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The Nation's Pulse
The Lookout
They shared the same hole for a year and looked out for each other. Today is their day.
(Page 2 of 2)
Kampwerth replaces the photograph on the bulletin board. “When I got there I joined eleven other guys. After a year, there were eight of us left. The rest went home in body bags.”
By 1966, the Army had had enough and decided to put an end to the VC’s network of tunnels. To that end, allied forces launched three search-and-destroy operations during the dry season of 1966-67: Operation Attleboro, Operation Cedar Falls, and Operation Junction City.
One day in October of 1967, Kampwerth was walking point, leading a patrol down a jungle trail, when they walked into an ambush. The Viet Cong popped out of a tunnel and opened fire from both sides of the trail. “We had to shoot our way out,” he recalls. Kampwerth was wounded. A piece of shrapnel from a grenade went through his hand and through the stock of his rifle. Kampwerth, however, kept fighting until his men were out of harm’s way. All eight soldiers made it out okay.
“I guess that’s why they called me a hero,” he laughs.
Cedar Falls lasted 19 days. In the end, 72 Americans and 720 V.C. were killed. The allies never did manage to drive the enemy out of the Iron Triangle nor did they completely destroy the network of tunnels.
WHEN KAMPWERTH returned home in 1968, he went back to work on the family farm. He got his old job back at the electronics plant, too, and there he met his future wife Barbara. They will celebrate their fortieth anniversary this year.
Like most Vietnam vets, Kampwerth still feels a tinge of bitterness at the way he and his brothers were treated when they returned home from the war. That feeling returns when he sees returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans being treated like heroes. “I don’t begrudge them anything…” He shakes his head slowly, unable to finish the thought.
“Nobody really understands a veteran unless they are one,” he says. “They have no idea what we’ve been through. So many of those young boys never got to grow up. I saw guys gored by water buffalo, I saw guys get their legs blown off by mines, I saw rescue helicopters crash. But we were a band of brothers. We looked out for each other. That’s why we get together today. I can’t remember my captains’ names, but I will never forget the guys who were with me.”
About the Author
Christopher Orlet writes from St. Louis.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (41) | Leave a comment
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CB| 11.11.10 @ 6:19AM
I salute you sir, and all of the brave men who have served our country to protect so many.
drudge ette obama| 11.11.10 @ 6:42AM
I was raised in the 1960s and 1970s. My family taught me early on that soldiers were heroes. The people that the Vietnam War veterans met on returning home were the same losers that we have just kicked out of office around the country. Granted, there are some left to boost out, but don't ever believe that everyone felt the same about you as the loser John Kerry types. Many of us supported you and still support you. I support you and am grateful that you were willing to put your life on the line for me and others.
Thank you, sir.
Alan Brooks| 11.12.10 @ 1:08AM
"My family taught me early on that soldiers were heroes."
Yes, but China' boys in blue (green?) thnink so too. I believe you find the future to be far uglier than you visualize.
Alan Brooks| 11.12.10 @ 1:10AM
Alan Brooks| 11.12.10 @ 1:08AM
"My family taught me early on that soldiers were heroes."
... (oops, typed too fast above):
Yes, but China's boys in blue (green?) think so too. I believe you will find the future to be far uglier than you visualize.
Nam Vet| 11.11.10 @ 8:58AM
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Still remembering those glory days in Nam when you fought the Viet Cong. You were "fighting communism," weren't you? You fell for that communism crap, didn't you?
Time to move on. The Vietnam War was doomed because it was an unnecessary, blindly conceived venture. It was a useless war, and every soldier who died there died in vain.
They died meaningless deaths in a meaningless war. They died for nothing.
You Vietnam vets need to face the facts and move on. That's what I did, and I don't look back with any corny ideas of heroism on anybody's part.
Tim*| 11.11.10 @ 9:09AM
Tell it to Obama's Girlfriend. The Serial Coward Little Billy Ayers & His Girlfriends in WeatherPussies.
