, go, yeah,

876
00:46:10.559 --> 00:46:12.880
<v Speaker 2>we used to take care of those kids because they

877
00:46:12.880 --> 00:46:16.679
<v Speaker 2>didn't have anything. Their fathers were dead or something. Some

878
00:46:16.760 --> 00:46:19.320
<v Speaker 2>of the kids were amputee, they didn't have a leg

879
00:46:19.440 --> 00:46:22.960
<v Speaker 2>or something because of a mine or something. And so

880
00:46:23.719 --> 00:46:26.320
<v Speaker 2>I've always told my kids that I felt obligated to

881
00:46:26.400 --> 00:46:30.320
<v Speaker 2>try to help them, and so they always say, you know, Dad,

882
00:46:30.320 --> 00:46:32.559
<v Speaker 2>you did pretty good when you were there. I go, well,

883
00:46:32.920 --> 00:46:35.960
<v Speaker 2>I sometimes I think I did. I think I'm hoping

884
00:46:36.039 --> 00:46:39.239
<v Speaker 2>that I changed some people. I can never say that

885
00:46:39.280 --> 00:46:42.000
<v Speaker 2>I changed everybody, but I'm just hoping that I changed

886
00:46:42.360 --> 00:46:45.719
<v Speaker 2>a few, you know, young people that you know, didn't

887
00:46:45.760 --> 00:46:48.960
<v Speaker 2>look at us like monsters, because I'm sure everybody thought

888
00:46:49.000 --> 00:46:52.639
<v Speaker 2>that we were bad people, you know. So my kids,

889
00:46:52.719 --> 00:46:56.440
<v Speaker 2>I think see that my time in the military was good.

890
00:46:58.239 --> 00:47:03.159
<v Speaker 2>You know, there's some rough times, but I am proud

891
00:47:03.199 --> 00:47:06.280
<v Speaker 2>of what I've done. I think I served my country

892
00:47:06.880 --> 00:47:11.000
<v Speaker 2>and I think I'm still serving my country as a

893
00:47:11.119 --> 00:47:14.960
<v Speaker 2>national commander for an organization that you know, it's trying

894
00:47:14.960 --> 00:47:18.639
<v Speaker 2>to help other veterans, and it's something that you know

895
00:47:18.760 --> 00:47:21.360
<v Speaker 2>in your heart, you feel that, hey, I'm doing something

896
00:47:21.360 --> 00:47:23.760
<v Speaker 2>good and I really believe, and I'm one of the

897
00:47:23.800 --> 00:47:26.280
<v Speaker 2>persons that I believe if I can help, I can

898
00:47:26.440 --> 00:47:30.760
<v Speaker 2>make a change. It's very very important because without those changes,

899
00:47:31.760 --> 00:47:35.079
<v Speaker 2>nothing can ever be accomplished. And so we got to

900
00:47:35.119 --> 00:47:39.480
<v Speaker 2>turn on and make changes. And you know, like me

901
00:47:39.559 --> 00:47:43.320
<v Speaker 2>and Ernesto and Leona went to see the under Secretary

902
00:47:43.800 --> 00:47:46.480
<v Speaker 2>last year. You know, the first thing we were asking

903
00:47:47.480 --> 00:47:51.239
<v Speaker 2>what changes can you do? Where can you help us

904
00:47:51.599 --> 00:47:55.440
<v Speaker 2>to help you? And so that makes me feel good,

905
00:47:55.599 --> 00:47:57.559
<v Speaker 2>That makes me feel proud that I'm trying to do

906
00:47:57.639 --> 00:48:04.239
<v Speaker 2>something because I'm old. I'm old, and I'm getting older

907
00:48:04.559 --> 00:48:07.440
<v Speaker 2>before you know, I'm gonna die, and so the next

908
00:48:07.480 --> 00:48:09.480
<v Speaker 2>generation is going to have to turn and pick it up.

909
00:48:10.679 --> 00:48:15.159
<v Speaker 2>I know that Iraq and Afghanistan were a real bad

910
00:48:15.199 --> 00:48:18.719
<v Speaker 2>situation because you see it, I mean you actually see it,

911
00:48:18.880 --> 00:48:22.880
<v Speaker 2>because you see all these people with no legs, no arms.

