Thoughts from the Man Cave

Our Fallen Twenty

John Hedley and his books honor those who served, including classmates who made the ultimate sacrifice

by Mike Savicki | photography by Jamie Cowles

Lt. Col. John C. Hedley, USA (Ret.) with his latest book.

Lt. Col. John C. Hedley, USA (Ret.) doesn’t claim to be a writer. Never has. As the story goes, when Hedley was a cadet writing letters home to his parents in the 1960s, his father would take a red pen and mark every grammar, spelling, and punctuation error he found then turn around and send the letters right back to his son, usually with the closing salutation, “aren’t they teaching you anything at West Point?”

Have you ever had a calling? Have you ever felt drawn to do something so remarkable that it keeps you awake at night? Something for others? Something that will live on and on, serving as a legacy—a memorial—so that stories and images, records, and reflections, will never be forgotten? Something difficult and daring? Something bold?

Fast forward nearly half a century—his cadet days far behind—and Denver’s John Hedley has written not one, but two books related to his time in Vietnam. When great people, no matter their backgrounds or training, feel a calling to do something extraordinary, especially something that celebrates and memorializes others while dredging up horrific and life-altering personal traumas, well, they buckle down and do it.

For John Hedley to write his two books, 2017’s “Saddle Up, The Story of a Red Scarf,” and the soon-to-be-published, “From the Shadows, A Tribute to the 1968 West Point Graduates Who Gave Their Lives in Vietnam,” he had to go back and revisit a war he has been spending decades trying to put behind him. His first book took about eight years to finish, including a six-month period when it was too much—he stepped away from it entirely— and were it not for the motivation of a milestone reunion gathering, his second book could have easily taken as long (or longer) to finish. Or it may not have happened at all. The memories of Vietnam are that strong. “It’s tough to write about guys you served with, to write about death,” Lt. Col. Hedley tells me as we sit alone in Richard’s Coffee Shop and Living Military Museum. “I didn’t want to do this (second) one because I didn’t want to go down another emotional trail. I didn’t want to revisit what was dredged up when I wrote the first one.”

Vietnam was not always front and center to Hedley. On the first day of July 1964, when a younger John Hedley joined approximately 990 young men of the 1000 who initially accepted appointments reported to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, most Americans couldn’t find Vietnam on a map, nor had they even heard the name mentioned.

“But it quickly became evident that when we graduated it was most likely we’d go over,” Hedley shares. “Those who graduated knew we were going to get shot at. Those of us who went in early knew we’d be in some intense combat.”

How intense? 1968 was the worst year for American casualties—15,000 were killed. In 1969, when his graduating class began arriving, 11,000 more were lost. In the midst of it all, John Hedley arrived in Vietnam on his 24th birthday. And in his year on the ground, Hedley led multiple commands—rifle commander, platoon leader, recon platoon leader, and company commander—and when he returned to the United States, he had earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star with “V” Valor, and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge.

“I was privileged to command some outstanding young soldiers when I was there,” he recalls. “But none of it, and nothing I did, was for me. We were all in Vietnam because that is what our country asked.”

number remain Missing in Action (MIA). And from Hedley’s ‘68 West Point graduating class, twenty died, the majority while serving in forward, advanced, combat positions. All those who fought in Vietnam and returned saw an angry country, politically and socially divided, torn and living in confusion and unrest. Protests overshadowed any idea of welcome home ceremonies.

“Why I wrote my first book was to set the record straight,” Hedley tells me. “I felt called to write, for my family, for my next of kin, and for those who needed a voice.”

In 2018, as his ‘68 class gathered for its 50th reunion, Hedley was inspired to begin writing his second book. It tells the story of each of the Class of ‘68’s twenty who gave their lives in Vietnam. Collectively they are remembered as “Our Fallen Twenty.” Individually they are heroes through and through.

Writing “From the Shadows” took as much coordination as it did care, concern, and fortitude. He put out a request seeking information on each of his fallen classmates. Replies came from every corner of the country. Sorting through tens of thousands of emails, letters, images, documents, anecdotes, etc., took two years. The final product is best described as powerful.

Lt. Col. Hedley tells me he hopes this effort will establish a lasting legacy for those members of the class of 1968 lost in Vietnam and ensure they will never be forgotten. He wants their names and stories to teach and inspire. His message, like everything he did while serving, and continues to do as a veteran, is selfless.

“My message with this book is that I want people to understand that dedication is something greater than themselves,” he says. “I want people to understand what these men went through to prepare to give their lives.

“And I want people to understand that there are people who are dedicated to things bigger than themselves, who are willing to put themselves in harm’s way to serve this country. I just want people to know there are some fine folks out there,” he adds.

Thank you, Lt. Col. John Hedley for your time in uniform, for serving, for sacrificing, for remembering, and for writing. Thank you for your love and continued leadership. And to all those who served or who are currently serving, to those who give, who gave, who sacrifice and who sacrificed, we thank you, too. Yes, John, there are some fine folks out there.

You can find “From the Shadows: A Tribute to the 1968 West Point Graduates Who Gave Their Lives in Vietnam” at Amazon.com beginning on May 10. His latest book and “Saddle Up, The Story of a Red Scarf” is at Welcome Home Veterans/Richard’s Coffee Shop in Mooresville.

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