VA Military Memories Competition
SGT Alfonzo Jr. Mitchell, U.S. Army (2004-2008)
Riskiest Moment: Was there any specific incident during your military service when you felt your life was at risk? What were the circumstances, and what was the outcome?:
August 11, 2007, a date forever etched in my memory as a testament to the delicate dance between routine and destiny. Serving in the United States Army amidst the chaos of Iraq, I experienced a life-altering incident that defied all odds and affirmed the power of instinct and premonition.
SGT Robert Pryor, U.S. Army (1967-1969)
Riskiest Moment: Was there any specific incident during your military service when you felt your life was at risk? What were the circumstances, and what was the outcome?:
At 0200 hours on 20 June 1969, our camp was partially overrun by approximately 100 Việt Cộng. They held the south and east portions of our compound. There were over three dozen trapped women and children hiding in that area. Four US Special Forces and two Vietnamese Special Forces were in the camp. We also had 15 to 20 members of our Civilian Irregular Defense Group. Mostly the sick, lame, and lazy. Our main camp strikers were out on two separate operations. The Vietnamese Special Forces soldiers elected not to participate in the battle, so it was four against 100.
LTJG David Brendle, U.S. Navy (1966-1977)
Riskiest Moment: Was there any specific incident during your Military service when you felt your life was at risk? What were the circumstances and what was the outcome?:
I was an HM3 corpsman aboard the USS Enterprise CVAN 65 on January 14, 1969. We were awaiting a final drill and inspection before leaving Hawaii for Viet Nam. What was supposed to be a routine exercise turned into a deadly nightmare.
PV1 Fred Miller, U.S. Army (1976-1999)
Riskiest Moment: Was there any specific incident during your Military service when you felt your life was at risk? What were the circumstances and what was the outcome?:
February 3, 1979 – WINTERFORGE 79. I was assigned to the Joint Visitor’s Bureau to drive visiting dignitaries and their liaison officers around to view the REFORGER exercise area in M151A1 Jeeps. On the night of February 3, the Liaison Officer I was assigned to ordered me to return to our base at Katterbach Airfield, near Ansbach. It was late and raining hard, so visibility was very poor. Last I r
SP4 Brian Willard, U.S. Army (1967-1970)
Riskiest Moment: Was there any specific incident during your Military service when you felt your life was at risk? What were the circumstances and what was the outcome?:
Finding an NVA Base Camp in Cambodia, and Killing It
Before It Killed Us Inside Cambodia
I flew in a troop-carrying Huey helicopter for my first two months in Viet Nam. After two gunners on the prestigious smokeship, Pollution IV, were shot, I was lucky enough to grab one of the two positions.
SGT Marie (Phelan) Vedder, U.S. Army (1999-2007)
Riskiest Moment: Was there any specific incident during your military service when you felt your life was at risk? What were the circumstances, and what was the outcome?:
We are all gathering outside of our rooms, ready to mount up when, seemingly out of nowhere, the wind blows with a startling ferocity. The doors all slam at once, as a blanket of silt lifts off of the tiled floor in a sort of miraculous display of unity, hovers momentarily mid-air, and then returns again to its resting place, leaving behind a cloud in the corridor. The building seems to have breathed in sharply, before spewing chaos in a sudden exhalation of violent illness. My confusion lacks the appropriate measure of fear; my complete ignorance of what is unfolding around me shields me from panic. I feel only that the seconds have collapsed, that our every movement and sensation is stifled by the thickness of the dust in the air, resulting in a painfully slow resolution to my question: what has just happened? My eyes are fixed on Mari’s. She is talking. She is the only one talking, but I cannot hear her over the cacophonous ringing in my ears. Sir! Sir, what about Michaels and Sa’ad? They are outside.