INSIDE THIS ISSUE
OCTOBER 2012
Interview with Steve Pierce TCSD Events TCSD Contacts Board Members Volunteer Committee
TRIATHLON CLUB OF SAN DIEGO
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Weekly Workout Calendar New Members Free Clinic: Nutrition Member Profile TCSD Conversation
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Steve returned home from his tour in Vietnam
Triathlons: Fiesta Island October 13 Format: 750y/12mi/4mi
Refer to the Club’s website for latest & complete information.
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that were buried in his brain and the effects of exposure to Agent Orange that was buried in his heart. Thus begins the saga of a triathlete’s journey that began over 40 years ago in the jungles of Southeast Asia. VIETNAM In the summer of 1968, Steve enlisted in the Marines hoping to serve as an aviation electronics technician, but the Marines assigned him to the infantry as a basic rifleman. He felt patriotic and wanted to serve his country in the footsteps of his grandfather (WWI infantry) and father (WWII pilot). Next stop for Steve was Vietnam at the height of the war. He prayed he’d return home safe and sound. The Marine Corps assigned him to Bravo Company, first battalion, third Marine division. His unit operated in the rugged jungles of the mountainous, northern region near the DMZ and the Laotian border. To the west in Laos, the Ho Chi Minh Trail, with numerous intersects within North and South Vietnam, served as a conduit for North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong forces. The job of Steve’s unit was to ferret out enemy
soldiers hiding in the dense jungles in a dangerous game of hit and run, cat and mouse. Their company commander, Capt. Sampson, was an exemplary leader. His specialty was reconnaissance—observe and report—and he treated Bravo Company like a recon unit. To avoid mines and ambush, they never went down established trails. They chopped through jungles with machetes, and waded through mud and streams, all the time carrying packs that weighed 50-70 pounds. Their operations usually lasted 3040 days, with each day in a different place. They carried water, but sometimes they ran out and drank from streams. Their water purification tablets killed microorganisms, but did nothing to eliminate chemicals such as Agent Orange. They saw denuded mountainsides, but thought those were the results of heavy U.S. bombardment, not from spraying defoliant. “We spent 99% of the time out in the jungle. We moved through it, dug through it, and
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OCTOBER TCSD CLUB RACE
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with two hidden, unwelcome hitchhikers: Nightmares of his experiences
TBD
Race Reports Coach’s Corner Fool’s Gold
TriNews
Interview with TCS
OCTOBER CLUB MEETING
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