I Served| 11.11.10 @ 9:11AM
Nam Vet, you are too harsh. This post is very rude.
As a Vietnam vet, you express my sentiments exactly, but you could have done it in a kinder way.
After all, this is Veterans Day!
It's true that American soldiers died in vain in this foolish political war, but they gave their lives for this country and its people, no matter how misguided the mission.
You sound like so many bitter vets I come in contact with. You're the one who should move on.
wukong| 11.11.10 @ 9:16AM
"You were "fighting communism," weren't you? You fell for that communism crap, didn't you?"
Very few of us went to Viet Nam to fight communist. We went because our government ask/told us to go. fighting for your country is a civic duty. It has always been a civic duty. As a young person, you do not have the right, the means, or the knowledge to determine what is the proper action for the longer term health of your society. You do have an obligation to obey your elders who have experience as you would expect of a younger generation when your turn comes to make those decision.
BTW, when have you ever faced the facts?
H.O.Tennant| 11.11.10 @ 1:26PM
In every War the Unted States were in men and women answered the call to Arms. That is why that the United States is the GREATEST Country in the world
JR annapolis| 11.11.10 @ 9:46AM
You are a poseur. You didn't serve in Viet Nam, and you didn't serve in combat. Any real vet understands the bonds forged during training and battle, and we do it for the guy on our left and the guy on our right.
The pathetic human that YOU are can't stop himself from entering into a "conversation" that doesn't belong to you and that you are incapable of understanding. Crawl back into your bottle. The adults still have the floor.
VVAW| 11.11.10 @ 10:15AM
Mr. JR annapolis,
Thousands of veterans of the Vietnam War opposed the war at the time and still do. We do not hold with the romantic delusions of war that you so pathetically cling to. BTW, Vietnam is one word, not two, Mr. JR. And you claim to have served there?!
Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) is a tax-exempt non-profit organization and corporation, originally created to oppose the Vietnam War.
VVAW is a national veterans' organization that campaigns for peace, justice, and the rights of all United States military veterans. It publishes a twice-yearly newsletter The Veteran, previously published more frequently as 1st Casualty (1971-1972) and then as Winter Soldier (1973-1975). VVAW considers itself as "anti-war," although not in the pacifistic sense. The VVAW is widely considered to be among the most influential anti-war organizations of that era.
VVAW is proudly anti-war and we do not subscribe to the "bonds forged during battle and training" romance that still has you spellbound.
JR annapolis| 11.11.10 @ 2:06PM
No, VVAW...I never remotely hinted at having served in Vietnam. I'm part of the combat generation serving in IZ and AF.
There is nothing romantic about war. I don't advocate going to war, and neither do any of my buddies. I volunteered to serve the greatest country on the planet. When the balloon has gone up for me and the shooting started, all I had were the buddies around me...and that forms some serious bonds. That isn't romantic; that's reality / Life.
I don't care about VVAW, and I don't care about your propaganda. You waded into a story about a group of vets' very real experiences and the subsequent brotherly love they share due to those experiences. Who are you to cast aspersions on their character or tell them how they should or shouldn't feel? Who invited you here? Who cares what VVAW "thinks"? No one. Especially not here and not now.
RJ| 11.12.10 @ 9:09AM
The icon of your organization is John Kerry. In second place would be Hanoi Jane Fonda. Romance is something that you know little of; rather, your lives are spent shouting how you and your fellow victims were "duped" by those smarter than you, all the while hidden in an anti-war message.
No one who has seen combat can walk away from such a life experience without, at some point in time, realizing the horrors associated with such efforts: Few have the where with all to enter systems to reduce such future likelihoods.
When I enter my VA hospital for treatment, I am so very humbled in that I know just how lucky I am and how those around me most often have not been so lucky. I look at the VVAW organization in the same manner: You are my fellow brothers and sisters, we did step up for the call to duty and took that oath wherein we would give up our lives if ordered to do so.
