Above is my friend "Mick-the-C" who I met in Corpsman School in October 1968; 3rd picture to Left [on top] is a visit to his home in 2013 [45 years later] in N.C. Picture shows him "prepping a trooper" for surgery at the 95th in Da Nang, RVN. Sometimes we were assigned as part of the surgical team handing instruments to surgeon(s), working in Central Supply [cleaning instruments & assembly of fresh surgical packs for the next cases] , working in the Emergency Room where we [primarily] worked as litter bearers, and finally, occassional TDY              [ temporary duty] at battalion aid stations, usually on forward line of the base perimeter-sample Aid Station is shown below:

Worst Part of Military Life is always leaving from where you'd prefer to be; This was going back to Corpsman School as I hadn't [yet] been promot-ed to Sp. 4 & still had to finish O.R. Tech School before Rotating to Overseas Duty in RVN!

It was during one of these Guard Duty Tours , later in Lai Khe/ 1st Divsion, that I learned How Easy It Is to Take a Life & How Difficult to Save One!!! Regardless of our MOS, we were 'Soldiers First' & we pulled Guard Duty ,  Cleaned Litters, "Burn Duty" & Police Patrol, just like the rest of the troops!; the distasteful part of serving in an active War Zone!

Field Jack & RVN Hat [above], Basic Platoon with DI [ "Mack Mitchell"] who used to tell us he spent 30 minutes a day, in front of the mirror practicing his "Killer Face," my high-school friend, L.Lesher who was in my basic platoon said it best: " I think the majority of these people we are training with are "Certifable Insane..."

My Platoon was 1st Platoon of Comany B/ 1st Trng. Bn., 3rd Bde. (BLT) @ Ft. Bliss, Texas (September 1968 <~> late-November 1968)

"Fresh Meat" for Guard Duty, Summer 1969/1st Guard Duty Tour at 36th Evac @ Vung Tau. My weight about this time [both pictures] was about 160 pounds; my ETS return weight in 1971 was about 165 pounds. This was taken in June or July, 1969. My main thought   was: "why am I here & how did I get here & what if I have to shoot another human?"  BTW, as soon as we got to our guard bunker or tower we 'locked-and-loaded!'

Preparing for 24 hours of Guard Duty in Vung Tau & 36th Evac Hospital.

My fellow corpsman/ O.R.Tech friend, Mick the C. who became a 'life-long' friend & almost a "Brother-n-Law' until he was transferred to "Hamburger Hill!"

Some of my Draft Cards that I began registering for in about 1963 until 1968 when I was drafted! & ordered to report for induction in 09/1968 to 2nd floor of POffice on San Jacinto Street for my inuction to the "Screaming & Yelling" Services!

I actually should have been drafted/conscripted in May 1968, but I made a plean for an extension because [ so I could finish my first bachelor's degree before going]  I wanted to go to OCS [Officer Candidate School] but when I found out [at the reception/induction  station] only openings were in Artillery/Infantry I opted for an additional service of 12 months for a school choice, and that is when I chose Corpsman/Operating Room Technician Training: but guess what, I got shot at none-the-less: by pre-teen VietCongers explaining "The way of War!"

Above are dirty litters that, when I pulled E.R. Duty, I had to clean, and the only time it bothered me was when there was left behind vomit or brain tissue [from head wounds] by the wounded trooper, but I eventually adjusted; adjusting to burn duty took longer!  I believe my draft letter [remembering there weren't any cell phones or copy machines in the 60s] was destroyed in the KC Records Center fire; Above is a sample of the one I received; ordering me to report to the induction center in September, 1968! is shown in above image. Never recovered my individual letter copy-because of the KC Fire!

In the military you are lucky to make friends & "life-long" friends is a bonus. Little did we know the next time we met Mick would have earned two Purple Hearts & I would have completed two tours; he has been a good friend for +50 years!!! Look how slender we both had become !!! Daddy used to tell me that to have friends you have to be a friend & that's what I tried to   be to "Mick the C" with one exception, and that is when my ex-wife tried to tell me who were "acceptable friends" in her and her ignorant family's viewpoint; After 50 years, Mick & I still talk several times a month: the ex-wife & her ignorant family are "gone -for-good!"

