APG says 'Welcome Home, Vietnam Veterans' through ongoing series

By Yvonne Johnson, APG News

ABERDENN PROVING GROUND, Md.-- Since September 2014, Aberdeen Proving Ground has saluted local Vietnam and Vietnam-era veterans through the ongoing “Memories of ‘Nam” series featured in the APG News. More than 20 veterans have been featured, and many more will be profiled in the series set to continue through the APG Centennial celebration in 2017.

In 2015 Maryland Governor Larry Hogan signed the “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” bill into law, officially marking March 30 as a state observance to honor Vietnam veterans. Aberdeen Proving Ground respectfully and thankfully says Welcome Home, Vietnam Veterans through this recap of all the veterans featured in the “Memories of ‘Nam” series and invites the local community to re-live each of their stories.

CAROLYNN BAKER
Vietnam-era veteran Carolynn Baker kicked off the “Memories of ‘Nam” series shortly after she was elected the Commander of the American Legion Department of Maryland – the first female to hold this office in its 96-year history. A past president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter #588, and former president of American Legion Post #39 in Bel Air, Baker enlisted in the Army as a member of the Women’s Army Corps when Vietnam was in “full swing.”

JOHN GOSTOMSKI
A retired APG civilian, John Gostomski served two tours in ‘Nam as a U.S. Air Force aircraft mechanic. He was assigned to the 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (TRW) within the 377th Air Base Wing at Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon from 1969 to 1970 and 1971-1972. “Serving in the military taught me the meaning of patriotism and I’m proud of my service,” Gostomski said.

CHARLES SLIMOWICZ
Ret. Lt. Col. Charles “Chas” Slimowicz served two tours in ‘Nam as a UH-1 (Huey) helicopter pilot. The first with Alpha Company and Bravo Company, 25th Aviation Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, from 1966 to 1967. “We had a special camaraderie and we developed deep friendships,” Slimowicz said of his tours. “It was a way of life and I embraced it.”

WALLY MUELLER
Retired Maryland National Guard Col. Walter “Wally” Mueller is a former “Dustoff” pilot who flew UH-1 (Huey) helicopters for the 498th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) based at Lane Army Heliport in An Son, Vietnam from 1966 to 1967. Mueller was the deputy director of the Maryland Emergency Management Agency until he retired in 2006 after 42 years of service. “We survived,” he said of ‘Nam, “and we know we’ve got to go on for our country.”

DAVE YENSAN
A native of Upstate New York who made Maryland his home, retired Maj. Dave Yensan served two tours in ‘Nam; the first as UH-1 (Huey) pilot and operations officer with the 1st Air Cavalry Division and 11th Group from 1967 to 1968 during the famed Tet Offensive; the second, 1970 to 1971, in the Saigon region with 1st Signal Brigade. He described the year of the 1968 Tet Offensive as “hours of boredom interspersed with moment of sheer terror.”

ROBERT L. RICHARDSON SR.
Retired Sgt. Maj. Robert L. Richardson Sr. set foot in Vietnam at the age of 19 in March 1969. The Georgia native is a survivor of the famous Battle of Hamburger Hill. After retirement, he came to APG in 2013 and serves as the operations specialist for the APG Directorate of Emergency Services. “I’m really blessed because of my faith,” Richardson said. “That foundation can help you survive under any conditions.”

JOSEPH DAVIS
Joseph Davis enlisted in the Army at age 17 in 1964. He arrived in ‘Nam toward the end of his second enlistment in late 1968 during the series of coordinated attacks that followed the Tet Offensive. He served as a supply sergeant at Bien Hoa Air Base in South Vietnam where around-the-clock operations focused on “supporting the guys in front.” After leaving the Army he became a Maryland State Trooper. Two days after retiring from the state in 1996, he started work at APG. Davis retired from the APG Directorate of Emergency Services traffic division in 2015 with a combined 51 years of service.

MARCELINO BURGOS
Circumstances in ‘Nam made retired Sgt. 1st Class Marcelino Burgos the most famous medic in the Army. During his first tour of duty in ‘Nam, he served as a combat medic with the 283rd Medical Detachment (Air Ambulance) from 1965 to 1966 when he was included in the ABC Network documentary, “To Save a Soldier,” which aired nationally in October 1966. Burgos retired from the Army in 1980 and settled in Harford County. He worked at the APG U.S. Post Office until he retired in 2007. He said ‘Nam was “an exercise in focus.”