Many are never the same after such an experience.
I don't like being called an idiot for being satisfied with my military combat experience, especially by your organization, the VVAW. Further, I will never stand in a line that salutes Kerry and Fonda as its top couple!
RacerJim| 11.13.10 @ 1:45PM
The VVAW proved itself a fraud during Winter Soldier. It's spokesperson at the time, USNR Ltjg John F. Kerry self-indicted himself under oath before a U.S. Senate Committee as a TRAITOR and WAR CRIMINAL.
CharlieEcho| 11.11.10 @ 10:02AM
Bitter Fraud; Nam Vet. Read and study a little history of Vietnam. United States involvment began a century before Kennedy or LBJ. The Veterans of Vietnam fought for "their" country and each other. The way Veterans of all wars have fought. The "political/social mishandling of the country and people of Vietnam began long before we dropped our first bombs.
You have a right to your opinions Nam Vet, but a wise man could have put it in a much more civil way.
Semper Fidelis 68/72
FastJohnny| 11.11.10 @ 10:29AM
The leftie rant of the meaningless VietNam War shows complete ignorance. That war was the west standing in the way of a totalitarian, oppressive take over of the world. By attempting to stiff arm the spread of communism, the war in VietNam sent a clear and resounding message to the other side of the Iron Curtain, that the west wasn't afraid to mix it up with the communists. The self sacrifice of the west, the sacrifice of those men and women in the military to put a stopper in the bottle of poisonous marxism did not go unheeded by Russia and China. The communists realized that spreading their oppressive regimes was no longer going to be easy and unchecked. VietNam was a long arduous battle in a war that the west eventually won. It was unpopular because it did not create any decisive victories and was incredibly high in cost of lives and morale, but considering any war the loss of a battle is always unpopular, but the measure of success is the outcome of the war. Many people who are ignorant of history, especially military history, fail to look at the implications that make episodes of history fit into the overall picture. Many of these same people see VietNam as a singular happening and a war in a vacuum. VietNam was not a war in a vacuum, it was a battle in a very long war of attrition that eventually was turned to victory in the 80' and 90's. Those men and women who gave their all in VietNam should be and deserve to be honored and thanked by all of us who live in a free society today. The lasting meaning of VietNam was that the forces of oppression would never again openly and overtly attempt to subjugate the world for fear that they west would once again step up to the plate. The war was costly and morally disasterous for Russia and the other forces that supported and attempted to propagate marxist oppression across the globe. No longer would there be the wholesale spread of communism across the world. The west learned a lot of lessons from VietNam as well, as all good militarys should from a battle that was lost, the most important being how to defeat communism in the long run. As in almost every other war, battles are lost, but that doesn't mean that those who fought weren't heroes. Whether all of you want to believe that the war was against communism or something else, the fact of the matter is that VietNam was a heroic delaying action that was a vital step in letting the enemy overextend itself, who eventually failed miserably. Wars are not about who won the battle, but who won in the end.
When I was young, I watched the VietNam war on TV. I watched and asked my grandparents why they were crying when the POW's came home, I participated in the welcome home parade in our town for the man who returned home after spending 5 years in POW camp. He was a heroe to me. I could not understand as a boy of 11, why so many people could so easily mock and deride our soldiers. This country, while still the greatest in the world, is so full of people who are so quick to blame and scold. I joined the Army through ROTC in college and spent my time in during the Cold War and was out by the time the wall came down. No one wanted to admit at the time that those seeds of victory came from Korea and VietNam. Whether you think my reasoning faulty or not, I feel indebted to those who gave up their lives and livelihoods to stop a sickness that was in danger of covering the globe. Sorry, there is moral highground here and those who still choose to lambaste the US for its involvement in VietNam are clearly still chanting the old slogans of the 60's and 70's left. I grew up, the world grew up, when are you going to?
