Thursday, April 18, 2024
Two brothers from Gatesville – Dennis and Mike Myers – who both served in the military during the Vietnam era recently were able to enjoy the experience of a lifetime – an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. with tours of monuments and military sights through Honor Flight Austin.
The nonprofit group sends eligible military veterans to Washington, priority given to World War II and Korean War survivors, but is also open to Vietnam and Cold War era veterans. The trip that Dennis, a U.S. Army veteran, and Mike, a U.S. Marine veteran, took was April 22-23.
"I didn't think we'd be able to see or do that much in that amount of time, but we really saw and did a lot," Mike said. "One of the things that impressed me was all the young people who were there, and how respectful they were to all the veterans. There was also a World War II veteran who celebrated his 98th birthday on the flight, and we all sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him."
Dennis said he was unsure if he wanted to participate in the event. When he was on leave from Vietnam as a soldier visiting Los Angeles, he remembers protestors yelling at him, calling him things such as "baby killer." Nearly five decades later, as part of the Honor Flight, he received a hero's reception.
"I really didn't know if I wanted to go, but Mike talked me into it," Dennis said. "I'm really glad I did. It was fantastic. I'd recommend anyone who has the opportunity to do this."
Originally from Evansville, Indiana, the Meyers brothers eventually made their way to Gatesville. Dennis moved here 35 years ago after he retired from the military. He had been stationed at Fort Hood, and his wife got a job working for one of the Gatesville prisons. Rather than having her commute, they found a place to live closer to her job. Mike visited Central Texas for about 30 years before finally relocating to Gatesville in 2014.
Dennis said his wife is from the East Texas community of Palestine, and he always liked the state, so staying here was an easy decision for them. Once Mike retired from working for the fire department, he too decided the Lone Star State was the best option for him.
"I had enough of the cold," Mike said.
Mike served in the Marines for four years and four months, while Dennis served in the Army for 21 years. Mike was a corporal when he left the military, while Dennis was a sergeant.
"I was in Vietnam for four and a half years – I kept extending," Dennis said. "I was in different places around Saigon, including during the Tet Offensive. I got to Vietnam in 1965 and stayed until March 1968, then I went back in 1970 and left in 1971."
Dennis said he received a shrapnel injury in his neck during one patrol and was sent to a military hospital in Japan where he stayed about two and a half months.
"It seemed like a lot longer – it felt like forever," he said. "I didn't feel like I was ever going to leave.”
He received a Purple Heart, awarded to troops injured in the line of duty.
On another occasion, while he was recovering from hepatitis and prohibited from going out in the field, his entire platoon was attacked and killed while Dennis had radio duty.
"My entire platoon was wiped out in '67," he said. "They went out on patrol, but they had me on convalescence. The unit was caught in an ambush and everybody in the platoon died. I was blessed to survive but I felt really bad about it, too. I wanted to go with my men.
"I was in several battles. Every day, you never knew what you were getting into."
Mike joined the Marines about six months before Dennis joined the Army, but never saw combat.
"I didn't want to go into the Army or the Air Force, and I didn't want to be on a ship so I didn't join the Navy," he said. "After I joined, I found out that Marines were basically the soldiers of the sea.
"I spent about two years on the USS Bennington, an aircraft carrier, as part of an anti-submarine task force. We hunted submarines, and I went to Hong Kong, the Philippines and Japan.
"We were in the South China Sea about to come back to America, and our escort was late. We started heading for Vietnam, but then met up with the rest of our battle group and turned back toward the United States. That's the closest I ever got to combat, except for being sent out from Camp Lejeune during an insurrection in the Dominican Republic. Instead of going there, we went to Cuba (to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base)."
Mike said he was surprised that he was never stationed in Vietnam.
"I had always expected to be sent to Vietnam but I never was," he said. "I thought the war would be over pretty quick, and I didn't want to spend years shuffling from one military base to another in the United States, so I got out. I never imagined the war would last that long."
Mike said his best experience was meeting people during his service.
"I didn't want to go aboard that aircraft carrier, but once I got on it, I was able to walk around and meet sailors and learned a lot about the ship from them, and it was interesting," he said. "We went to Hawaii three times.
"I had a chance to go aboard a submarine – the Nautilus – but I wasn't interested in that at the time. Now I wish I had done that."
Dennis said despite the frequent dangers he faced in Vietnam, he also had some good experiences there.
"I liked it most of the time – some of the things we had to go through I didn't like," he said. "I was a platoon sergeant for two years. I liked the Army most of the time and met a lot of people."
While opposition to the war grew in America, Dennis said he was told not to wear his uniform when he returned to the U.S. either during leave or at the end of his service in Vietnam.
He said the reception veterans were given during the Honor Flight has helped ease some of the bad memories he had about how fellow Americans treated him and other military personnel during and immediately after the war.
That opportunity to have a good experience was the reason Mike urged his brother to participate in the Honor Flight.
"I heard it was good for people who have PTSD, which Dennis does," Mike said.
Both raved about having the chance to visit different monuments, seeing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Korean War Memorial, World War II monument, the U.S. Navy and Air Force museums, the Pentagon, and Arlington National Cemetery, and getting to interact with people who thanked them for their service
"Two friends have asked me why I didn't go on an Honor Flight, and I didn't even know what that was," Mike said. "I'm really glad we found out about it."