* Welcome to the SE War Games "WarGames"  Webpage of  Participant, Herman C. Wall, Jr., and his Experiences During 1969 <~> 1971: 
* Some Paragraphs & Photos will Make you Smirk or even Laugh, some will make you want to Cry, [ Especially the two videos about saving lives]
*Some Will Make You Amgry, but at the End...
* I hope Y-O-U will understand Why We Served With Pride in a most "Unpopular and Unwanted War" !!!

The RVN War Started in September 1968 for Herman Wall Jr.
He was Drafted at Age 24, Even though his Faith [ via his father] Background was "Highly Mennonite, Influenced" and that He Could Have Obtained CO Status, like many of his Kansas Cousins;
however, he chose to Serve in I Corps, including Vung Tau, Lai Khe and Saigon; Additionally He "pulled" [Served] Two Tours, when he could have left [ and never returned] after one tour!
* Now +50 years later, he regrets not going to Airborne School as he was in the best shape of his life; not  volunteering for another one or two tours; giving the Army 5<~> 7 years as he probably could've become accepted to Physician's Assistant School, become a Warrant Officer and had a successful  [post-Military] career with a Missionary Group, like "Doctors Without Borders."

First, A Tribute to the Surgeons, Physicians,Nurses, Medics,Corpsmen, & Technicians that Saved Lives with Reduced Supplies, Personnel, Food & Sleep...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKGBYxoURWw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqzAzx6rFgw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiw6fZHdwCg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PdXHR7HRyk

Secondly, Turning Hcwjr (ponyhunter98) into a functional and operational Medic/Corpsman/Operating Room Tech Began with the Arrival of my Draft Orders from a List @ The Selective Service Board in Houston, Texas Arriving in September 1968, Just as he Finished His First Degree!

IAH Seleective Service Regis-tration on far Left/Right; the card above is from Ft. Bliss Basic Training Camp, 'old-fashioned' hand-written spread sheet is where my name appeared on the list of potential draftees in 09/1968.

3rd Field was somewhat of a 'Flagship Hospital in Saigon; although we had the occassio-nal "Satchel Charge" tossed over the back gate; ADDITIONALLY, out the back gate I could get anything I wanted & the locals had a keen sense of knowing when "GI Payday" occurred because the streets would crowd up like "Mardi Gras" in New Orleans! And Like the Simon & Garfunkel Song of the 60s [paraphrased] "I admit there were times when i was so lonesome & depressed that I took some refuge as soon as I left the hospital!"

Part of the O.R. Tech's job was cleanup after surgery, prepar-ing for the next case(s) !

Sp. 5 Rank + "Shortitis" ~ A Large Smile!" Taking the "Freedom Bird" in less than 1 week!

My "Wide & Bright" smile is because I was starting to get S-H-O-R-T and going home for good! I had been accepted to do my pre-Med studies at Texas Tech [Lubbock] "back in the world," which one of the surgeons for whom I regularly scrubbed, had encouraged, and the remainder of my tour would be hassle free; unless a sapper threw a satchel charge over the back fence and I was nearby!

Above is aerial view of Ft. Sam Houston, Corpsman and Operating Room [Classroom] Training. Athough Ft. Sam Houston gave us an introduction to 'Combat Medicine,' but by no means, prepared any of us for the horrors of "Combat Medicine."

Picture far Left, [2nd Row]]  shows OR Result after attempting to save a life; Uniforms/Boots indicate Gulf War but it was  the same-same for RVN hospitals. Logan Heights was area of Basic Training Camp in El Paso, Texas; Ft. Sam [3rd column] was Ft. Sam Medical Complex, initial training facility for all types [ MOS's] of medical personnel!

