From the Americal Journal, the quarterly newsletter and magazine of the Americal Division Veterans Association, comes a combat infantryman’s story–John Hastings, who earned his CIB in Vietnam as a sniper, Recondo and Ranger in G Company, 75th Ranger detachment of the 23rd Infantry Division (Americal).

His story is found on pages 29-32 of the aforementioned publication, and this episode is an audio narration of that article.

As you will hear in this audio episode, John Hastings left a stateside position in the National Guard and volunteered for Vietnam. He went to Recondo School in country (which led to being a Ranger and wearing the black beret of the 75th Ranger Detachment in Chu Lai — G Company), and where he eventually became a sniper (after several days of sniper training at the Sniper School in Chu Lai).

You can see the subdued CIB on his tiger-stripe fatigues as one of the Recon units of the Americal.  This article highlights the tremendous esprit de corps of the Rangers, as delivered by the man himself who walked in the shoes of the Recon Rangers of the Americal–a combat infantryman of the Vietnam War.

Copyright (c) 2011, Matrix Solutions Corporation and the Americal Division Veterans’ Association. All rights reserved.

In this episode of the Austin, Texas, Chapter – H21 Southern Branch of the Combat Infantryment’s Association podcast series, we continue the interviews with CIB veterans from all the wars and campaigns since World War II. Here, we interview a combat infantryman during the Vietnam War who served as a member of a six-man SRRP (Short-Range Reconnaissance Patrol)  team with the 11th Light Infantry Brigade of  23rd Infantry Division-Americal.

Tony Martinez was only 19 years old when he was in Vietnam. In a candid moment, he was captured in a photo by his buddy as Tony was ready to guide in the resupply helicopter during a mission, and he was ready to “pop-smoke.”

As you will hear in this podcast audio episode, Tony returned to an ungrateful American public that rejected the Vietnam Combat Infantryman.

After withdrawing from everyone and everything and being what he called a “vagabond,” Tony was saved from near tragedy by the patience, understanding and dedication of his beloved wife (to whom he is still married after 35 years). It is important to note that she did not harass Tony with the same expressions as most wives did to returning Vietnam vets suffering from PTSD and other disorders:  “Get over it” or “the war’s over” or “what’s wrong with you?” or “you’re crazy,” etc. Instead, she helped him through his adversities and helped to guide Tony to set his foot on a road to success — after 38 years of struggling with the post-Vietnam “demons.”

Tony reached a milestone recently by attending a reunion of his combat outfit and seeing his company after all these years at this event.

What is interesting is Tony’s perspective of the wonderful help offered to him by the Mental Health clinic of the VA today–but also, the overburdened system that does not offer the right treatment in other departments.

Tony now sees his direction as a “giving back” to the returning CIB veterans from their Middle East tours-of-duty, so he can (in his own way) ensure that they do not suffer for 35 years the plight of the “Vietnam Veteran Syndrome” of anguish, suffering and misery due to the neglect and rejection of the American public.

As Tony says in his departing words, “Welcome Home, guys. . .We love you, and we’re here for you.”

Copyright (c) 2008, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

This is the first episode of the Austin Chapter of the national organization known as the Combat Infantrymen’s Association.

In memory of the Combat Infantrymen who fought, died or were injured or MIA during the Vietnam war, Bobby Briscoe (who is commander of the Austin chapter – Southern Branch) has written a book that was completed in 1996 called Vietnam- The Jungle Warriors, a True Story.

This book by Bobby Briscoe, will soon be available in audio form. It will be available in an audio podcast format, with individual 1-to-1 RSS feeds to each individual who would want to subscribe to it.

This mp3 audio episode gives you the special Foreward to the audio version of the book by Fred Castaneda, a former combat infantryman (who was the “pig-man” or the m.60 machine-gunner) during the Vietnam War who was also in the Americal Division (with the 4/31st Infantry of the 196th Light Infantry Brigade) and who also served in the Quang Ngai province of I Corps in South Vietnam. The beginning of this Foreward contains a 60-second audio clip from the recorded video prologue of a dramatic work called Tracers, which was performed at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, in 2002–and this play was a story of a combat infantry line unit and the Vietnam experience.

Fred delivered both the prologue and epilogue to the dramatic stage play; his photo is shown, below, while he was in Chu Lai inbetween missions in “the bush.”

As you will hear, this foreward and the book are both dedicated to those brothers-in-arms of all the campaigns since World War II who have earned the Combat Infantryman’s Badge (CIB), especially those during the Vietnam War.

You can hear a brief summary of the book, which also serves as a podcast promo:

Click here for: Promo of Jungle Warriors – from the book

To learn more about the book or how to get it via audio download on the Internet or in paperback hardcopy, please click here for the web page of The Jungle Warriors- A True Story or visit

http://www.junglewarriors.org

Copyright (c) 2008, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Bobby Briscoe. All Rights Reserved.