Don| 11.11.10 @ 5:37PM
You Sir are full of more crap than a christmas turkey. In America the military dosen't decide to go to war, thats up to the stinking politicians.
NegroX| 11.11.10 @ 6:09PM
Nma Troll, It's obvious you never served a day in your life. You post shit like this because of your guilt. You are coward. Go lick obama's ass you liberal piece of shit.
R&R| 11.11.10 @ 7:25PM
I can tell by your language that you served. Typical low-class military talk.
PCP Smoker| 11.11.10 @ 11:01PM
Lol. I love the "face the facts" part. Fuck you. Fuck Obama, and fuck your mother for having you.
Ret. Marine| 11.11.10 @ 6:47AM
Today will hold a special place in this old devil dog's heart but it was yesterday that was the day of my birth, it was the Marine Corps birthday. I can still see in my minds eye some thrity five years past standing on the parade field ( combat training Center 29 Palms Ca.) our 200th birthday and just a little over two years earlier was in the thick of a mess in our efforts to disengage an emeny the American population somehow considered to be less than worth the effort to fight. As a young Squad leader I was reminded of all those who had served in the past and reconized the special place for me because since the first day I witnessed a Marine in his dress Blues I knew right then and there this is what I was going to do in my life.
Looking back through this clouded memory I can honestly say it kept this young and impressionable youth out of the troubles of the modern world and made more than one family member very proud of my efforts . I was the first in the second generation German American family to become a United States Marine and the first to have lived through the mess we know as the Viet Nam war. I say happy day to all of my brothers and sisters of the armed Forces and am reminded of the sacrifices they all have made. If you love your freedom thank a Veteran today, its the least you can do.
PJ| 11.11.10 @ 9:47AM
Ret Marine,
Sometimes when we are so close to the actual event, our perspective becomes very foggy, as in your case, Vietnam. To be sure it was a political mess for many reasons but then what war isn't?
All you Vietnam vets should be very, very proud of your service!! You, as a group slowed down if not stopped the spread of communism in that region of the world. Thailand, & I'm sure other countries at that time, were vulnerable to communistic takeovers. Your presence in the region gave them the will to fight back. Of course there were some short term failures, for ex Laos, Burma.--- Yet today, these 2 countries are starting to feel a democratic itch.
Generally, your presence put a "kabbosh" to red dreams. It may have even encouraged Nixon to visit China & start the process for peaceful trade agreements. Because of these trade agreements, China's government of today is very slowly taking on representative characteristics.
My friend, think long term. I believe Ronald Reagan would not have been president if it weren't for your service in Vietnam, which also means there would not have been the collapse of Soviet communism.
You are also the parents of the current "crop" of veterans.
Thank you & your buddies for your service in the field & in the bed.
Ret. Marine| 11.12.10 @ 5:21AM
Thank you for the kind words. Yes we did give it our all, some gave too much in my mind for an ungrateful Nation of, well I'll just hold that thought. I have a son who is 14+ years in the Corp and he does not feel or want the end result of what he sees in his dear ole dad. Today's troops are just as fierce and talented as any before them, and then some. For that I am grateful. But, like many in the armed forces these days they can clearly see the writing on the wall and is making a bee-line for the exit once this current tour is over, and I can not say I blame him either.
Michael L. Hauschild| 11.11.10 @ 10:20AM
I too served as did most of ancestors; even some of the women at a time when being a “WAC” was somewhat unique. I decorate the graves of my linage with flowers and replace the flags in the bronze campaign plaques all the way back to the civil war. My father who passed way last year was disabled in the battle of the bulge.
My time in Nam was as a field radio operator in the 4th Infantry Division in the central highlands in 69, and 70. My first experience with “trauma” was in basic as I watched with mirth some of the recruits actually crying because they were having their locks shorn. (I had shaved my head several months before I got to basic while I was training for what I knew would come). My second experience with distress accompanied my only wound, a young Lieutenant set off a blasting cap as I was setting out claymore mines. He was “testing” the circuits despite my informing him to wait till I got back. He had never heard a claymore and the cap “traumatized” him when he thought he killed me.