A moment of relaxation type of jpeg in the O.R. @ the 3rd Field @ Saigon, probably about March 1971; smile was because I was S-H-O-R-T & had made the decision to get a D-I-V-O-R-C-E from the Army as we had irreconcilable differences! Little did I know [ at the time ] that these O.R./E.R images would come back to haunt me for decades & 2 or 3 of them would be consistent/repetitive themes.; now, I have to close my eyes/look another direction everytime I pass the Meacom Fountains when on the bus/train enroute to the Houston VA.

3rd Field Hospital facing Nguyen van Thieu [ as I remember]- the main corridor in front of the hospital. THE SIDE STREET from about 1400 <~> YOUR 1100 connected to an alley known as "SOUL ALLEY" This is where  myself & about 3 other techs shared an apartment until we got raided by the CIDs! 

We had 'Total Freedom' & forget that we were still in the Army. Most of us had less than 30 days until DEROS [ Date of Estimated Rotation from Overseas Service]

3rd field with BOQ in fore-ground and BEQ on left side of hospital; with an illustrious history of service in the South Pacific during W.W.II and in Korea, was reactivated at Ft. Lewis, Washington on 11 March 1965 to provide medical support for a rapidly expanding US commitment in another fight for freedom!  A 100 bed unit of the 51st Field Hospital supplied the nucleus of our unit which was designed to hoId the gap while the full medical support could be assembled and deployed to Vietnam. Considerable care was taken to insure that each of the key sections including Professional Service, Nursing Service, A & D, supply and mess was under competent experienced persons. This was the prime factor that guaranteed success in its mission.

So,  it all started with my name appearing on the rolls of the Selective Service System, the issuance of my Selective Servic Cards [above] & then receipt of my draft letter-giving me my report date and location; couldn't find mine but found an example of the type issued in the late 60s. Fitzsimonds Hospital in Aurora Colorado is where I completed my OJT [On-the-Job] Training]!  I [actively] assisted on two operations, an appendectomy and a herniorrhaphy; from there, about 20 days later I was in RVN assisting on Bilateral BK Amputations, Chest-Cracking/Thoracic, Orthopaedic, General [usually,GSWs to Bowels] Neurology & occassionally, middle-of-the-niught OBGYN Emergency Procedures; like Daddy said [From his WWII Radio Operator Training]...

"See one, do one and then teach one!"

Are you/Someone You Know  Trying to Consolidate Your Website Marketing Efforts?

 https://mail.startmail.com/mail/INBOX/INBOX.801761

HERE'S ...

Recent Articles

RSS

  1. August <~> September 2021

    Dec 07, 22 01:55 PM

    So this past summer, 2021, was somewhat uneventful, it was the day in & out routine of life at Mariposa. I continued to look for more programs to add to my product mix; starting to realize that I need…

    Read More

  2. MUSTARD SIZED FAITH: Still Here +2000 Years LATER!

    Jul 18, 21 11:11 PM

    HCWSoloSings1295_Capture.jpg
    I was Fortunate to have been born in a Christian Home where faith, prayer, praise, worship,and Personal Testimony was a Focal Point of Our Family Life!

    Read More

  3. BREAKING NEWS FROM VA (MID-JUNE)

    Jul 12, 21 06:27 AM

    * I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in November 1997... * My thyroid was removed with radiation in December 1997... * I then began my journey of weight gain/weight loss & medications build-up until…

    Read More


Change of Regimen / Protocol / May 2016 ...

  • Instead of ordering LIMU [Fucoidan] and Blu Frog Separately, I'm Now Ordering a Combo Life Package from YOUNGEVITY , 
  • starting in April 2017, I started with the '90 -for-Life 'package then the' YGY Weight-Loss Package ' 
  • and Have Finally Settled Down With The 'Anti-Aging Package,' And The 'Pro-Line' Of YGYi Products, Spending About $ 235 Per Month.
  • I Also Supplement My Packs with Rebound Meal Replacement Powder, Rebound Sports Energy Drink, ZRadical [Fucoidan Product], Purmeric [Anti Oxidants], Selenium, and My New Addition is TaiSlim Weight Loss.

As John Denver Used to Sing:
"He's Coming Home to a Place Where He's  Never Been Before!"

Solo Build It!