912
00:48:22.920 --> 00:48:25.840
<v Speaker 2>I mean, just look at wounded warriors and all the

913
00:48:25.880 --> 00:48:29.119
<v Speaker 2>help that they're doing. Look at the tut T two

914
00:48:29.159 --> 00:48:32.320
<v Speaker 2>t all the things that they're doing building homes. You know,

915
00:48:32.719 --> 00:48:35.519
<v Speaker 2>I donate money to all of those because I feel

916
00:48:35.760 --> 00:48:38.159
<v Speaker 2>that it's important because if we can help one veteran,

917
00:48:38.880 --> 00:48:42.800
<v Speaker 2>it's one veteran that doesn't need help, and that makes

918
00:48:42.840 --> 00:48:46.039
<v Speaker 2>me feel proud. So me being in the military, I

919
00:48:46.039 --> 00:48:48.840
<v Speaker 2>think it gave me a foresight to say I can

920
00:48:48.880 --> 00:48:49.280
<v Speaker 2>do good.

921
00:48:49.960 --> 00:48:51.800
<v Speaker 1>And lastly, sir, what does it mean to you to

922
00:48:51.880 --> 00:48:55.119
<v Speaker 1>have us capture your stories so that the present generation

923
00:48:55.280 --> 00:48:57.320
<v Speaker 1>and future generations can learn from it?

924
00:48:57.599 --> 00:49:02.039
<v Speaker 2>Well, I think it very much. I wasn't really expecting

925
00:49:02.079 --> 00:49:07.239
<v Speaker 2>it something different. I'm nervous. I never had nothing like

926
00:49:07.280 --> 00:49:11.440
<v Speaker 2>this done before. So I hope whoever gets a chance

927
00:49:11.440 --> 00:49:16.239
<v Speaker 2>to see this get something out of it, because being

928
00:49:16.480 --> 00:49:21.039
<v Speaker 2>in war, you know, it's not like a like TV.

929
00:49:21.760 --> 00:49:25.800
<v Speaker 2>TV can make it good and ugly, but reality is

930
00:49:25.840 --> 00:49:30.679
<v Speaker 2>totally different. So if somebody can turn around and say, Okay, hey,

931
00:49:30.719 --> 00:49:33.320
<v Speaker 2>you know I'm listening to this gentleman's story, you know

932
00:49:33.840 --> 00:49:36.639
<v Speaker 2>it's you know, he was laughing about, you know, in

933
00:49:36.719 --> 00:49:39.360
<v Speaker 2>Japan and what he did in Japan. Because there is

934
00:49:39.400 --> 00:49:42.159
<v Speaker 2>good and there is bad. You know, there's fun in

935
00:49:42.199 --> 00:49:45.840
<v Speaker 2>the military and there's not the whole idea. If they

936
00:49:45.880 --> 00:49:48.719
<v Speaker 2>can understand what it's all about and where it's going

937
00:49:48.800 --> 00:49:51.719
<v Speaker 2>to take them, then it's important. If they want to

938
00:49:51.800 --> 00:49:56.920
<v Speaker 2>join the military, just understand what they're joining. And I

939
00:49:57.039 --> 00:50:00.480
<v Speaker 2>do believe because too my boys to h they Junior

940
00:50:00.519 --> 00:50:03.239
<v Speaker 2>and Michael joined the army and then they did their

941
00:50:03.280 --> 00:50:05.960
<v Speaker 2>time and it got out. They never got a chance

942
00:50:06.000 --> 00:50:10.199
<v Speaker 2>to go to war. So I was happy. But the

943
00:50:10.280 --> 00:50:15.119
<v Speaker 2>thing is, if these young people see my story, let's say,

944
00:50:15.920 --> 00:50:18.119
<v Speaker 2>and they turn on and say, wow, this guy went

945
00:50:18.159 --> 00:50:20.519
<v Speaker 2>to all this, I don't want to go there. But

946
00:50:20.559 --> 00:50:24.400
<v Speaker 2>it's not always bad because there's parts in the military

947
00:50:24.480 --> 00:50:27.480
<v Speaker 2>that are good. You don't have to be an infantry person,

948
00:50:27.760 --> 00:50:29.360
<v Speaker 2>you don't have to be an engineer, you don't have

949
00:50:29.400 --> 00:50:30.719
<v Speaker 2>to be a green Beret. You don't have to be

950
00:50:30.800 --> 00:50:34.320
<v Speaker 2>any of those things. Because the military is changing so

951
00:50:34.480 --> 00:50:38.039
<v Speaker 2>much that you can actually get a lot of benefits

952
00:50:38.039 --> 00:50:41.239
<v Speaker 2>from it. Because the military is not a bad situation.

