Vietnam Vets: Still Coming Home

Copyright
Book Design and Layout: Chad Cable
Recent Photography: Steven H. Feimer
Historical Photographs: Supplied by Veterans and Archival Agencies
Cover Photography: Steven H. Feimer
Copyright© 2017 by Steven H. Feimer and Kristine-Elin Cable
All Rights Reserved
First Edition
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Feimer, Steven H. and Cable, Kristine-Elin
Vietnam Vets: Still Coming Home - Their Stories in Their Words
p.cm.
ISBN 978-0-9963678-0-6
Includes
1. Vietnam War,--Pictorial works. 2. Photography. 3. Personal narratives, American.
4. Soldiers- American--Interviews. I. Title
Library of Congress Number
2016907764
The written material and photographs in this volume are intended for the personal use of the reader. No part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the permission of the authors.
Every effort has been made to ensure that all the information in this book is accurate. However, due to factors including the
length of time between the interviewees’ service in Vietnam and the writing of the book, as well as changes in the name and/or
spelling of villages in Vietnam, some accounts may lack precision. The stories contained herein are based upon informed consent
interviews conducted by the authors.
Each interviewee was provided with a written transcript of the interview for the purpose of correcting any errors or omissions.
All information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. Photo credits are provided whenever possible to
identify the photo source(s). The authors and publisher cannot be responsible for any injuries, losses, and other damages that
may result from the use of the information in this book.

Contents
Dedication 2
Foreword 4
Introduction 6
The Veterans
Kerwin “Pee Wee” Douthit 11
Tim Ross 21
Eldon Nygaard 31
George E. “Bud” Day 47
Doris Day 63
James Meger 71
David Cauley 87
Gary Knecht 101
Neil Kohl 113
Basil Heth/Tony Garcia 127
Mary Swenson 143
Don Dahlin 157
Dennis Daum 171
David Volk 187
Dennis Buseman 203
Duane Kummer 215
JR Raysor 225
Ralph Swain 239
Richard Fox 253
Tom Gilbert 265
Stewart Hines 275
Gene Murphy 289
Lyle Bowes 305
Mark DeSciscio 321
Charles Freeman 333
John Boos 347
Larry Tentinger 359
Doug Van Hull 371
Mike Welsh 387
Fred Winkler 403
Roger Kugler 419
Afterword 430
Acknowledgements/
Photograph Credits 432
About the Authors 433
Glossary Of Terms 434