RON TAYLOR
Retired Warrant Officer Ron Taylor credits Marine Corps training and two tours in ‘Nam for giving him all the tools he needed in life. The former Marine joined the Army in 1960 and served two tours in ‘Nam; the first from 1965 to 1966 as an equipment inspector assigned to Cam Ranh Bay. He retired in 1974 and eventually settled in Aberdeen. Taylor said most of his time in ‘Nam focused on the Soldiers he was responsible for. He said he learned leadership the hard way. “Vietnam taught me that anybody can be in a leadership position but not everybody can lead,” he said.

JESSIE J. SHANKS SR.
Retired Warrant Officer Jessie J. Shanks Sr. was drafted during the Korean War in 1952. He trained in the Ordnance Corps, made warrant officer and ultimately served three tours at APG. Shanks served two tours in ‘Nam from 1968 to 1969 and from 1971 to 1972, the first as maintenance officer with the 610th Engineer Company and the second was with the 62nd Engineer Battalion. After retirement, Shanks joined the U.S. Postal Service which he retired from in 2003. Nearly 84 years old, Shanks, a fixture on APG and a 35-year member of the post chapel, said he remembers ‘Nam as “the war we should have won.”

FREDERICK RYAN
At age 19, Marylander Frederick Ryan was a demolitions expert assigned to the elite 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam. He said they stayed busy, especially at night, but when things got quiet, sometimes the fear would come. “But you dealt with it or you put it away,” Ryan said. “You didn’t have time for it.” Wounded three times, Ryan said, “they sewed you up and sent you back.” He did back-to-back tours. He still deals with yesterday’s nightmares and is being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder. “I saw a lot of killing. I lost a lot of friends. There was no way to prepare for that,” he said.

JOHN MICHAEL BURKE
Before he retired as a Navy corpsman in 1987 after 26 years of service, John Michael Burke served as a Marine machine gunner in Cuba and an Army military police officer in ‘Nam. Burke joined the Marines after high school in 1961, got out in 1963 and then joined the Army the same year. He served with the 518th Military Police Battalion in Dan Nang from 1967 to 1968 and eventually served with the 523rd Military Police Company at APG. He said he loved the military. “You had the honor of serving your country,” he said. “Everybody doesn’t get that chance, and the sad part is some of us who do, still don’t get what that means.”

JAMES O’NEILL
Aberdeen native James O’Neill joined the Air Force in 1966. He arrived at Nha Trung Air Base in January 1968 and was assigned to 14th Combat Support Group. O’Neill served as an Air Force Police officer through the Tet Offensive and completed his 11-month tour in December 1968. In 1981 he was hired to work at APG for the Ballistics Research Laboratory and then later worked for the Directorate of Public Works until his retirement in 2012 with 46 years of combined service. “People thank me for my service and I tell them I wish I could do more,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything they can’t handle he said of today’s armed forces. They know the meaning of service.”

JOHN FARMER
Havre de Grace native John Farmer entered the Air Force in 1969. He trained as an aircraft radio technician and served in Thailand at the Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, a front-line facility of the USAF, from 1971 to 1972, assembling sensors used in the secret Operation Igloo, which was declassified in 2006. After years of fighting for recognition of his service and battling for treatment for Agent Orange exposure and post traumatic stress disorder, Farmer said he remains proud of his service. “… I love my family and I love my country and that will never change,” he said.

KEITH BURD
U.S. Marine Corps veteran Keith Burd hails from Wisconsin. He left college and joined the Marines in 1966, trained as an electrician was assigned to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing at the Monkey Mountain Facility near Da Nang where they provided 24/7 power for missile and radar systems. He lost friends in the Tet Offensive and found religion after several close calls. Today he pastors the Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Kingsville, Maryland. “I think the Lord prepared me for this service because I haven’t lost my temper since I got saved,” he said.

GEORGE MERCER
A native of Wilmington, Delaware, George Mercer joined the Army in 1965 as a public information specialist. He served with the 44th Public Information Detachment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division and as the 2nd Brigade public information officer from 1967 to 1968. He came to APG as a civilian in 1981 and eventually retired as the chief of the Garrison Public Affairs Office in 2012. He said when people thank him for his service he’s not sure what it means. “When I grew up, joining the Army was just what people did. It was no big deal. I just hoped for the best.”

