a tribute to
vietnam veterans TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2014
A collection of stories from local Vietnam vets.
A supplement of the Idaho Press-Tribune
Sponsored by:
Salute
A TRIBUTE TO VIETNAM VETERANS INSIDE
Vietnam War: How it started................................................................................ 4 Brett Endicott: Life interrupted, not deterred...................................................... 14 Bernie Fisher: Community remembers heroism.................................................. 5 Bob Parrish: Longtime Nampan moves past war................................................. 18 Justice Daniel Eismann: Judge’s life of service began on Huey.......................... 8 Rudy Evenson: A different kind of lottery............................................................. 22 Pete Oakander: Vet finds camaraderie among servicemen................................. 10
O
ver the summer, I had a chance to sit down with my dad and look through all of his Vietnam memorabilia.
Inside were boxes full of letters, tapes, photos and other random items he’s kept since he came home from Vietnam in 1968. I’d seen these letters, tapes and photos as a young man, but I had never actually sat down and listened to my dad share the stories and memories of his service in detail. My father’s name is Mark J. Davison. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in August 1966 and served in Vietnam from March 1967 to May 1968. He spent six months in Long Bien, Vietnam, and another eight months in Can Tho. His technical rank was Spec5 MOS 71C30, which is code for senior staff administrative stenographer. He worked for several high-ranking officers during his tour, including Lt. Gen. Weyand, Brig. Gen. Forbes and Maj. Gen. Eckhardt. There were several photos of him driving a command Jeep with these officers riding shotgun. Inside one of the boxes was an old reel-to-reel tape recorder. We fired it up and wound in some of the old tapes. I was surprised it still worked. One tape in particular is difficult to forget. It is a recording my dad made during a firefight outside his barracks in Can Tho. The Viet Cong were hiding in the tree line not far
from the base, and an American Huey gunship helicopter was called in to push them back. My dad and several other men were hunkered down in a sandbag bunker on the base as the helicopter flew overhead. The sound of the helicopter approaching and the ensuing firefight gave Mark J. Davison me chills. The rockets and machine gun fire were right above their heads. The rockets exploding in the distance and the rapid bursts of machine gun fire seemed to go on forever. The soldiers in the bunker were fired up, but you could also hear fear in their voices. I can’t even imagine how scary the experience must have been for those men. As we listened to more tapes, most of them were recordings to and from his friends and family back home. There were also piles and piles of letters. I was taken aback by my father’s maturity. He was only
20 years old at the time. In his letters, it is clear how much he missed his family, always asking what his siblings were up to. Did his younger brother Steve find a job yet? How were the plans going for his twin sister’s wedding? Was his baby sister getting good grades in school? Back home, life was going on pretty normally, but in Vietnam all he wanted was some care packages with his favorite foods and more tapes from his friends and family so he could hear their voices and experience the rather normal lives they were leading back home in Tigard, Oregon. Vietnam had a lasting effect on my dad. As with many vets, he has experienced post-traumatic stress disorder. He still won’t fly in a plane and has some trouble in tight quarters. He’s currently dealing with pretty severe rheumatoid arthritis that was likely caused by drinking water contaminated with Agent Orange. He has had two full hip replacements and will likely need a knee in the near future. Even though the Vietnam War ended 40 years ago, those who served there are still dealing with the lasting effects of war. Inside this special section you will find some incredible profiles and stories of from our local Vietnam veterans. The men and women who served our nation in Vietnam faced challenges that most of us will never have to experience. I am proud of my dad’s service in Vietnam. He is a great father and grandfather. I have a great deal of respect and admiration for those who defend and protect us. Hopefully you will enjoy reading these stories, and next time you run into a veteran remember to thank them for their service. We are all in their debt. Matt Davison is the publisher of the Idaho Press-Tribune
SALUTE: A TRIBUTE TO VIETNAM VETERANS is a special magazine produced by the Idaho Press-Tribune, 1618 N. Midland Blvd., Nampa, ID. Copyright 2014. Coordinated by Editor Scott McIntosh and Assistant Editor Christina Lords. Designed by News and Design Editor Randy Lavorante. Cover design by Tyler Crabb. Multimedia Editor Greg Kreller and photographer Adam Eschbach scanned and shot the submitted photos featured in the stories and captured present-day portraits. Special assistance provided by Community Editor Jordan Gray.
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Salute: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
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Salute: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
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Vietnam War
HOW IT STARTED Trouble brewed in southeast Asia years before the United States officially stepped in.
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By JOHN FUNK
mal recognition on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. But it’s still not quite that simple. The choice of that date as a cutoff was established retroactively in November 1998. Officially, President Dwight Eisenhower’s policy was still one of limited advice and support, and military advisory staff never exceeded 1,000. Throughout the rest of the ‘50s, hostilities in Vietnam were limited to the Vietnamese themselves: the communist North and the The short answer is “sometime between 1950 and non-communist South. By the early 1960s, President John 1965.” But it’s more accurate, perhaps, to describe the F. Kennedy stepped up the amount of conflict’s beginning as a process, not an event. The first American who fell in Vietnam was Lt. Col. military support to South Vietnam. A memorandum dated Nov. 22, 1961, stated Peter Dewey of the Office of Strategic Services, who “The U.S. Government is prepared to was ambushed and killed by communist Viet Minh join the Vietnam government in a sharply soldiers Sept. 26, 1945. increased joint effort to avoid a further Some say this marked the beginning of active United States involvement in Vietnam, but according deterioration in the situation on South Vietnam.” to an information paper released by the Office of the The United States Navy Ship Core Secretary of Defense, that’s not quite accurate — it arrived in South Vietnam on Dec. 11, 1961, was a case of mistaken identity, not an act of aggresbringing with it 33 helicopters and 400 air sion against America. and ground crewmen. Within two weeks, The Viet Minh personnel killed Dewey, the the helicopters were providing combat supHistorical Office says, because they believed he was port to South Vietnamese forces, and more French. The United States was not involved in any shipments of men and equipment were close conflicts in the region, and nothing of consequence behind. came of Dewey’s death. As tragic as it was, it didn’t For the first time, American forces took a drakick off America’s Vietnam conflict. matically different approach from Eisenhower’s Open conflict between France and the Viet Minh policy of advice, training and support. Some call began the following year, but even then, the United this the official start of the conflict, but others States took a hands-off approach. But as the 1940s disagree — the U.S. military presence remained drew to a close, leaders in the United States began to small and limited. see the Viet Mihn as an important piece of a global On Aug. 7, 1964, North Vietnamese boats attacked communist puzzle. an American destroyer, the USS Maddox, off the By early 1950, President Harry S. Truman and his coast of North Vietnam. The resulting Tonkin Gulf administration were actively working with France Resolution, proposed by President Lyndon Johnson to see how they could take a more hands-on role in and approved overwhelmingly by Congress, stated the region. In September of the same year, the U.S. that “Congress approves and supports the deterestablished its first official presence — the Military mination of the president, as commander in chief, Assistance Advisory Group, Indochina — in Saigon. The U.S.’s official position was that, unlike France, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to it had no colonial interest in southeast Asia. But it prevent further aggression.” needed French support and cooperation to help The resolution’s strong wording led some to view it contain the spread of communism in Europe — and increasingly, it appeared that the price of that support as a de facto declaration of war, thus marking official was backing France against communists in Vietnam. start of the Vietnam War. It would take another year, however, before And while France happily accepted American funding and support, it drew the line at allowing U.S. America reached its full commitment into the war. An expeditionary force of 9,000 Marines arrived in personnel to take an active role in strategy or trainVietnam in March 1965 — an important step, but not ing of south Vietnamese troops. America was in the the full implementation — of Johnson’s more aggresgame, but it wasn’t yet a major player. sive policy. France lost its war against Vietnamese comThat didn’t come until a little later that year. With munists in 1954, and gave up its role in the advisory South Vietnamese forces falling at an alarming rate, group the following year. That’s when the United Gen. William C. Westmoreland, the U.S. military States stepped in as the principal anti-communist commander in Vietnam, believed South Vietnam Western presence in the region. would collapse entirely within six months if America Some say Nov. 1, 1955, is the day America’s war in didn’t intervene in full force. Vietnam began. And indeed, according to Depart“I see no course of action open to us except to ment of Defense guidelines, that’s the earliest date that qualifies a soldiers who died in Vietnam for forreinforce our efforts in (South Vietnam) with adIdaho Press-Tribune
4
hen America’s war in Vietnam began is a complicated question with no simple answer.
Salute: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
ditional U.S. ... forces as rapidly as is practical in the weeks ahead,” Westmoreland wrote in his request for additional battalions. “Additionally, studies must continue and plans developed to deploy even greater forces, if and when required,to attain our objectives or county enemy initiatives.” Westmoreland’s request became the driver for discussions involving Johnson and his advisers at the State Department, the Department of Defense, the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency over the following weeks. On July 28, 1965, Johnson held a press conference at which he stated, “We are in Vietnam to fulfill one of the most solemn pledges of the American nation. Three presidents — President Eisenhower, President Kennedy and your present president — over 11 years have committed themselves to help defend this small and valiant nation.” Johnson acknowledged Westmoreland’s request and vowed to meet it — committing to an open-ended strategy toward winning the war in Vietnam. While arguments can be made at several points in the years leading up to July 28, 1965, it was this date that marked the beginning of the United States’ fullscale military involvement in the Vietnam conflict.
SOURCE: Information paper released by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Bernie Fisher
COMMUNITY REMEMBERS HEROISM The hometown hero died earlier this year, but the Treasure Valley remembers his contribution.
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By JOHN FUNK Idaho Press-Tribune
’m gonna make about 180 degrees, and come in to the southwest, Maj. Bernard Fisher told his fellow airmen as he prepared to make a daring rescue along a battle-torn airstrip. Another American aircraft crash landed on the runway just moments before. Its pilot, Maj. Dafford Tuesday, November 11, 2014
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I’m right behind you, Bernie. I took a hit to my pitot system, and I’m smoking a little.” CAPT. JOHN LUCAS, after firefight during Vietnam War
“Jump” Myers, was potentially injured and at imminent risk of capture. “OK,” came the reply from Capt. John Lucas, according to military transcripts. “Well, then, we’ll come up behind you and strafe parallel to your heading with you.” Enemy forces had cut off a nearby special forces camp from the airstrip. Hostile troops in the surrounding hills never eased off the constant pressure Salute: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
of automatic weapons fire. Fisher and his men were there to provide air support to the battle below. “OK, I’m rolling in now.” Fisher was making a risky maneuver with his A-1 Skyraider — landing on an airstrip under heavy enemy small-arms fire — but he knew his buddies had his back, even as they placed themselves at risk. “I’m right behind you, Bernie,” Lucas said over the radio. “I took a hit to my pitot system, and I’m smoking a little.” Even as Lucas covered Fisher, two more pilots — Capt. Dennis Hague and Capt. Francisco “Paco” Vasquez — kept an eye on Lucas. This was a welloiled machine, a team of men who looked out for each other.
Please see Fisher, page 6 5
Bernie Fisher chats with a fellow serviceman. The handwritten note says: “To a most wonderful and loyal commander.”
FISHER
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Continued from page 5 “I’m right back at your six o’clock, Luke,” Hague said. “OK. Ah, do you see any smoke?” Lucas asked. “Negative. It looks pretty good,” Hague replied. The Skyraider pilots operated under an 800-foot ceiling, limiting their maneuverability between mountains and exposing them to enemy small arms fire. Circling 20,000 feet above of feet above, fighter aircraft were poised to strike, but Myers was still in danger. “All right, sir, hold on high and dry,” Forward Air Control told the fighter pilots. “At the present time we have A-1H’s working underneath. There’s an aircraft down there at the present time, and we’re trying to get the pilot out.” Minutes later, Fisher landed and taxied the full length of the runway, allowing Myers to scramble into Fisher’s Skyraider before they made their escape. The whole rescue was so smooth and so fast that it even surprised their fellow airmen. “Luke, you got a chopper coming in up here from the north,” Skyraider pilot Jim Gunter said. “Uh, he might be able to get your pilot out.” “We already got him out,” Lucas said.
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Fisher, who lived the rest of his life in the Treasure Valley before he died earlier this year, received the Congressional Medal of Honor — the nation’s highest military honor — in 1966 for his role in Myer’s rescue. But his son, fellow pilot and Kuna resident Steve Fisher — said he never really saw himself as a hero. To hear Bernard tell it, Steve recalled, he only did what anyone would have done in his position. But to his family, Steve said, it was just one heroic event in a career full of heroic events. “He got a lot of recognition for this,” Steve said. “But there were other things he did.” Another of Bernard’s sons, Brad Fisher, tells a story of when his father piloted an F-104 Starfighter — an aircraft with notoriously stubby wings and a tendency for engine flameouts — in southern Florida. The Starfighter was built to go fast. It didn’t glide well. In the event of an engine failure, Brad said, pilots were instructed to bail out.
Please see Fisher, page 7 6
Salute: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Left: 1966 Medal of Honor letter for Bernie Fisher from the White House. Bottom left: Bernie Fisher Bottom right: Bernie Fisher more recently.
FISHER Continued from page 6 But that’s not what Bernard did when his F-104 stalled in mid-flight — he managed to bring it safely to the ground. Not only was it an impressive feat of piloting, Steve said, it also saved lives. When an aircraft is abandoned over the ocean, there’s no way of ever knowing what went wrong. But, thanks to Bernard, aircraft mechanics finally had an opportunity figure out why the Starfighter was prone to flameouts. “He did it twice, too,” Brad recalled. “Two times, he did it. He’s one of the few people that ever did that on that plane. He happened to be just above the airbase when that happened, so he didn’t have to glide for a while.” After he left the military, Steve said, Bernard built his own farm and homestead and stayed involved with the community. He was active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Boy Scouts and other organizations until his death in the summer of 2014. But he never gave up flying. The Fisher brothers recall leaving the Nampa airport for morning fishing trips in Idaho’s back country and simulated bombing runs over Boy Scout camps. “I remember when I was a kid, I was that bombardier,” Steve said. “He had a plane, and we would go up to a Boy Scout camp. We’d fill nylon stockings with candy and tie some kind of streamer on it, fly over the camp, and drop it on the camp.”
AWARDED TO COL. BERNARD FISHER Congressional Medal of Honor n Silver Star n Distinguished Flying Cross n Bronze Star n Air Medal n
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Salute: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
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Justice Daniel Eismann
JUDGE’S LIFE OF SERVICE BEGAN ON HUEY Defying odds has become normal for longtime Idaho Supreme Court justice.
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By JAKE ALGER Special to the Idaho Press-Tribune
t was as little as seven days, depending on who you talk to. That was the average lifespan of a crew chief on a Huey gunship during the Vietnam War.
Idaho Supreme Court Justice Daniel Eismann lasted 18 months. But nothing is too surprising for a man who has been defying the odds for nearly 40 years. Ironically, Eismann’s story began by ignoring the odds, not beating them. In 1967, after two years at the University of Idaho, he enlisted in the Army at a time when many young men were desperate to avoid being drafted. “I just wanted to serve,” said Eismann, who grew up in Homedale and graduated from Vallivue High School. He got what he wanted, but in one of the most dangerous roles in the war.
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I wasn’t dying and figured I could still shoot, so I didn’t tell the pilot (I was injured).”
Please see Eismann, page 9
JUSTICE DANIEL EISMANN Relating story of how he earned his second Purple Heart in Vietnam War
Above: Daniel Eismann and one of his gunners standing by his Huey gunship. Right: Supreme Court Justice Daniel Eismann obtained a law degree from the University of Idaho after returning from Vietnam. 8
Salute: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
EISMANN Continued from page 8 The UH-1 Iroquois helicopters, or “Hueys,” were THE MEANING OF commissioned to fly close to the ground and attract gunfire from the North Vietnamese and their southern VETERANS DAY allies, the Viet Cong. The goal was to show the AmeriFrom supplying food or cans’ South Vietnamese allies where enemy ground ammunition to saving life forces were located. after life as a medic on At times, it seemed the shooting would never end. the front lines, Eismann During particularly high-volume skirmishes, Eismann thanks everyone who has would fire more than 10,000 machine gun rounds in a helped uphold Americans’ single day. freedoms. “My job was to go help people, and that meant tak“Everyone who has ing a lot of fire,” he said. served in our military has For his efforts, Eismann received three medals for sacrificed something.” heroism and two Purple Hearts, which are given for wounds sustained in combat. He almost died earning that first Purple Heart. Eismann and his crew were flying back from a mission. Soon, he grew drowsy and decided to lie down on the ammunition boxes adjacent to his seat. One second later, a 50-caliber round ripped through the helicopter. “Had I not moved, it would have hit me in the Adam’s apple.” For Eismann’s second Purple Heart, he actually was wounded twice — and didn’t bother to notify anyone until the day was done. First, he ignored the shrapnel that lodged itself in his lower leg. He remained quiet after more shrapnel tore into his side 15 minutes later. “I wasn’t dying and figured I could still shoot, so I didn’t tell the pilot,” he said. Through many months of constant danger, Eismann survived. He returned to the U.S. in 1970 and enjoyed a rather quiet transition back into civilian life. He even resumed his studies at the University of Idaho. But it wasn’t all fun and pep rallies, especially for some of Eismann’s fellow soldiers. “I had friends who were spat upon when they returned,” he said, noting that some Vietnam vets have been a bit jealous of the outpouring of support for servicemen and servicewomen returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Eismann didn’t feel welcome at college, either, during a time when anti-war sentiment was at its boiling point. For the most part, he kept quiet and pressed on. After finishing his bachelor’s degree in sociology, he also obtained a law degree from UI — following the path of his dad, who’s 89 and still a practicing attorney. Eventually becoming a judge, Eismann has been able to build upon his natural inclination to serve — the same urge that led him into the military nearly 40 years ago.
PROTECTING OTHER PEOPLE “In Vietnam, our job was to risk our lives to try to protect other people,” he said. Many of his decisions have been rooted in that devotion. Eismann has been a strong voice for issues such as domestic violence, mental health and veteran services. He also was instrumental in the formation of Ada County’s Drug Court and helped pave the way for the Idaho Drug Court Act. Drug courts offer nonviolent, substance-abusing offenders a court-monitored treatment program instead of jail time. It’s a well-proven way to help people in trouble overcome the odds against them. Eismann’s own story is about beating the odds — again and again. It happened again six years ago, when Eismann was given six weeks to live. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of cancer that some link to the spraying of Agent Orange during the war. The military used the chemical to help thin out the thick, cumbersome foliage in which the Viet Cong often hid. After four types of chemotherapy, Eismann has vastly outlived the grim diagnosis he received at the time. The DANIEL EISMANN doctors are flummoxed, saying the cancer is gone. That means more precious time to spend with his wife, three married children and four grandchildren. To Eismann, his remarkable healing isn’t such a mystery. He credits God with sparing his life on numerous occasions. “The biggest thing is that you can trust God in all circumstances,” he said.
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Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Above: Daniel Eismann was awarded three medals for heroism and two Purple Hearts for his services in the U.S. Army during Vietnam. Left: Exit hole made by a .51-caliber machine gun bullet in the copilot’s door of Eismann’s gunship. Below: Because Eismann’s gunship was too damaged to fly, it was hooked to a Chinook helicopter to be transported back to base.
Had I not moved, (the 50-caliber round) would have hit me in the Adam’s apple.”
Salute: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
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Pete Oakander
VET FINDS CAMARADERIE AMONG SERVICEMEN Purple Heart recipient learned life lessons in Vietnam.
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By JAKE ALGER
Special to the Idaho Press-Tribune
It took Pete Oakander a long time after the Vietnam War to begin reflecting on it. “Once I got home, I didn’t think anything about the military for 40 years,” he said. When he finally revisited the past, he found there was work to be done. There were troubled veterans to support. There was service to honor. Today, Oakander, a former Navy riverboat radioman and a Purple Heart and Navy Commendation Medal honoree during the war, is an advocate for fellow veterans through groups such as the Military Order of the Purple Heart and other efforts. “They can talk to me, where they’d never talk to you,” he said. It’s because they share a commonality of valor that few can comprehend.
‘IF I COME BACK ALIVE, IT WILL BE A GOOD EXPERIENCE’ At first, what set Oakander apart was simply his willingness to serve. Many of his friends wore women’s underwear to their draft appointments, which automatically disqualified them from the military. It was an easy, albeit embarrassing, way to avoid Vietnam. Instead, Oakander chose a head-on approach indicative of his family, which has a deep history of military service. “If I come back alive, it will be a good experience,” he told himself at the time. Still, he was optimistic, not enthusiastic. “I wasn’t really excited about going to Vietnam.” Oakander signed up for the Naval Reserve in 1967, at the age of 20. After months of training, including a 20-week program for future radiomen, he was sent to northern California for eight weeks to learn about riverboats. Afterward, he was immediately shipped to Vietnam.