Dedication
To every Soldier, Sailor, Airman, and Marine
Who shared with us their memories of Vietnam,
We offer special recognition to those who are still missing,
To the brave souls whose tour of duty ended there,
And to the Families
Who endured the absence and who still mourn their loss.
To all, we dedicate this book.
There has been too much forgetting.
We are honored to be a part of the remembering.
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FOREWORD
On April 30, 1975, at 8:35 a.m., the last U.S. Marines left the American Embassy in
Saigon, Vietnam, marking the end of America’s longest and most controversial war, the
Vietnam War. That is, until the Iraq War. The Vietnam War, like the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan was not a declared “Great war” like WWI or WWII. Vietnam began as a
conflict that grew into a small war in much the same way the Korean Conflict became
a small war. One might ask; what the difference is between a “great war” and a “small
war” or “conflict?”
Perhaps the distinction lies in the number of dead and wounded. Is it that in small
wars and conflicts the dead and wounded are counted in tens of thousands rather than
millions? But then, how does one count the dead and wounded . . . military killed or
wounded, civilian deaths, enemy killed, missing and presumed dead? Any of these
dark figures are at best only estimates of the number of military and civilian casualties.
What truths have we learned from all of these wars? The first truth was that in 1918
when Woodrow Wilson declared that World War I was “the war to end all wars” he was
wrong on at least two counts. One, the U.S. subsequently engaged in a second World
War and two, the U.S. has continued to engage in a number of regional military conflicts
ever since. Indeed, Wilson’s remarks in retrospect are darkly ironic.
In fact, the assertion that nations would no longer wage wars was not only wrong
but, perhaps, naïve in that the opposite seems to have occurred. The hope that nations
would find alternative, non-violent ways to resolve political conflicts has merely manifested
as alternative linguistic and policy frameworks that have reenergized war as an
optimal policy choice. In fact, we appear to be no closer to ending the practice of war
than we were during Wilson’s time. Rather, we may have witnessed an escalation in
military conflicts designed to maim and kill each other more efficiently in quieter and
smaller ’police actions.’
And what poignant truths did we learn specifically from the Vietnam War? Perhaps
one of the more enduring truths is captured in a quote by Jose Narosky, “In war, there
are no unwounded soldiers.” Norosky’s assessment regarding the effects of war neatly
encapsulates an important and enduring truth about military conflict. Not surprisingly
then, understanding more about the impact of war on its military participants is a significant
driving force behind our face-to-face interview work with Vietnam Veterans.
I came upon the idea to write this book by a chance encounter. In the summer
of 2008, I was photographing an event honoring Veterans at our local Veterans
Resource Center. As I was packing up my camera equipment, a gentleman sat
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down next to me and asked, “Can you take 35mm slides and turn them into photographs?”
“Yes,” I responded and then asked, “What kind of slides do you have?”
He replied in a very soft but direct voice, “They are pictures I took when I was in
Vietnam. I was a door gunner in a helicopter gunship.” And so it began.
The next day Gary arrived at my office carrying two old five-pound plastic
tobacco bags, the kind of bags that “roll-your-own” smokers buy. Both bags were
filled with slides, campaign ribbons, medals, patches, letters, an old 1A Draft card,
and a variety of memorabilia from his time in Vietnam.
As I examined the slides and read his letters, I realized that this man’s life before,
during, and after Vietnam bore a special significance not simply because of
its individual uniqueness, but because his personal story revealed the commonality
of experiences and feelings that most military personnel who go to war – any
war – share. What Veteran can forget arriving at boot camp, C- rations, letters
from home, the sounds of the battlefield at night, the cry, Medic!!, the boredom,
the chaos, being shot at, being hit, the adrenaline highs, mud, the stench of battle,
emptied bunks, and coming home?
As the academic year began in the fall of 2008, I contacted two of my colleagues,
professors Robert Swan and Steven Bucklin, both Veterans and asked if
they would be interested in collaborating on a book centered on the lives of Veterans
before, during, and after Vietnam. After receiving funding from the Chiesman
Center of Democracy and technical support from Jathan Chicoine, Executive
Director of the Vermillion Veterans Resource Center, we began identifying
Vietnam Veterans to interview.
At first, we planned to interview six or perhaps eight Veterans. As it turned
out almost every soldier we interviewed gave us the name of another Veteran who
needed to be contacted. All had compelling stories of their experiences. Soon we
found ourselves overwhelmed with Vets who wanted to share their stories. We
knew there were practical limits to the number of interviews we could do, but it
was hard to say no, despite the fact there were simply too many stories that Veterans
wanted to share with us. In the end, we settled for a platoon size group of
Vets, knowing that there were many other stories we would miss.
For the most part, the men we contacted were eager to tell their experiences
and appreciated the fact that nearly forty years after the Vietnam War, people
were still interested in their stories and their lives. There were times, however,
when Veterans would ask us to turn off the recorder, not because of some “blood
and guts” issue or because they were recalling becoming hooked on “Black

Beauties” or other drugs, but because our questions dredged up memories and
emotions that were still too vivid and painful to revisit. In other cases certain
Veterans declined to be interviewed and when we inquired why, they simply
said “I can’t talk about Vietnam.” Their response always reminded me of the
“What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas” commercial. Perhaps, “What Happened
in ‘Nam, [should] Stay in ‘Nam” and I suspect that it will.
This book is a testimony to the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines lives
before, during, and after Vietnam. Many of the photographs were taken by U.S.
Veterans while in Vietnam and show the muted colors of the old Kodacolor film
(C-41) processing. Other photographs reflect modern digital photographic techniques
and unique processing. In considering the book design we wanted to produce
a book that was both rich in narrative and photography. What began as an
effort to convert 35mm slides ended with the interviews of a platoon size group
of Vietnam War Veterans and over 2,500 photographs. We hope our presentation
of these lives stirs within the readers the same shifting perspectives and sense of
humanity that moved us to create this record.
Photographs remind us of where we have been, mirrors remind us of
where we are.
Steve Feimer, Photographer
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INTRODUCTION
“Vietnam Vets: Still Coming Home” introduces thirty Veterans who served in
Vietnam between 1962 and 1973. They represent the Army, Marines, Air Force,
and Navy, and experienced their service with different jobs, in different parts of
Vietnam and with different degrees of impact on their post-Vietnam lives. None
came away unscathed; none have forgotten – nor ever will forget - those years.
“Still Coming Home” is a glimpse of those thirty lives before, during, and after
Vietnam.
that each of these thirty Veterans have stored in their hearts makes them who they
are today. With courage they have shared Their Stories, In Their Words.
It is said that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” and if that is accurate, the
word count in this book is infinite. The Veterans have provided personal photos
from their experiences which tell these stories with a range of feelings from horror
to humor, and which capture the time and the culture of a by-gone era. The
creative talent of co-author Steve Feimer has contributed an artistic element to the
book with the photographs of the Veterans today. The memorabilia which they
saved and shared - from draft cards to weapons to uniforms to enemy artifacts -
documents their time in Vietnam. Some rarely dig out these treasures because of
the emotional memories they represent. Some share them regularly with family
and friends and display them in their homes. All have appreciated the careful
and respectful arrangements Steve has designed to poignantly tell their stories in
photographs.
Telling the Vets’ stories in words was a different challenge. Each interview was
taped, and a transcript was made for the writer to combine and then tell each
story. In order to convey the emotion, the individual’s speech patterns, the “atmosphere”
of the surroundings, pauses in the interview, body language and other
non-verbal elements, it was necessary to use unusual or non-standard punctuation
and spacing and to insert editorial comments using italicized paragraphs. It
is hoped that the stories “read” as they were spoken, and, that if read aloud, each
Vet would come alive as the individual they are. No apologies are made for grammar,
repetitive sayings, swearing, anger, or “voices full of tears.” Long pauses . . .
hopefully convey the depth of feeling that makes each Vet’s account of his Vietnam
experiences truly unique. Maintaining the integrity of the interview was essential
for “Still Coming Home” to achieve one of the goals of the book’s original
concept.
The whole story of Vietnam will never be told. It would be impossible. Each
Veteran left as a young man or woman with expectations and personal history.
Most Veterans came home much older and changed in many ways both physically
and mentally. Some have had greater success than others in “moving on”
and building a future without the shadows of Vietnam darkening their lives. But
throughout the forty-plus years that have gone by since Vietnam, the memories
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The Veterans and Their Stories
7

Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust. Thus we
may know that there are five essentials for victory:
• He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.
• He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
• He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.
• He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
• He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.

