That was 50 years ago,
but it feels like yesterday,
Twelve months of hell,
that just won't go away.
- Fire in the Hole, by Operation Song
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For the men of the United States Army's A Battery, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery unit, the late 1960s in Vietnam were years marked by explosive tours of duty followed by quiet homecomings.
Some of the Vietnam veterans, now about 70 years old, have hearing loss associated with firing 147-pound artillery shells day after day, month after month, while shredding the supply lines of the enemy Viet Cong.
Mark KennedyYet, most of the soldiers finished their military service quietly, slipping back into civilian life in the United States with little fanfare. Perhaps most preferred it that way, filing away memories from a violent, faraway war and getting on with their lives as husbands, fathers and breadwinners.
Now, as they enter their golden years, more and more Vietnam War-era vets are coming full circle and embracing their military service and the camaraderie of their wartime buddies, they say. Just last week in Chattanooga, a collection of 15 "fire direction controllers" from the 32nd Field Artillery unit gathered in Chattanooga for a three-day reunion to commemorate their shared service to country.
"The reunion marked approximately 50 years, more or less, for many of us since we experienced Vietnam," said Terry Nau, one of the vets.
The 15 represented at least 10 states and spent time here visiting Civil War battlefields, the Chattanooga National Cemetery and taking a dinner cruise on the Tennessee River, among other activities. As part of the reunion, each Vietnam vet was presented a handmade quilt designed with a patriotic theme.
"It was the 'welcome home' they never got," says Marti Wolfgang, wife of one of the vets, 69-year-old retired accountant Dennie Wolfgang, of Signal Mountain.
Together, the Wolfgangs hosted the reunion, which also featured sessions with representatives of Operation Song, a collection of Nashville-based music pros who help war veterans and first responders process difficult experiences through songwriting. The vets told the songwriters about their time spent plotting target coordinates at an artillery firebase about 50 miles northwest of Saigon, and the musicians wrote and performed songs that preserve the memories.
In 1969, the men were stationed at a place called Firebase St. Barbara, a fortified artillery outpost about the length and width of two football fields. During one stretch, the outpost came under continuous fire for 43 days, said Dennie Wolfgang.
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"Aging has softened the experience," he said. "I didn't share my war experiences for almost 40 years. I didn't talk about it with my parents and siblings."
Wolfgang said he connected with his Army buddies for the first time several years ago, when he and his son went online to look for veterans groups associated with the Vietnam War.
"We talk to each other on the phone," Wolfgang said of his unit buddies. "We e-mail. There's one guy in Texas who checks in about once a month."
After years of disconnect, the vets have formed what amounts to a support group, he said.
"I think if I called any guy on that list and said 'Can you come and help me?' they would be here," Wolfgang said.
Contact Mark Kennedy at mkennedy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6645.