‘IT WAS LIKE SEEING THE WHITE LIGHT’ For one year, Oakander served as the radioman on a riverboat — a command and communications boat, to be precise. “Looking for Charlie,” he said. The vessel was 60 to 70 feet long and moved liked molasses. At 5-6 knots per hour, it wasn’t for racing. “We couldn’t run; you had to just sit there and slug it out,” he said. But it was a covert attack, not an out-and-out fight, which sank his boat in 1969. He’d been in southern Vietnam for six months when a 150-pound mine went off underneath his boat. Oakander was sitting inside a hatch when he heard the boom.
Please see Oakander, page 11 10
Salute: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
OAKANDER Continued from page 10
tis set in at the age of 42. Rather than give up, he went to college. He earned a degree at Boise State “It was like seeing the white light,” he said. University that launched him into a successful caWith the engines busted in half and oil and battery reer as a planner/scheduler for large construction acid spewing all around him, he managed to bust projects such as high-tech fabrication plants, hotels through the hatch and get to daylight. and prisons. “The whole back of your head is split wide open,” But it’s the unpaid work that he started later in a medic told Oakander, who asked to be sewn up on life — he retired from construction in 2008, moving the spot. “I’m not leaving the boat,” Oakander said, who was to Middleton — that helped him reconnect with the war, 40 years later. awarded a Purple Heart for his injury and heroism. Oakander serves in a number of veteran-related He didn’t leave the boat. He remained with the organizations, including as commander of the local craft while pumps were brought in to keep it afloat. chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. He was there when it was towed into the ocean and The MOPH convenes Purple Heart awardees once a back to the river, in an effort to seek repairs. He was month, mostly to relax and share stories. It’s a comfront and center as it took on too much water and fortable setting for these vets, many of whom don’t sank for good. relate well to people such as Veterans Affairs doctors. Oakander served the final six months of his tour in relative safety. When he returned to California in “They haven’t got a clue what it’s like to be in May 1970, he didn’t suffer from post-traumatic stress combat,” Oakander said. A newcomer to the MOPH disorder or anything like that. But his life definitely recently put into words what many veterans feel quite was altered. He had a clear sense that he could do deeply. anything he set his mind to. “He said, ‘Wow, this is great, because you’re the “Life is what you make it,” Oakander said. “Nothonly guys I can talk to,’” Oakander said. ing is going to get handed to you.” One of his recent victories was working to have the Idaho stretch of Interstate 84 designated as the Viet‘THEY HAVEN’T GOT A CLUE nam Veterans Memorial Highway. He even designed WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE IN COMBAT’ the emblem — a logo that is on the actual highway It took Oakander awhile to settle down and estab- sign, commemorative coins and vehicle decals. One of those decals is stuck to the back window of lish a career after the war. When he finally did, he ran with it. Oakander’s vehicle. It’s not the driving force of his life, After years of work as a general contractor, arthri- but it will always be along for the ride.
Opposite page: Vietnam War Veteran and Purple Heart Recipient Pete Oakander, of Middleton, helped get Interstate 84 in Idaho designated at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway. Right: Heavily-armed assault Support Patrol boats of the U.S. Navy’s River Assault Flotilla One move slowly near the bank of a Mekong Delta canal during a military operation, November 1967. (AP)
THE MEANING OF VETERANS DAY Like many U.S. military veterans, Oakander graciously accepts recognition for his service, but does not expect it. He said the thanking of veterans has gone overboard, thanks at least partially to a guilt trip put on the general public. “I think the country needs it, but the veterans don’t need it,” Oakander said.
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Brett Endicott
Vietnam veteran Brett Endicott and his horses on his land overlook the Owyhee Mountains in south Marsing.
LIFE INTERRUPTED, NOT DETERRED Native Idahoan returns to solitude after war.
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By JAKE ALGER Special to the Idaho Press-Tribune
f Brett Endicott’s life were a book, it might be called “The Quiet Life” or “The Cowboy Way.” There would be chapters on rodeos, family, the U.S. Cavalry and the Vietnam War. 14
But the latter would be an interesting anecdote, not the climax or even a main plot point. Perhaps more than anything, for Endicott the war was a one-year interruption in a lifetime of quiet, rural living in southwestern Idaho. After a robust childhood of hard work and athletics in Middleton, and before forming a family and forging a career in the Snake River Valley, Endicott traveled overseas on Uncle Sam’s dime — learning how to fix equipment, run a switchboard, transport clean water and even hitchhike through unfriendly areas. He was barely out of high school, having tried college and then construction work, when his mom called Salute: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
“
It was just me and the truck, and my trusty M-1.” BRETT ENDICOTT
with the news that he’d been drafted into the Army in March 1968. It was three weeks before he would report to Fort Lewis in Seattle. No big deal, he said. “It’s just something that you did,” said Endicott, who has been the Owyhee County assessor for the past 12 years.
Please see Endicott, page 15 Tuesday, November 11, 2014
ENDICOTT Continued from page 14
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Left: Brett Endicott 1970 in Colorado Springs. Below: Endicott riding a bull at a rodeo in Kennewick, Wash., in 1974.
