West Newsmagazine 2-21-18

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February 21, 2018
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
I COVER STORY I 31
Fox also has gone back to Vietnam
four times for visits – trips he describes
as “deeply gratifying.” During one trip he
met a village mayor formerly a member of
the Viet Cong and who narrowly escaped
being killed or captured by Fox’s Marine
group.
They spoke and joked about the fates of
war, perhaps in a way that only those who
have shared the horrors of war, though on
opposite sides, can understand.
Stan Nelms, of Wildwood, was a sergeant
in the Army’s military police and
was stationed in Vietnam from November
1966 until June 1968. He was on leave in
Singapore when the Tet Offensive began.
One of the seven locations attacked prematurely
on Jan. 30, Nelms’ base at Pleiku
was back in U.S. hands when he returned
early in February.
Nelms has penned the novel “Shack Rat,”
based on experiences and observations
during his tour of duty in Vietnam. He
now serves as historian and webmaster for
Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1028
that meets regularly at a Jefferson County
sports bar and restaurant.
A fitting memorial
Early this month, the familiar, haunting
melody of “Taps” echoed throughout St.
Charles Memorial Gardens on a cold, overcast
and blustery day.
For the small group of VFW Post 5077
veterans and others gathered around one
gravesite, the 24 notes were a fitting conclusion
to the memorial service honoring
Navy Hospitalman Charles L. Morrison on
the 50th anniversary of his death.
Born in Illinois, Morrison later moved
with his family to Missouri and graduated
from St. Charles High School before
enlisting in the U.S. Navy. He was just 22
when he became involved in one of the
longest and bloodiest engagements of the
Vietnam War – the battle to recapture the
ancient imperial capital city of Huế, occupied
by the enemy during the early hours
of Tet.
Morrison was killed Feb. 6, 1968.
Special guests at the memorial were
Morrison’s sister, Linda Witt, and her
husband, Ron, from Cedar Hill, Missouri.
VFW members had tried to locate any surviving
family members to tell them about
the ceremony and succeeded in reaching
the Witts only the day before the event.
Aiello, the Post 5077 chaplain, was in
charge of the brief service.
When West Newsmagazine first learned
of Morrison, it was through Post 5077.
Members of that post were seeking to complete
Morrison’s listing on the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial Fund’s Wall of Faces
[vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces]. As late as last
fall, Morrison’s entry was without a photo.
Today, it displays his high school graduation
picture.
The Wall of Faces strives to put a face
to the name listed on the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial, commonly referred to as The
Wall, in Washington, D.C.
Lessons learned
Large numbers of American troops had
been serving in Vietnam for several years
before Tet and the conflict would continue
for several more years before the U.S.
ended its military involvement in 1973.
Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese Army
in 1975, and North and South Vietnam
were unified the following year.
But West County military historian and
author John McManus describes
Tet as the key tipping point of the
war even though it wound up being
a defeat for PAVN [People’s Army
of Vietnam] and VC forces.
“Tet demonstrated that the North
was willing to invest whatever was
needed to try to win an objective,
even if doing so meant huge losses
of manpower and material,” McManus
said. The prolonged engagement
also told the American people
that victory was not as close and
sure as military and political leaders
had been predicting.
Charles Morrison’s gravestone at St. Charles
Memorial Gardens.
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