Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
7:29 | Near the end of his Vietnam tour, they made Jon Wallenius a lifeguard at a little beach on a river that no one came to. Then he was sent home early, where he tried in vain to get a room at a fancy hotel in San Fransisco. He did alright for himself at the hotel bar, though.
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Many men in his family had served so it was not unusual when Jon Wallenius enlisted in the Army in 1963. He was lucky when a friend was made acting Platoon Sergeant in basic training because he was picked as an acting squad leader. This made life easy for him right up until he got to Airborne training.
Jon Wallenius broke his leg on his last jump at Airborne School. Because of this he waited around on a temporary assignment there at Fort Benning until it healed. He was pleased to go to the 7th Cavalry Regiment, a storied unit with which he was familiar. They were trained and prepped for Cold War Germany but it was Vietnam that was in their future.
The 2nd of the 7th Cav went to Vietnam by ship and Jon Wallenius was having a good trip. First there was the blonde in the Corvette, then there were the jackpots from the card games. Eventually, he had to get there, though, and life got a little tougher.
During his first operation in Vietnam, forward observer Jon Wallenius and his mortar crew were asked to hold a North Vietnamese prisoner until he was picked up. When it was time for chow, he felt sorry for the guy and untied him and gave him some C-rations. What he didn't know is that he was hiding a secret.
Jon Wallenius was near the Ho Chi Minh Trail looking for North Vietnamese when his unit got a call. They had to leave immediately to reinforce a place called LZ X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley. It was the beginning of the first major battle of the war. On the second day, he spotted some guys in pith helmets. Were they the Australians?
At LZ X-Ray, his mortar platoon never fired a round. Jon Wallenius did fire his rifle, though, when he spotted an enemy soldier poking his head up in the crook of a tree. He fired a quick shot. In a little while, there was a second. He fired again. He emptied a clip toward that tree and it really paid off.
When forward observer Jon Wallenius got off the chopper at LZ Albany, he was under fire and had to quickly get to cover. Eventually, he scrounged up a mortar and a few rounds and got ready. That night, he witnessed an enormous napalm drop that quieted the enemy. The next day, he was witness to the gruesome aftermath of the Battle of Ia Drang.
Morale was good as Thanksgiving approached. It was pouring rain and Jon Wallenius had just got his turkey and fixings when somebody yelled for attention. General Westmoreland wanted to address the troops.
The Battle of Bong Son had already kicked off when they got a message. When the supply chopper comes in, the next man up for R&R can fly back with it. That man was Jon Wallenius and he hit the jackpot with a trip to Japan.
John Wallenius was in the best company in the battalion and he attributes that to the CO, who was fearless but not careless. The noncoms were good, as well, including one who tried to get everyone Air Medals for all the air assaults they had done.
He doesn't want to hear about atrocities. John Wallenius and the others in his unit did their jobs like professionals and were very careful with the Vietnamese civilians they encountered. He pays tribute to a replacement platoon sergeant who caused everyone to be skeptical, at first.
Was Vietnam a useless war? Not really. To Jon Wallenius it was a part of stopping Communism. While there, he saw a lot of men rise to the occasion and demonstrate true leadership. Much less often, he saw cowardice.