I always wanted to be a cowboy.”
Boot camp went smoothly for Endicott and others BRETT ENDICOTT from Idaho, he said, as their rugged upbringing filled with sports and outdoor activities fostered excellent fitness. While at Middleton High School, Endicott participated in rodeo, football and basketball. He was a member of the state champion hoops squad that went 27-0. When not studying or playing, the young Endicott was hard at work detassling corn, hoeing beets and picking strawberries. “My memories of growing up were that I got to put up a lot of hay for zero dollars,” he said. Many less-fit young men from urban areas like Seattle and Portland seemed to struggle at basic training, Endicott said. For example, when commanding officers made a rule that soldiers had to conquer a series of monkey bars before being served dinner, it proved problematic. “Some of them, I doubt if they ever got to eat,” Endicott said with good-natured exaggeration. He, on the other hand, thrived, receiving extensive training — most of which was related to maintenance of different sorts of equipment — and several promotions at multiple U.S. stateside locations before heading to Vietnam on April Fool’s Day, 1969. He wasn’t scared, though. Call it a feeling. “When I went over there, I knew I was coming back alive,” he said.
A TRUSTY M-1 Endicott had never operated a switchboard, but he learned quickly. For his first three months in Vietnam, he worked at a battalion headquarters, staying just busy enough to stave off boredom. For the remainder of his yearlong tour, he drove a water truck. Endicott was responsible for identifying the best sources of potable water, obtaining it and transporting it to his battalion.
Please see Endicott, page 16
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Salute: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
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ENDICOTT Continued from page 15 Most of the available clean water THE MEANING OF VETERANS DAY in Vietnam was heavily doctored with Endicott appreciates that there’s a day set chlorine, so one can imagine Endicott’s aside to honor veterans. He also greatly values delight after finding a nearby Air Force the patriotism he experiences on a regular base that used a high-quality filtering basis on the rodeo circuit. system. The water from that facility At rodeos, “The Star-Spangled Banner” is tasted like what the U.S. troops were accustomed to in the U.S. always a big deal, Endicott said. Also, event Danger wasn’t a big part of Endicott’s organizers usually ask veterans to stand so experience in Vietnam, but it existed. the crowd can express their appreciation. For instance, those relatively long jourOften, people who’ve never served question neys in his water truck — alone, without whether they’re capable of conquering the a convoy — often left him uneasy. fear and pressure associated with war. Endi“It was just me and the truck, and my cott said the human mind is underestimated trusty M-1.” in that regard — that it allows a person to The danger level in Endicott’s batfunction even in the face of grave danger. talion was lessened by the presence of “In those situations, you’d be surprised what allies from the Korean military, he said. you’re capable of doing to survive,” he said. Whereas the U.S. Army stuck rigidly to its “do not fire unless first fired upon” standard, the Koreans operated under no such restrictions. Thus, they often served as the most viable protectors of U.S. servicemen. The Koreans helped, and Endicott was unscathed. One year after he had arrived in Saigon, he left from the same tarmac — with the same indelible sense at the forefront of his consciousness. “There was a stench like garbage,” he said. That smell. It was something he never got used to — not with that crisp Idaho air beckoning.
UNPAUSING A LIFE Like many veterans returning home, Endicott was surprised by how quickly people’s lives had moved on without him. In a sense, he and other soldiers envisioned that life would pause while they were gone, then unpause when they came back. “That was kind of an awakening,” he said. Endicott flew from Vietnam to Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, where he met his future wife, Maggie. They were introduced on a blind date, hit it off and began writing letters to each other after Brett transitioned into civilian life in Idaho, then Oregon. The correspondence worked; they wed in November 1971 in southwest Idaho. However, before settling down with a wife and eventually kids, he got a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity to satisfy a childhood dream. “I always wanted to be a cowboy,” he said. At Fort Carson, he met a fellow soldier who knew of a unique way to serve the remainder of his military tenure: in the only remaining horse cavalry in the U.S. It was the perfect fit for Endicott, who grew up participating in rodeos and dreaming of ranch life. He could live off the base, wear civilian clothes and enjoy some of the most ballyhooed outdoor views in the country. The soldiers would don garb from the 1880s, staging reenactments and riding in parades.
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Regardless of the war, Endicott’s life unfurled much the way he always imagined it would. He built his family in the area where he grew up, having three children and soon-to-be four grandchildren. Hard work, which was a big part of Endicott’s early years, remains a recurring theme. A handful of years after the war, he started his own business: an organic fertilizer distribution company. He ran it for 25 years. More recently, as the local assessor, Endicott has found a way to serve his fellow Owyhee County residents in a practical way. The Assessor’s Office establishes an assessed value on all property located within the county. On his own property outside Marsing, Endicott has the type of homestead he’s always wanted — a place that harkens back to his grandparents’ farmland from decades ago. Nestled near the base of the Owyhee Mountains — with a clear view of the Jump Creek Falls area — he and Maggie tend to three horses and the occasional cow, laugh with their grandkids and attend various rodeos. Brett has been a rodeo judge for 12 years. He has worked at 13 professional rodeos this year alone. It’s the rural life. It’s a life defined by peace — and quiet.
Salute: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Honoring
all who serve and who have served both home and away for our freedom NATIONAL
WWII
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Valden Christensen Funeral Director
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Salute: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
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Bob Parrish
LONGTIME NAMPAN MOVES PAST WAR Native Chicagoan took opportunity to create a new life but kept friendships.
