Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
6:52 | Tom Coffey was one of a group of Vietnam veterans who built the Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Louisville. It is in the form of a giant sundial in a plaza on which is inscribed the names of all the Kentucky natives who perished.
Keywords : Tom Coffey Vietnam Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial Helm Roberts sundial Veterans Administration (VA) Ron Ray
While attending Eastern Kentucky University, Tom Coffey was not just enrolled in ROTC, he was a member of the Pershing Rifles. He graduated and then received a draft notice. Eager to do his part, he entered on a track to attend Officer Candidate School.
At Officer Candidate School, Tom Coffey was attracted to intelligence work. That was at the top of his dream sheet and he got it. After eight weeks of intel school, his team was formed at Fort Bragg and then shipped out for Vietnam.
It was very disorganized. That was Tom Coffey's impression when he got to Vietnam. Eventually, the Army did get him to Camp Enari and the headquarters of the 4th Infantry Division. Then he was assigned to Kon Tum which had an outlying fire base at Dak To. That fire base was destined to be well known in the history of the war.
Intelligence Officer Tom Coffey was the most knowledgeable about the area so he was assigned to the fire base at Dak To. He knew what was coming. The NVA had massed across the border in Cambodia and their target was Dak To. Part 1 of 3.
The General said we're going to charge the hill. Tom Coffey was the Intelligence Officer but he was only a 2nd Lieutenant so, when he recommended against that, he was overruled. The hill was Hill 875, the site of an infamous battle and, when it was over, that general was relieved of his command. Part 1 of 3.
When the Battle of Dak To was over, there were scores of dead, including the chaplain. Tom Coffey was sick to his stomach. He had warned against a direct assault on Hill 875. He had given precise instructions for a bombing run which were ignored, resulting in a disastrous friendly fire incident. Why did we do it this way? Part 3 of 3.
After his harrowing experience at Dak To, Tom Coffey was able to unwind a bit on R&R. This was followed by a New Year's Eve which featured his best friend getting hilariously drunk and falling in a latrine. As he focused on his intelligence role, there were disturbing signs of a build up of enemy forces.
Nobody believed him. Tom Coffey was seeing a lot of intel that indicated a big enemy build up. Then, at midnight on the Vietnamese New Year, all hell broke loose all over the country. Eventually they were beaten back, but the NVA and the VC had made their point.
It was like nothing was happening. Tom Coffey had just returned from Vietnam and he wondered, don't these people know what is going on over there? But he busied himself in his new assignment, a great post at Fort Bragg in an intelligence brigade.
After deciding to leave the Army, Tom Coffey got a big break when a friend set him up with a job working for Ross Perot at Electronic Data Systems. After five years he started his own financial services firm and that was prospering when another friend came to him with an idea.
Tom Coffey remained active at his alma mater, Eastern Kentucky University, serving on the foundation board for 20 years. in 2010, the university bestowed a great honor upon him.
Everyone makes some good friends in the Army. Tom Coffey reminisces about some of them from Officer Candidate School and from his tour in Vietnam. (Caution: strong language)
Do we learn from our mistakes? Tom Coffey isn't sure. After the Vietnam experience, weren't the mistakes repeated in Afghanistan and Iraq? Because of his knowledge working in intelligence, he is worried about the state of the world and the challenges we face.