953
00:50:41.360 --> 00:50:44.119
<v Speaker 2>The only thing that you have to understand that there

954
00:50:44.199 --> 00:50:47.239
<v Speaker 2>is bad too, because if you go to war, you

955
00:50:47.320 --> 00:50:51.840
<v Speaker 2>have to understand that war is not good. And I'm

956
00:50:51.880 --> 00:50:54.559
<v Speaker 2>just hoping that anybody anybody, especially the young, because the

957
00:50:54.679 --> 00:50:59.559
<v Speaker 2>young for some reason, they don't understand the military, and

958
00:51:00.280 --> 00:51:02.159
<v Speaker 2>with all the things that are going on and maybe

959
00:51:02.159 --> 00:51:05.840
<v Speaker 2>World War IIE coming around the corner. You know, none

960
00:51:05.880 --> 00:51:09.039
<v Speaker 2>of the none of the young people are prepared, not

961
00:51:09.199 --> 00:51:14.199
<v Speaker 2>mentally or even physically, because if something happens, what are

962
00:51:14.239 --> 00:51:17.679
<v Speaker 2>they going to do. Physically, they're not fit for being

963
00:51:17.719 --> 00:51:20.599
<v Speaker 2>in the military. Mentally, some of them are not mental

964
00:51:20.679 --> 00:51:24.320
<v Speaker 2>to be in the military. So I really believe that

965
00:51:24.400 --> 00:51:28.559
<v Speaker 2>if the young person sees this, start working your way

966
00:51:28.639 --> 00:51:31.679
<v Speaker 2>in case something happens, because the future is going to

967
00:51:31.719 --> 00:51:35.199
<v Speaker 2>be theirs, not mine no more, because I'm done, and

968
00:51:35.239 --> 00:51:36.800
<v Speaker 2>they got to be makeing. They got to make sure

969
00:51:36.840 --> 00:51:39.559
<v Speaker 2>that they can take care of that future because without that,

970
00:51:39.639 --> 00:51:42.440
<v Speaker 2>what's going to happen to you or me? You know,

971
00:51:42.719 --> 00:51:45.880
<v Speaker 2>because you're at a certain age, the young people are

972
00:51:45.880 --> 00:51:48.079
<v Speaker 2>going to have to pick up the baton. So are

973
00:51:48.119 --> 00:51:51.280
<v Speaker 2>young people, and that's who I feel that should watch

974
00:51:51.320 --> 00:51:53.760
<v Speaker 2>a lot of this stuff so they can understand that, hey,

975
00:51:54.199 --> 00:51:57.360
<v Speaker 2>I gotta I got to be prepared, and being prepared

976
00:51:57.480 --> 00:51:58.719
<v Speaker 2>is going to take you around the world.

977
00:51:58.920 --> 00:52:01.119
<v Speaker 1>David, thank you so much much for your time with

978
00:52:01.199 --> 00:52:04.440
<v Speaker 1>us today. I greatly enjoyed our conversation and most of all,

979
00:52:04.440 --> 00:52:06.480
<v Speaker 1>thank you for your service to our country.

980
00:52:06.639 --> 00:52:08.519
<v Speaker 2>Well, thank you very much, thank you for having me

981
00:52:08.519 --> 00:52:10.119
<v Speaker 2>in it, and I hope I did a good job.

982
00:52:10.159 --> 00:52:13.760
<v Speaker 1>He did a fantastic job. David Rodriguez is a US

983
00:52:13.920 --> 00:52:16.679
<v Speaker 1>Army veteran of the Vietnam War. He received a Bronze

984
00:52:16.679 --> 00:52:19.079
<v Speaker 1>Star with a V for Valor for his actions to

985
00:52:19.360 --> 00:52:21.960
<v Speaker 1>put to an end an enemy ambush in December of

986
00:52:22.039 --> 00:52:26.239
<v Speaker 1>nineteen sixty seven. He's also a Purple Heart. Recipients, I'm

987
00:52:26.280 --> 00:52:40.480
<v Speaker 1>Greg Corumbus. This is Veterans Chronicles. Hi, this is Greg Corumbus,

988
00:52:40.519 --> 00:52:44.039
<v Speaker 1>and thanks for listening to Veterans Chronicles, a presentation of

989
00:52:44.079 --> 00:52:48.440
<v Speaker 1>the American Veterans Center. For more information, please visit American

990
00:52:48.639 --> 00:52:52.880
<v Speaker 1>Veteranscenter dot org. You can also follow the American Veterans

991
00:52:52.880 --> 00:52:57.280
<v Speaker 1>Center on Facebook and on Twitter. We're at AVC update.

992
00:52:57.960 --> 00:53:01.280
<v Speaker 1>Subscribe to the American Veterans Center Tube channel for full

993
00:53:01.400 --> 00:53:05.639
<v Speaker 1>oral histories and special features, and of course, please subscribe

994
00:53:05.639 --> 00:53:09.360
<v Speaker 1>to the Veterans Chronicles podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

995
00:53:09.920 --> 00:53:12.639
<v Speaker 1>Thanks again for listening, and please join us next time

996
00:53:12.880 --> 00:53:14.159
<v Speaker 1>for Veterans Chronicles