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By JAKE ALGER Special to the Idaho Press-Tribune
n a quiet, scenic southeastern Boise housing community, Bob Parrish is living his third life. The first two — childhood in Chicago, young adulthood in southeast Asia — he left behind a long time ago. 18
When Parrish returned from the Vietnam War in November 1969, he didn’t care so much about where he’d come from. He mostly thought about the future. “I was very frustrated that the world had gone on without me,” he said. In the years that followed — 30 of which were spent in the home he built south of Nampa — he’s been busy catching up.
AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE Before Parrish’s second and third lives, there was a first one on the west side of Chicago. He grew up there, then went on to post-high school coursework at nearby City College and DePaul University, studying music. Salute: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
School meant a “2-S” classification, which meant Parrish was highly unlikely to be drafted into military service and the Vietnam War. But toward the end of his sophomore year, a counselor came to him with unsettling information. Parrish was set to be reclassified and placed in the Army. “The Army was a ticket to Vietnam,” Parrish said. Rather than waiting a couple weeks and almost certainly being drafted into the Army, Parrish enlisted in the Navy in late winter 1966. More than a year later, he was sent to Vietnam. “The notion of where I was going was a little alarming,” he said.
Please see Parrish, page 19 Tuesday, November 11, 2014
PARRISH Continued from page 18
‘WHATEVER IT TOOK’ For exactly one year in Vietnam, Parrish put his mechanic skills to use on a PBR, which stood for “Patrol Boat River.” These 31-foot-long fiberglass boats were designed for rivers, where the four-man crews were tasked with preventing the flow of supplies from Cambodia to North Vietnamese forces. The enemy was nothing if not painstakingly patient, Parrish said. “If it took them one person to move one bullet 100 miles, they would do it,” he said. “They did whatever it took to foil us.” Without standardized uniforms or a set of rules to play by, the enemy was incredibly difficult to identify. On the river, danger was intensified by the frequent lull of complacency. “It was complete boredom, and a moment later it could be the biggest adrenaline rush you could ever imagine,” he said. Parrish finished his time in Vietnam, then served on a ship off the California coast for several months before re-entering civilian life — a new life, in fact.
Please see Parrish, page 20
Opposite page: Bob Parrish, of Boise, holds a drawing of a PBR river boat he was an engineman on during the Vietnam War. Parrish served from July 21, 1968, through July 21, 1969. Right: Parrishholds a photo of himself taken in November 1968 when he was a Patrol Boat River engineman on the Mekong River.
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PARRISH Continued from page 19
NEW LIFE, NEW DIRECTION In 1970, as he reintegrated into American society, Parrish was frustrated. “I was angered by the conduct of the war,” he said. What’s more, his family had moved away from Illinois. His friendships had waned. With nothing tying him to one particular spot, he took up residence in northern California. “Four years in the Navy was a complete disconnect from my previous life,” he said. Parrish went back to school almost immediately, but the study of music was a distant memory. New life, new major: computer engineering. “It’s where the world was going,” he said. But it wasn’t exactly where he was headed. Parrish worked his way through college doing woodwork restorations, and eventually he and a friend opened and ran a shop for four years. It was also during this time that he met his wife, Vivian. Through friends, the couple discovered Idaho’s Treasure Valley, a place with a slower pace of life they found appealing. In 1974, they bought 5 acres south of Nampa, where Parrish built a house. They lived there for the next 30 years, raising their son and daughter. But along with a home, Parrish needed to build a career. The woodworking market in Idaho was poor, so he returned to a skill he learned halfway across the world. He worked on engines. Parrish fixed diesel engines in Mercedes-Benz and Volvo cars for several years, later becoming a service manager. It was excellent preparation for his next, longest and final gig: auto mechanics instructor at Nampa High School for 17 years.
A photo taken at the end of a day patrol in June 1969 of PBR river boat engineman Bob Parrish, of Boise, right, with Earl Standefer, center, and Russell O’dell, left, during the Vietnam War.
UNANTICIPATED RAMIFICATIONS For the most part, Parrish left Vietnam behind. He only brought two things back: cancer, and the attitude he needed to deal with cancer. By 2004, he had begun getting sick a lot at school. He was diagnosed with leukemia, caused by the Agent Orange chemical that the U.S. military sprayed in Vietnam during the war, he said. Chalk it up as just one ramification of what Parrish calls America’s nonsensical devotion to being the “world’s cop.”
Please see Parrish, page 21
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PARRISH Continued from page 20 At the urging of his oncologist, Parrish took early retirement and began dealing with his leukemia. But by 2012, he had gone through every chemotherapy option — to no avail. Parrish went to Seattle to interview for a stem cell transplant. It was a fruitful journey that resulted in a perfect match for transplant – a procedure that has changed his health outlook. The sarcastic way that he dealt with the doctors and hospital staff was vital for his recovery, he said. “That flippancy is what got me through that,” he said. It’s the same attitude that got him through the war, he said. It’s a life left behind, yet not forgotten. Email has allowed Parrish and seven of his former PBR crew members to stay in touch. They share a bond forged in close quarters amid uncomfortable circumstances. It connects them to this day, he said. “It’s a casual friendship, but it has this foundational bond that’s very hard to describe,” he said.
