W. Adams, Vietnam War Veteran: “I Was Just Thankful to Make It Back” 

W. Adams, 67, (he declined to share his first name), lives in Austin. He spent three decades in the military, first deploying to Vietnam in 1968. Adams shared some of his battlefield memories at a holiday luncheon hosted by the Austin Veterans Community Organization at the Columbus Park Refectory, 5701 W. Jackson Blvd., on Dec. 2.

“I went to boot camp on Sept. 7, 1967. On Jan. 28, 1968, I landed in Vietnam. I spent two tours over there. I spent about nine or ten months in Đông Hà. I came home for 30 days, and then I volunteered to go back for six more months, where I lived in a village near Da Nang.

“I came home the second time on Oct. 10, and in January 1981, I joined the Army Reserves. I was in the Reserves until 2008. So, I spent about 32 years in the military.”

He shared some of his memories of fighting in Vietnam.

“I got into my first firefight the day before my birthday. Scared the mess out of me. I hit a couple of skirmishes. I heard that a friend of mine had been killed over a radio broadcast. That was heartbreaking. The very last day before coming home the second time, I could’ve started a firefight, but I didn’t. After dark, we had the freedom to kill everyone not in their homes. I wasn’t looking to kill folks. 

“There was one firefight where we had landed on a hilltop — the last time I lived in a bunker. We would live in the village for a number of hours before night fell. We got ready to move out, and a young kid was running the other way, hollering, ‘VCs, VCs,’ which meant that there were some VCs (Viet Congs) ahead, but we didn’t know where. Before the young kid was out of sight, all hell broke loose. The guy in front of me got shot in the head. It was his first day there.”

He shared his first moments back in the United States after being at war.

“My sister came to get me from the airport, and it was almost midnight. No big greeting. No big welcome. I was just thankful to make it back.”