Our Stories
My Vietnam War Experience By David Valladolid U.S. Army Vietnam Combat Veteran & Retired CEO Parent Institute for Quality Education
Vietnam I was assigned to the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, which was involved in helicopter airlifts into combat hotspots, but we mostly walked into the jungles around us to reinforce other U.S. troops. Every night six soldiers were assigned to ambush watch. Each of us had to stand guard for two hours, but I would often find my comrades asleep and had to wake them. Jungle warfare was more than difficult. We were taking enemy fire, being ambushed, and exposed to a number of enemy land mines.
How I got to Vietnam was the norm for most Chicanos in the 1960s. I was set to graduate from St. Augustine in 1966, at the height of the Vietnam War. My high school counselor told me, “You’re not going to go to college. You’re going to learn how to work with your hands.” That was probably why I was not offered college prep courses. A college deferment, however, could get one out of the draft. So, I enrolled at Mesa Community College. I settled in as a college student and enjoyed the experience until my English professor determined that an assignment I had turned in was too well-written. She falsely accused me of cheating and gave me a C minus. And so, when you’re 18, you don’t do the smartest things in life. In protest, I stopped attending her class and six months later I was expelled from college. Six months after that, I was drafted into the Army in September of 1968. I was sent to infantry training, special weapons training, and then was shipped off to Vietnam.
David Valladolid U.S. Army Vietnam Combat Veteran & Retired CEO Parent Institute for Quality Education (Photo courtesy David Valladolid Archives)
Once, I had to carry the radio after our radioman almost passed out from the heat. The commanding officer told me, “Keep it, Val.” So, I learned how to use it and would call-in to evacuate wounded soldiers. I witnessed atrocities and vowed that I never again would be in a situation where somebody could control me, tell me what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. Unfortunately, less than six months later, I was seriously wounded—my eyes
David Valladolid St. Augustine High School Graduate – 1966 (Photo courtesy David Valladolid Archives)
were blown out of my face, my eardrums were damaged, leaving me blind and deaf. I was transported to Bien Hoa Hospital, then shipped off to the Ryukyus Hospital in Okinawa, Japan. After several complex surgeries, I regained both my eyesight and hearing.
Helicopter Assault Companies Vietnam – Apr 10, 1969 (Photo courtesy U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
114
San Diego Latino Legacy – Timeline • Milestones • Stories
Chapter 4 – The Rise & Legacy of the Chicano Movement
115
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator