Hide Article Text (OCR)
20 years agoAfter 20 years, Joe Smith is ready to talk about his Vietnam War experiencesTony Miller/The Hawk EyeV eterancomingtognpswith warBy Lorie HytenThe Hawk EyeLaHARPE, 111, - May 27,1970, was to have been Joe Smith’s day off.But a platoon was pinned down in the jungle near the Cambodian border. Thai security troops that ordinarily would have provided cover refused to enter the fray. Smith’s usual job was operating a bulldozer, but on this day his lieutenant called him in to operate the radio and provide cover fire.He could have held back.“But these were my friends.”Smith remembers it as a nice, sunny day, but very hot. The surrounding jungle was thick, effectively hiding the enemy.“You never can see the enemy. You don’t really know where it (gunfire) is coming from.”Memorial Day activities are outlined on page 3A.Smith and several others rode into the dense jungle on a personnel carrier.“We had our tools and stuff on it, and there were three machine guns on it. They don’t usually have machine guns, but we had ours rigged that way.”The fighting continued all afternoon.The gunfire was so intense he was forced to pour oil over a .50-caliber machine gun just to prevent it from melting down.At some point he was wounded. Shrapnel entered his back and hand, but the wounds were not serious.After several hours of fighting, the troops that had been pinned down were able to break free.Joe Smith, 41, LaHarpe, 111., doesn’t talk much about the medals he earned that day in Vietnam.Vietnam isn’t something he likes to talk about. Until recently, he never even had told his own two sons that he was wounded, or that he had received two Bronze Starsand a Purple Heart.Like many veterans of that war, Smith was more interested in putting some distance between himself and his war experiences.Then one day last week he came across his citations and realized that May 27, today, would mark the 20th anniversary of the incident that resulted in receiving a Bronze Star for heroism.VeteranPlease turn to page 8A
Newspaper Details
Burlington Hawk Eye
Burlington, Iowa, US
Sun, May 27, 1990
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Burlington P.
IA, USA 05 Feb 2020
Other Publications Near Burlington, Iowa
Mississippi Posten
Burlington Weekly Hawk Eye and Telegraph
Iowa State Gazette
Burlington Weekly Hawk Eye
Burlington Tri Weekly Telegraph
