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CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) Nearly 45 years ago Dean Pedersen was wounded while serving with an Airborne unit in South Vietnam. Pederson has given students an oral history of his experience many times. But this is the first time Pedersen has written it out on paper, what happened to him and his unit.

Some of the content may be disturbing to some people, so viewer or reader discretion is advised.
 
South Vietnam, May 21, 1969 1:02am. The time and place is where I was when I was wounded.

I was an M-60 machine Gunner in the 2nd Platoon of Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade.

On April 17, 1969 our Platoon was split up between 3 villages to fix up their bunkers, and the perimeters around these villages. The village that my group was in was about 8 to 10 miles from our Battalion Base Camp of Bao Loc, which is approximately 100 miles north of Saigon.  

The village was about a half mile long, and about a quarter mile wide. When we first moved into the village, we would sleep in a different location each night, but as we got more comfortable with the people in the village, and as they got more used to us being around, we set up a little more permanent place to sleep each night, which was in about the center of the village north to south, and on the east side just inside the perimeter. We had a zig zag trench, with larger dug out areas to place our air mattresses for sleeping.

I only had a few weeks until I was supposed to go home, so I had already turned the Machine Gun over to another guy on my Gun crew, my assistant gunner was going home about 2 weeks after I did, so there was going to be a complete new gun crew after we left.

I was supposed to leave the field on May 20th (which was a resupply day) to go for an in country R&R, and I was going to visit my cousin David Bruhn, who was stationed at Qui Nhon.  When I got back from that, I would process out, and be heading back to the States, but all of that changed when the resupply Trucks came out on May 20th.   

The 1st Sergeant had come along out with the resupply to talk to me about staying until the next resupply being we only had 12 guys in our group.  There was supposed to be a couple of guys that were on R&R that the 1st Sergeant thought would be back by that time, so of course I stayed. We got resupplied every 3 days.

After the resupply trucks had left to go back to our Base Camp in Bao Loc, I was kind of down in the dumps.  I was sitting on one of the bunkers when Tex came over and asked me what was wrong, he could tell just by looking at me that I wasn’t all there so to speak. I told him that something was going to happen between now and the next resupply, and he said don’t think that way Pete, we have been in this village for over a month, and we hadn’t been hit at all.

That night I had guard duty from 12:00AM until 1:00AM.  I had just got off duty, and had taken my helmet off. I had just laid down, when I heard a Mortar Tube start firing.  I looked at my watch, and it was 1:02AM, and I thought oh —-. I got up quick, and I could not find my helmet, I was on my knees, looking around for it and I was almost sitting on it. I just got it on when the first mortar dropped in about 15 to 20 feet from my position, and at the same time, grenades started flying our way from in the village.

I thought I could hear where one of the grenades launchers was shooting from, so I stuck my head up to get a bead on that launcher, and when I stuck my head up, what I saw was a hand grenade rolling right up in front of me. (I remember thinking at that time, that 90% of their grenades are duds, and that if that was the case, they were sure throwing one hell of allot of them.) All I had time to do is try to duck down, and turn my head to the side before it went off.

I remember yelling for the Medic, and I remember him wrapping my head, and I remember saying to Tex “oh —- I got hit in the head” I passed out after that.

The next thing I remember is coming too when a doctor or someone was shaving my head around the injury, and at the same time another guy was cutting my shirt off me, and he asked if I could lift up, so he could get the bottom half of my shirt out from under me, and I really got pissed off, and asked him what the hell he wanted it for a blank souvenir, or what? I passed out again, and didn’t come too until 7 days later.  

At that time they told me I had been at the 8th field hospital in Phan Rang, and that now I was in the 24th Evac hospital in Long Bhin. Shortly after I came too, an Officer presented me with a Purple Heart, and I think I told him where he could stick it.

After that they thought I was in good enough shape to be sent to Japan, so I was loaded on board a Air Force 141 Star Lift Meda-vac Jet, and was flown to Japan, and was admitted to the 106th General Hospital. When I was there, they thought I would survive, so they sent me into surgery to stitch up the rest of my wounds.

While I was there I remember a nurse asking me if I wanted a Braille Watch, which she handed to me, I checked it out, and handed it back to her, and said I would just look at my own watch as soon as the bandages were removed. I think it was the next day when she asked me again if I wanted the Braille Watch, and that time I took it, and I still have it to this day.

My Aunt Eileen and my Uncle Don, who was a Commander in the Navy, were stationed on the island of Guam. I went to visit them on my out of country R and R in January of 1969. My Aunt came to Japan to see me in the hospital. I remember it as plain as if it were yesterday when I heard her voice when she asked at the Nurses station if Sgt. Dean Pedersen was on this ward, and I yelled out, and said I am right here. Hearing a familiar voice really snapped me back to life, she stayed there with me for a couple of days until I was loaded on a Chopper that was going to fly me to Yakota Air Force Base for transport back to the States.

The Flight from Travis Air Force Base in California to Japan took 10 hours, and 20 minutes on the way to Vietnam, it only took 8 hours with the Trade winds over the Pacific Ocean helping to push us back to Travis Air Force Base.

