DAVE BALLARD

WAS IN VIETNAM FROM JUNE 1 1970 THRU APRIL 20 1971
10 MONTHS AND 20 DAYS
WITH
B CO. 159TH AVN BN., 101ST AIRBORNE DIV.
UNITED STATES ARMY.

BASED AT CAMP EAGLE AND PHU BIA NEAR HUE SOUTH VIETNAM.

MY JOB WAS HELICOPTER REPAIRMAN TO START
BUT TRANSFERRED TO DOOR GUNNER/CREW CHIEF ON CH-47 CHINOOK HELICOPTER.

I ENLISTED TO AVOID THE DRAFT AND GET A SAFER JOB. HELICOPTER REPAIR VS INFANTRY .... A FAIR TRADE FOR AN EXTRA YEAR !

BEFORE I WENT TO NAM I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THE RIGHT OR WRONG ASPECTS OF THE WAR. I WAS BROUGHT UP WITH THE IDEALS OF MY FATHER'S GENERATION... TO ANSWER THE CALL OF YOUR COUNTRY WAS THE HONORABLE AND RIGHT THING TO DO. I HAD SEEN ALL THE JOHN WAYNE MOVIES AND FIGURED IT WAS MY DUTY TO SERVE TO EARN THE RIGHT TO LIVE IN FREEDOM. I THOUGHT WE WERE DOING OUR PART IN STOPPING THE SPREAD OF COMMUNISM. I GUESS I KEPT THAT PHILOSOPHY THROUGHOUT MY ENTIRE ENLISTMENT.

WHEN I LEFT NAM I STILL FELT WE WERE DOING THE RIGHT THING, JUST GOING ABOUT IT THE WRONG WAY. IN APRIL OF 1975, WHEN I SAW THE REPORTS OF THE FALL OF SAIGON, I REALIZED WHAT A WASTE IT ALL WAS. WE HAD LOST OVER 58,000 OF OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, TRAINED THE ARVN'S, GAVE THEM THE MOST ADVANCED WEAPON SYSTEMS OF THE TIME, ONLY TO WATCH THEM DROP THEIR GUNS, SHED THEIR UNIFORMS AND RUN LIKE HELL. I FELT TOTALLY BETRAYED.

NOW, LOOKING BACK, I GUESS WE SHOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN INVOLVED AT ALL. I REALLY DON'T THINK THE AVERAGE VIETNAMESE CITIZEN WOULD HAVE KNOWN OR CARED ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DEMOCRACY AND COMMUNISM.

THE WORST PART OF NAM WAS THE LOSS OF INNOCENCE. WE WEREN'T PREPARED TO WITNESS THE HORROR OF WAR AS IT TRULY WAS. IN THE MOVIES (OF THE TIME) DEATH WAS A SMALL BULLET HOLE IN THE CHEST, A SMALL AMOUNT OF BLOOD AND SOME CORNY COMMENT ABOUT IT BEING WORTH GIVING YOUR LIFE FOR. NOT EVEN CLOSE IN REALITY !!!

THE BEST WAS THE REALIZATION THAT WE SHOULD KEEP AN EYE ON OUR GOVERNMENT AND NOT BLINDLY TRUST IN WHATEVER THEY SAY IS IN OUR BEST INTEREST. I SAW A SAYING ON A T-SHIRT THAT SUMS UP MY FEELINGS:
"I LOVE MY COUNTRY, BUT I CAN'T TRUST MY GOVERNMENT"
I HOPE WE CAN KEEP THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN

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