Right: A photo taken on the Mekong River of the PBR river boat Parrish served on. Below: Parrish during his last two weeks in the Vietnam War.
THE MEANING OF VETERANS DAY In line with Parrish’s efforts to move on and put the war behind him, he never expects community members to thank him for serving — although he politely accepts any such praise. The modern-day term for the bond between soldiers, Parrish said, is “having each other’s back.” “We took care of each other,” he said.
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Rudy Evenson
A DIFFERENT KIND OF LOTTERY Longtime corrections officer fought humidity, boredom, Viet Cong.
A
By JAKE ALGER
Special to the Idaho Press-Tribune
couple of weeks. That was the difference between Rudy Evenson going to the Vietnam War and staying home.
On Dec. 1, 1969, the U.S. government implemented a lottery system for determining which men would be required to serve in the military. It was a system in which Evenson, a Montana native who had recently graduated from Northwest Nazarene College with a sociology degree, likely never would have been called upon to serve. But it was mid-November 1969 when Evenson was drafted and ordered to report to the Army. Two weeks stood between him and the absence of war. “I just remember thinking how unlucky I was,” he RUDY EVENSON said. He was unlucky, but not undutiful. Evenson served in the Army for 13 months — fighting humidity, boredom, the Viet Cong and for his life. Later, he would spend 33 years helping others fend for their own future.
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I just remember thinking how unlucky I was.”
‘THANK THE LORD I WASN’T THERE’ The first half of his tenure in Vietnam was spent in an artillery command center. From a room in this “fire direction center,” Evenson would receive enemy coordinates, pinpoint the spots on a map, then relay specific directions such as shell type and powder amount to other soldiers. The center’s only protection against the North Vietnamese and their Viet Cong allies was 12 .50-caliber machine guns. A few times, enemy forces attempted to overrun the premises — mostly to no avail. However, one time several Americans were killed at point-blank range during a skirmish. “Thank the Lord I wasn’t there,” Evenson said. For the most part, Evenson and the crew at the fire direction center experienced Vietnam in a way not often portrayed on TV or in the movies. Believe it or not, they were bored. “As a result of that, we would get very complacent,” Evenson said, adding that the heat, humidity and daydreams of home were major factors. It was a constant struggle. Men would fall asleep all over the place — even while on guard duty.
Please see Evenson, page 23
Right: Rudy Evenson, alumnus of Northwest Nazarene University, was drafted soon after he graduated and fought in the Vietnam War in 1970. 22
Salute: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
EVENSON Continued from page 22
‘EVENSON, CAN YOU TYPE?’ “Evenson, can you type?” a commanding officer queried one day, about halfway through Evenson’s tour of duty. He could, and it got him out of the field and into a relatively safe position as a clerk at a large base. “I took typing in high school. Probably when I did it I said, ‘I’ll never use this,’” Evenson recalled with a wry smile. His new gig removed him from danger for the duration of his military service — that is, except for infrequent guard duty. His last time on guard duty was less than a week before he returned home. Leaving nothing to chance, Evenson said he wore every layer of protection he could possibly find, “Knowing that next Saturday, I’d be at home in the United States.” Despite his opinion that the Vietnam War was a waste of young lives, he said it was a good experience for him. However, he’s not sure he would feel that way if he’d gone through rougher circumstances, such as constant booby traps and surprise attacks. “I didn’t have to worry about who was behind the next tree, so to speak,” he said.
EXPERIENCES INTERTWINED
THE MEANING OF VETERANS DAY A while ago, Evenson traveled to Washington, D.C., to see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Reading through the names of men and women who had died, he was filled with emotion. “That was something,” he said.
Evenson’s experiences prior to and during the war intertwined to shape his life after it. Within two months of arriving back in the U.S., Evenson began putting his sociology degree to good use as a juvenile corrections officer in Boise. He did that for about eight years before transitioning into adult corrections for the state of Idaho for the next quarter century. He retired 12 years ago. His university studies proved useful, as did the lifetime’s worth of real-world education he received for 13 months in Southeast Asia. “Drugs and alcohol were so rampant,” Evenson said. “You could buy a vial of heroin for five bucks from the little kids on the street.” He recalled numerous instances of soldiers coming to work drunk — at times even with a beer in hand. It saddened Evenson, but it also uniquely prepared him for a long career of dealing with ex-inmates who struggle with substance abuse. “That was first-hand knowledge for me.” Now retired, Evenson’s day-to-day life has slowed considerably. But his energy continues to burst through in activities such as volunteerism, part-time work and road biking. He also has ample time to spend with his family, which includes his wife, two sons and one grandchild. “My one goal is to take them back to Vietnam and find places where I was,” he said — back to the place where he willingly served, but for what purpose he still wonders. “We accomplished, in my opinion, nothing,” Evenson said. He doesn’t agree with the United States’ attempts to fight other countries’ wars and expect them to duplicate the American system. Nonetheless, he is proud to be among the many who’ve served the country. “The men and the women who are in the military still give me goose bumps,” he said. Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Rudy Evenson served in the U.S. Army for 13 months after being drafted to service in Vietnam. He spent part of his time there in an artillery command center, where he would receive enemy coordinates, pinpoint the spots on a map, then relay specific directions such as shell type and powder amount to other soldiers.
Salute: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
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