Vietnam veterans remember those who didn't make it back

At the Vietnam wall, veterans remember those who didn't make it back
Stars and Stripes
By C.J. Lin
Published: November 11, 2014

"The wall should serve as a reminder for all to support the nation’s veterans — something that those returning from Vietnam didn’t find" said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, a Vietnam veteran and the first enlisted combat veteran to lead the Defense Department.

Veterans Day 2014 at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

C.J. LIN/STARS AND STRIPES

WASHINGTON — Some came to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial bearing flowers and wreaths to honor the dead. One man also came with years of survivor’s guilt.

Marine Corps veteran Woody Postle made a familiar pilgrimage to the Wall on Veterans Day, to see the granite engraved names and pay his respects to 15 men he knew and another three dozen who served with him in Vietnam in the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines. Among them was Pfc. Gerald G. Broussard, whom Postle believes died in his place.

“We were loading on a chopper to go on an operation,” Postle said. “I got placed on the chopper and then they pulled me off the chopper and placed him on the chopper, because he was a machine gunner and they wanted a gun on the ground. And they got shot down.”

That was May 10, 1969, over Quang Tri province. Five of Postle’s guys were killed when the CH-46 helicopter went down. It wasn’t until 2007, after decades of wrestling with the guilt, that Postle finally gathered enough nerve to call Broussard’s mother.

“She talked and I cried,” said Postle, tearing up at the memory. “I said, ‘I’m so sorry Gerry died and I lived.’ And she said, ‘Don’t worry about it, it was Gerald’s time. It wasn’t your time.’ She actually forgave me. And that meant a lot.

“It took me 40 years to call,” Postle said. “Because what do you say to a mother that maybe her son died in your place?”

Postle was among thousands of veterans who visited the wall Tuesday to pay tribute to the fallen and find camaraderie with others who served. Reunions were taking advantage of former brothers-in-arms being in town, and it was also a way for supporters to thank troops for their service.
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