The next day I was flown to Denver, and was admitted to Fitz Simmons General Hospital. I was there for 6 days, while I was there a doctor told me the extent of my injuries, and that I would not see again. I remember thinking at the time that just can’t be I have a new Jaguar XKE waiting for me to pick up in Milwaukee.

After 6 days there I was finally sent HOME for a month Leave to give me time to heal up some before I had to go back for Plastic Surgery around my right eye. (My right eye is gone completely, my left eye is still there, but I have prosthetic eyes on both sides) Also while I was at Fitz Simmons a High ranking Officer presented me with a Bronze Star, The Air Medal, and the Purple Heart again that I had previously refused.

I got home on June 16, 1969, the same day I would have gotten home if I hadn’t been wounded. After I had been home for about 2 weeks, Tex called me (we had made those arrangements before May 20th, that he would call me when he got home, being he had a couple of weeks left in Vietnam when I was due to leave to go home.) Anyway when he called, that is when I found out what happened the rest of the night, or the early morning hours of May 21st. I didn’t know that Tex had already talked to my folks and told them.

My folks thought it would be better if Tex was the person to tell me, so after I got off the phone with Tex I went into the living room at my folk’s house, and I was crying and laughing at the same time right out loud, my Dad asked me if I thought what Tex had just told me was funny? I just said back to him that I was just so damn happy to be alive.

I have to mention here that tears are running down my face while I am typing this story. I have told this several times over the years, but this is the first time I have ever typed it out. I will say that some of the tears are of great joy, and happiness for my life, my wife, and my family. Also they are tears of deep sorrow for these guys for what might have been????

On my right was PFC Enrique Martinez from El Paso, Texas who I had turned the Machine gun over to, the guy on my left Sgt. Douglas Swanstrom from Elington, New York who was one of the Rifle squad leaders, and for Sp/4 Rolan (Tex) Henderson from Seadrift, Texas, my assistant gunner who later committed suicide. Tex and I got to be closer than brothers.

I was one of the first to be wounded, what I didn’t know is that the same grenade that got me also killed the guys on each side of me. The one on my right was the guy that I had turned the Machine Gun over too. The guy on my left was a rifle squad leader, he also had 2 weeks left in Vietnam after I went home, and he was planning on coming to North Dakota to spend a week with me on his way home to New York.

Being we were in a village we could not call in any artillery, or air support, so help had to be convoyed out from BaoLoc. When they did get there around 5:00AM, there were only 4 guys out of 12 left fighting, and they were just about out of ammo. One other guy and I were in pretty bad shape, so we went out on the first Meda-vac chopper when they were finally able to bring them in around 5:30AM. I think that is when I was brought to the 8th field hospital in Phan Rang.

After I had been home for a month, I went back to Fitz Simmons for my plastic surgery, and was there for about 2 weeks. My military records had not caught up with me yet, so I was sent home again, which ended up being the rest of the summer.  Finally around the end of September my records got to Fitz Simmons, so I had to go back to Denver again to get checked out of the Hospital, and then it was back home for a week, and then off to Chicago to Hines V.A. Blind Rehabilitation Center. I was at Hines from October 16, 1969 until March 27, 1970. I had surgery on my left ear while there, that affected my balance etc, so I was sent home for 3 weeks to heal up from that surgery.

On many of the weekends my mother’s cousin Ruth (Boots) Lehman would pick me up on Friday afternoon, and bring me up to her Lake home at Fox Lake, Illinois, about an hour north of Chicago.  She is a true patriot she worked in Omaha, Nebraska during World War II building B-24 bombers. That is where she got the nickname Boots.

I had a plate put in my head to fill in the hole from the grenade in February of 1971, and have had 3 surgeries on my right ear over the years, the hearing in that ear, is just about gone now, both ears ring constantly with a high pitched squeal.

My assistant gunner Tex was from Sea Drift Texas, he had another year to serve, so he went to Germany, when he got home he married the girl he was going with before he went to Vietnam. I don’t know what happened, but after being home for a while he went out in his back yard, and shot himself.
 
I got married to my wife Betty September 2, 1972; we have 2 children. A son Matthew, he works for Microsoft, his wife Jen works for Mountain Hardwear, a part of Columbia Sports Wear. Our daughter Sarah is the Librarian at Valley City High School. She is married to a classmate of Matt’s, Mike Lerud, Mike is a Funeral Director in Valley City, and they have a 5-year-old son Jack, who is the joy of our lives.

Betty and I are both active in the Disabled American Veterans, of which Betty is a past State President of the Ladies Auxiliary. I have been very active in the VFW as well, and I am a Life Member of all of the Veterans Organizations. My wife and I are also very involved in our Church. I am the President of the Trustees, and have been for quite a few years.

I have a wood work studio called Pedersen Wood Craft. I have been doing wood work since 1972. I am also on the V-500 Scholarship Board of Directors at Valley City State University. I have been on the board for 10 years, and served as President for 5 of those years.

MY STORY
By: Dean H. Pedersen
Republic of South Vietnam

Far left Dean Pedersen in South Vietnam and far right Dean Pedersen today outside his home in Valley City.