Now the reason I relate these issues to you contributors is this; some people are not meant to be soldiers, those are the ones that seem to be traumatized. I blame much of the purported “trauma” many allude to as immaturity, drugs or alcohol, or the “mandated” service of the era. As a “Class of 65” alum, and a small town origin my service was certain, nearly all of my classmates that were unwed served in that conflict. I remain in contact with most, and they are well adjusted regular people. When they speak of that era it is not in the derogatory nature of many of the conversations I am reading. There is a sure preventative for trauma, it is called patriotism you will find it rampant in today’s military. As one of those proud veterans I salute them and honor their service, as I am sure they do mine.
RJ| 11.12.10 @ 7:52PM
Did you run across "Trip" Fred Tripodo?
ray bob| 11.11.10 @ 7:41AM
To all, much thanks for the freedoms we enjoy. Without the sacrifice of the few, the many are blessed even though most do not know the bond which brings us together today.
MoeBlotz| 11.11.10 @ 7:52AM
My dear old dad used to sing a WW II song when he got a snoot full," Bless them all,bless them all,the long and the short and the tall; There will be no more violets for dead bomber pilots,as into our cockpits we crawl...." Bless Them All.
Melvin| 11.11.10 @ 8:24AM
People, where is the jug eared jackass, who calls himself a President? Is he coming home to honor our Nation's Veterans? No, he's gallivanting about the world trying to make himself relevant, to those who are still gullible enough to listen to his Bull Squeeze.
Ken (Old Texican)| 11.11.10 @ 8:27AM
Vets, active and retired; I simply do not have the words to properly express my appreciation for your service.
The Holy Spirit has those words though. In a quiet moment today, please listen-up.
Tim*| 11.11.10 @ 8:54AM
Deeds Not Words
Regulars, By God
Maddox| 11.11.10 @ 9:16AM
Thank you from one of the free to all of the brave.
May GOD bless you and your families.
NavyBrat | 11.11.10 @ 9:19AM
I'm the son of a PROUD Vietnam vet & 20 year Navy vet. He served on the USS Saratoga in the Tonkin Gulf. My Dad retired a Captain in 1992. He passed away from cancer in '04. He was, & still IS my biggest hero.
Here is another Navy Hero I grew up reading about & hearing about from my Dad. In honor of Veteran's Day, I post this story about another true American Hero, Tom Norris. Tom Norris is the man who rescued Iceal Hambleton, played by Gene Hackman in the movie "Bat 21." This man was an incredible warrior who recieved the Medal of Honor & was later almost killed in an encounter with the NVA.
Here first, I post the official citation for Lt. Norris' Medal of Honor:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a SEAL Advisor with the Strategic Technical Directorate Assistance Team, Headquarters, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. During the period 10 to 13 April 1972, Lieutenant Norris completed an unprecedented ground rescue of two downed pilots deep within heavily controlled enemy territory in Quang Tri Province. Lieutenant Norris, on the night of 10 April, led a five-man patrol through 2,000 meters of heavily controlled enemy territory, located one of the downed pilots at daybreak, and returned to the Forward Operating Base (FOB). On 11 April, after a devastating mortar and rocket attack on the small FOB, Lieutenant Norris led a three man team on two unsuccessful rescue attempts for the second pilot. On the afternoon of the 12th, a Forward Air Controller located the pilot and notified Lieutenant Norris. Dressed in fishermen disguises and using a sampan, Lieutenant Norris and one Vietnamese traveled throughout that night and found the injured pilot at dawn. Covering the pilot with bamboo and vegetation, they began the return journey, successfully evading a North Vietnamese patrol. Approaching the FOB, they came under heavy machine gun fire. Lieutenant Norris called in an air strike which provided suppression fire and a smoke screen, allowing the rescue party to reach the FOB. By his outstanding display of decisive leadership, undaunted courage, and selfless dedication in the face of extreme danger, Lieutenant Norris enhanced the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Norris' Wounds. First is an excerpt from the PBS "American Valor" series (and yes, they DID get this right):
In October 1972 Norris received a near-fatal head wound in action and was rescued by his fellow Navy SEAL, Michael Thornton. Thornton received the Medal of Honor for his actions. Thornton was the first person in more than a century to receive that honor for saving the life of another Medal of Honor recipient. Norris and Thornton enjoyed the unique satisfaction of witnessing each other's Medal of Honor ceremonies at the White House.
