Background
John David Williams was born in Greene County Alabama on October 19, 1946 at home. Mr. Williams graduated from Tuscaloosa High School in 1965. He joined the Marine Corps in October of 1966 and went to Recruit Depot at Parris Island South Carolina. Upon graduation he went to Camp Geiger in North Carolina for infantry training. He then went to San Diego for his MOS training. There he became 2547 and 2541. Which were radio operators and radio repairman. In the middle of February 1968 he arrived in Khe Sanh. Upon arriving in Vietnam he became a Forward Observer thanks to the needs of the Marine Corps and was trained by Major Lynch who would later become a General after the war. He would go on to participate in Operation Meade River in December of 1968. He was wounded by an artillery shell and was evacuated back to the states. His final year he spent in a Radio Shop in El Toro, California. While home he married his wife Patricia in May of 1969. He was discharged from the Marine Corps on January 1st, 1970. Mr. Williams would go back to college and graduate from what is now University of Montevallo. While in college he joined the National Guard and rise to the rank of First Sergeant of Troop Command. Between the Marine Corps and National Guard, Mr. Williams would go on to have 34 years of service.
Taking Life
Mr. Williams and another Marine were on a listening post in the middle of the night when he fired his first shots. The Marines would kill about five men that night. Mr Williams would try to maneuver to find the last man. Mr. Williams would take fire and say. “the bullets were like it is in the movie.” He gets in a little overhead and says “To hell with this John Wayne stuff. A man will get killed doing this.” This gave him the sense of mortality. After the fire fight he threw up. A Gunnery Sergeant asked him if he was sick? He said no and the gunny consoled him by saying those men were trying to kill you. Life in Vietnam for the common U.S. Marine wasn’t about politics or another country’s independence. It was one day at a time and was a fight for survival. The men fighting were taught to kill in order to survive. Man must choose between himself or another man.
As a Marine myself, I understand this attitude. To this day Marines are taught to dehumanize the enemy. At the end of the day it’s reasonable to think under certain circumstance we are willing to do what is necessary in order to survive. At the end of the day no one is as important as yourself and the fellow brother fighting next to you. This mentality continues to unite Marines past and present.
Welcome Home
While at Memphis waiting to fly home. A girl approached him and asked if he had served in Vietnam? He said yes. She said, “You deserve everything you got.” Mr. Williams believes that Vietnam Veterans are held to a higher esteem. Then they were 40 years ago. Mr. Williams mentions how refreshing the support that returning veterans receive now.
While I never participated in a war. I have come home from a deployment and everyone was warm and welcoming. Now these veterans like Mr. Williams fought valiantly and were treated poorly by todays standards. While this happened only once to Mr. Williams. It must hurt that you were shamed for putting your life on the line and be ridiculed for it.
ARVN
Mr. Williams did have some run ins with the South Vietnamese Army and mentions that some were good troops. The majority were cowardly. “They were alright as long as they were surrounded by Americans and a lot of firepower. But if they are adding to be in a sector where they were receiving a lot of fire and now artillery rounds, they would run.”
This caught my attention because the South with the backing of the United States should have never lost. It makes sense that they fell to the Northern Vietnamese forces. If you do not fight for the survival of your country and flee in the face of the enemy. You are surely going to lose. While we know that this wasn’t the only reason the south lost to the north. It clarifies some reason. If one lacks self determination he is likely to fall to those that do.
Additional Reading