TOM OLIVER
Retired Staff Sgt. Tom Oliver served in Korea and Vietnam. Trained as an air traffic controller, Oliver had 21 years of service when he went to ‘Nam in 1969. A trained pilot, he sometimes flew mission himself and earned a Bronze Star doing so. He retired two months after leaving ‘Nam in 1970. He eventually came to APG where he gained work and retired as a Phillips Army Airfield air traffic controller. He and his wife, Julie, a Vietnam-era WAC, live in Cecil County and are active in local veteran organization. “It makes us feel like we’re still serving,” Oliver said.

VIRGIE JOHNSON
Retired Sgt. 1st Class Virgie Johnson joined the Army in 1967 and was ordered to ‘Nam in 1968. A Tet Offensive survivor, Johnson said the prolonged assault made for restless, weary nights in the beautiful but dangerous country. He said the 18 months in ‘Nam changed him for life and he struggled with alcohol and drugs the remainder of his career and beyond. After numerous requests to the Veterans Administration, he was finally diagnosed as a substance abuser with post-traumatic stress disorder and complications from Agent Orange exposure. Johnson said he has since gained strength and control and he credits his faith and veteran’s mental health programs like those offered at the Aberdeen Vet Center Outstation.

AL LOUTHIAN
Cecil County resident Al Louthian joined the Marine Corps in 1966. In 1967, he was assigned as a truck driver in the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, driving supplies from Khe Sanh to An Hoa and back. He survived the Tet Offensive but lost a lot of friends. Louthian left the Marines and joined the Army in 1970. Louthian overcame battles with alcohol and tobacco and eventually retired as a sergeant first class in 1987. He said he has regrets about his service. “If I had to do it all over again, I’d probably do it,” he said.

MICHAEL BENNETT
Former Aberdeen Mayor Michael Bennett was drafted in 1968. By the end of the year he was serving in the Army with the 125th Air Traffic Control Company at Cam Ranh Air Base. After he left the service Bennett joined the Maryland State Police, retiring in 2001 after 31 years of service and then served as a civilian with the state, retiring after 40 years of service. He entered local politics and served two terms as mayor. “It [Vietnam] taught you how to take care of yourself and others,” he said. “I’m proud to have served.”

CURT “CW” WEAVER
Baltimore native Curt “CW” Weaver enlisted in the Army in 1967 and arrived in ‘Nam when the Tet Offensive was in full swing in 1968. The cryptographic repair specialist served in a large Communications Center at Nha Trang Air Base before rotating out in 1969. He left the Army in 1970 and said he was “on a downward spiral” for years until “found the Lord and got saved” in 1981. “Vietnam was one of the best things that happened to me,” he said. “If everyone lived outside of this country for six months they wouldn’t be bad mouthing this country. What we have – as a people – is priceless.”

GILBERT E. MILLER JR.
Harford County resident Gilbert E. Miller grew up in Baltimore and joined the Navy at 17. He served in Guam in 1964 as an aviation electronics technician, providing early warning and radar surveillance on aircraft guarding Navy assets in the Gulf of Tonkin. He left the military in 1967, a full-blown anti-war protestor and wandered from school to different careers for years before knuckling down to finish his education at age 52. Miller now works for the homeless veteran program at Perry Point VA Medical Center in Perryville. “My life had a lot of ups and downs but a lot of really tremendous experiences,” he said. “I don’t think I would appreciate that without that wartime experience.”

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Like any other war, Vietnam produced an array of veterans. When the conflict ended, some veterans opted to continue service in the military while others returned to civilian life. Some returned with life altering wounds - physical and psychological - while too many others, who never came home at all, remain among the Missing in Action.

On the surface, the veterans of the Vietnam War faced the same challenges as veterans of other wars, except for one glaring difference: they were vilified by American society like no other generation before or since. Today, nearly 50 years after the war's end, the veterans of Vietnam are in their 60s and 70s. The passage of time has cooled the tempest of indignation that shrouded their homecoming and an ambiance of repentant thanks thrives in its wake. Many still do what they can to

For more information about the “Memories of ‘Nam” series, the veterans featured, or to inquire about sharing your story as a Vietnam veteran, contact "APG News" Editor Amanda Rominiecki at amanda.r.rominiecki.civ@mail.mil.