May G*d Bless & Keep ALL Our Veterans & Their Families. Your Sacrifice is Appreciated MORE Than You Realize!
uncle curmudgeon| 11.11.10 @ 9:31AM
Thank you, Gentlemen, for your brave sacrifice for and service to us all.
I am pretty ignorant of of all of the symbols out there these days. Is that the Islamic crescent on Google's Veterans Day doodle? Anyone?
JR annapolis| 11.11.10 @ 9:51AM
It appears to be the last letter of GOOGLE peering beneath the American flag graphic. I would have raised the graphic a little higher, allowing more of the letter "E" to be visible.
It does look a little deliberate, though.
RightWink| 11.11.10 @ 9:42AM
I salute all those who fought under the American flag, for whatever reason. I am thankful that you served our country in its time of need, so that we still remain free. In those memorable words (not mine) - All gave some; some gave all.
May God Bless All Of Our Soldiers.
Anastasia Mather| 11.11.10 @ 10:14AM
From the bottom of my heart I thank you for everything - every sacrifice, every wound, every death - in spite of the stupid way that particular war was prosecuted by the people in command. You on the ground did your duty. Thank you forever for teaching us the meaning of duty and honor.
Margie| 11.11.10 @ 3:25PM
Thank you all who fought for our country and lived to tell. I'd like to thank (God) too for the young man who fought and died in my Daddy's place in the Korean war because he got a burst appendix and couldn't go.
I was born thanking God for men like these.
Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart!
Jack| 11.11.10 @ 8:35PM
In war we have a somewhat defined enemy. I fear more for our country today than I have at any point in my life. The communists are not hiding in the jungle but in our own government as progressives and they are much more dangerous. It is going to be a different kind of fight to save our way of life. As Vets we need to fight this last battle to restore our country. God Bless!
Nick| 11.12.10 @ 12:46AM
I would like to thank all veterans for their service to this great nation.
But, I would especially like to thank all the veterans of the Viet Nam war, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and the Global War On Terror.
As a veteran of Operation Desert Shield/Storm, a conflict in which almost 300 Americans lost their lives, we received the parades and accolades that rightly belonged to the Viet Nam war vets.
20 years later, I still feel guilty about that sad fact. So, thank you to all the vets who wear the Viet Nam Service Medal, your fellow countrymen honor your service. Welcome Home!
(It's hard to believe that it has been 20 years since I was in the world's biggest sandbox battling scorpions, sand vipers, and boredom!)
p.s. Please say a prayer for the family of LCDR Donald Woloszyk, who went Missing in Action on 1 March, 1966. My late mother wore his MIA bracelet during the war, and I keep it as a reminder that Freedom Is Not Free.
RJ| 11.12.10 @ 7:49PM
Consider it done! Also realize that the parents, family and relatives of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese that lost their lives or went missing in action feel the same way as your late Mother and many other Americans, etc.
Desert Storm/Shield...spent 40 nights and days clued to my tv, never left the house, not once!
Lucky you were!
None of this is pretty, never has been.
Steve in Pittsburgh| 11.17.10 @ 1:16PM
I was in the Navy from 86-94. I never saw any combat, though my ships were in combat/war zones, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Adriatic. I don't talk about it to civilians who never served either. I don't see how they would understand.