Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
6:43 | Earl Simms was spending the night at a fire base on his way to a new assignment in Nhon Trach when the booming started. After running right through a screen door seeking cover, the green Lieutenant was taught the difference between incoming and outgoing fire. Joining his team in the rural district, he worked with the locals to build schools and bridges and brought in doctors and dentists for them.
It was expected in his home. His grandfather and father had served in the World Wars and Earl Simms was eager to fill that expectation. As soon as he stepped off the plane in Vietnam, the sweltering heat and the smell let him know he was in a totally new environment. And when the officer pointed to a map to show him where he would be assigned, he noticed that there was nothing but green around the man's fingertip.
Civil Affairs advisor Earl Simms was based at an ARVN outpost in Nhon Trach district. His 12 man unit worked with a Regional and Popular Force unit to protect and assist local villagers who included many North Vietnamese Catholics who had fled South.
He truly liked the Vietnamese people, and as a Civil Affairs advisor, Earl Simms was responsible for bringing them aid and medical care, so they liked him right back. As part of a tightly knit unit with just 12 Americans, he looked forward to his turn to do the mail run into Bien Hoa for a change of pace.
Earl Simms recalls the story of the supply sergeant nicknamed "Pops," who was older than everyone else and even had grandchildren. They kept him away from combat but as he neared his rotation date, he insisted on going when a reaction force responded to a Viet Cong ambush.
Though he was a Civil Affairs advisor, Earl Simms had to become an infantryman when the enemy was on the move. He remembers moving with a small force in search of an enemy squad when he instead encountered a reinforced NVA company. That led to a night long run through the jungle. In neighboring districts, there were Thai and Australian units known for their toughness.
He was on the last day of his assignment as a Civil Affairs advisor when a village chief asked him to stay overnight in his village so he could see for himself that they were pacified. Earl Simms did just that, though he didn't get much sleep. He also praises the Naval aviators known as Moon River, who came to his aid when he needed it.
The mail run was more essential than food, remembers Earl Simms. In rural Vietnam, he did not have the digital means of instant communications soldiers enjoy today, but letters were just fine. He didn't pay much attention to politics back home and was astounded when he got off the plane in San Francisco and was told to change from his uniform into civilian clothes.
Vietnam veteran Earl Simms ascended all the way to the Pentagon as Adjutant General. He was able to travel back to Vietnam with teams searching for remains and was struck by the changes in the country. He advises all war veterans to return and see.