Kerwin “Pee Wee” Douthit

Kerwin “Pee Wee” Douthit
The Army E7 was already dead; the Viet Cong had staked him to the ground
with bamboo poles through his shoulders. I somehow got the VC, and then carried
out the wounded Colonel. We could be next if they caught up with us. I ran
with him on my back for four and a half hours. We both survived but I never saw
him again, and I never want to.
Memories of the sights, secrets, and scars of a twenty-two year military career
began “in the middle of nowhere” in one country and took Kerwin “PeeWee”
Douthit to the “middle of nowhere” around the world and back. Much of his
story will never be told; here is a part of what he can share.
There are lots of places in South Dakota that people would describe as the
“middle of nowhere,” and I grew up in one of them. My folks ran a cattle ranch
three miles east of Vetal, South Dakota – population 7 - in Bennett County, on
the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation about twenty miles east of Martin, South
Dakota. It’s hard to imagine these days, but the house I was born in was made
out of logs with a dirt floor and a sod roof. Amazing that it’s still there. I was
raised after the Depression and we did not have a whole lot to eat; you ate what
came off the ranch. I remember sugar being rationed and so was gasoline during
WW II. Whenever we had to go someplace, we went with horses.
There were five boys and one girl in the family – two older brothers, me, a younger
sister, and a younger brother. My mother died giving birth to twins. One twin
died shortly after birth and the other twin was adopted by my aunt. After Mom
died, Dad sold the ranch and moved to town. I went to work on another ranch and
stayed with my grandmother during the school year to attend grade school and
junior high in Lincoln, Nebraska. Then I attended high school at the University of
Nebraska, School of Agriculture in Curtis, Nebraska. Our family was pretty well
split up during the school year, but we got back together during the summers.
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Not the Army Kind
After I graduated from high school in 1957, I really wasn’t thinking much
about being in the military. My uncles – most of them – had been in the service,
but Dad wasn’t allowed to serve in WWII. The country needed the cattle they
were raising on the ranch.
None of us young kids then paid any attention to the war in Vietnam or
Southeast Asia. Girls was mostly what we thought about. But that all changed
in February of 1960. One day I was playing cribbage in a place where they
served sodas, when the secretary of the local draft board came in and told me
I was “number one” for the draft. I said, “No, I’m not,” and walked across the
street to the Air Force recruiter and signed up. I’m not the Army kind of guy, so
I joined the Air Force thinking I could stay back and make sure their girlfriends
were happy.
But it didn’t end up that way. I left that night for my 12 weeks of basic training
in San Antonio, Texas. Twelve weeks of boot camp was actually eight for us.
We was in our eighth week when the drill instructors got new people coming in,
so we just had to sit around and act like we was smart! I waited four weeks, and
then my transfer was to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, for training.
Electronics was among a lot of other training we had. This was the beginning of
what ended up as being a twenty-two year career in the U.S. Air Force.
In the very early days of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, prior to the largescale
ground war initiative, enlistees were trained for jobs that were urgently
needed for gaining knowledge of the area and the enemy. Sometimes small
groups were trained in a number of techniques for specialized communications
and intelligence gathering. Especially for those who continued with the service

as a career, many built upon these first skills and their personal field experiences
to move on and train others.
The Air Force has AFSCS’s which is a specialty code for assigning job classifications.
I was an Air Force IG inspector, a quality control inspector, and at one
time, I was an enlisted commander which in other branches of the service you
don’t normally have. Later, after Vietnam, I was a survival instructor in Arctic,
jungle, and dessert.
After training, I didn’t go directly to Vietnam; my first overseas duty assignment
and permanent change of station (PCS) was Clark Air Force Base in the
Philippines. I was only in the Philippines for about three days before I was sent
up into South Korea to work with the Republic of Korea Army (ROK). The communist
North Korean soldiers were coming across the DMZ – Demilitarized
Zone – so I spent about six weeks chasing the North Koreans. It was a miserable
duty. We were out in the bush the entire time with no way to take a bath or
anything. I was really dirty and skuzzy. I smelled like a dead horse. Six weeks
in Korea was plenty for me, so when my time was up I was ordered to fly back to
Clark AFB from Korea.
“The U.S. Does Not Know You”
So, here I was in the shower cleaning up when the security police came in and
got me. I had no sense I was going to Vietnam until I went over to the Thirteenth
Air Force Headquarters, which was really a vault within a vault. It was there that
I learned that I was going to Vietnam on temporary duty orders (TDY) with a
special assignment.
I was stripped of everything I had on me that said United States of America.
I wasn’t the only one receiving this “special treatment” – there was fifteen of us.
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