Wildman reflects on Vietnam War
ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Terry Wildman of Martins Ferry carries the memories of serving in harm’s way and of the service members who did not make it back.
He served in the U.S. Marines, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines attached to the 9th Amphibious Brigade. He is also the St. Clairsville American Legion’s veteran of the month for September.
He served 18 months in Vietnam. He enlisted in 1966, left for Vietnam in June 1967 and came home Jan. 1, 1969.
“I turned 18 and I got my draft notice. I was married, and my wife was pregnant. I went and I joined the Marine Corps because they were going to give me 90 days more at home before I had to leave,” he said. “I thought it was my duty to go fight for my country. … I probably could have got out of it because my wife was pregnant and I could have deferred, but I didn’t want to do that. It was my job just like the rest of everybody else’s job to protect our country.”
He participated in dangerous missions including search-and-destroy operations at multiple sites, where he was often out for 30-45 days at a time in the field.
“I was a forward observer,” he said. “I called in the 81s and 105 (mm mortars) whenever we got into battle, when we had the enemy spotted.”
“They gave me a compass, they gave me a map and a grease pencil and a radio operator, and I had to learn how to pick the jungle out when it was a heavy canopy, when it was light. I had to learn how to pick the rice paddies out from the mountains. I would give my radio operator the coordinates,” he said.
Among the battles was a costly 1968 clash in Con Tien.
“The worst one we had, we were right below Con Tien and we got hit one night and our line company got overrun. There was 13 people killed there. I was there with my radio operator. We ran out of ammo,” he said. “The captain was killed. The first lieutenant was wounded bad. We had a lot of heroic things going on. That was probably the worst time of my life.
“When we got hit (the captain) kept yelling ‘Wildman, fire the 81s! Wildman, fire the 81’s!’ I called back … they held the fire because they didn’t want to give up (their position). So they didn’t fire for us until later after everything was about done.
“Next morning when everything was over it was tough to look around and see guys that you’d served with the day before or that evening and they were gone,” he said. “You can’t change nothing now. We lost a lot of good people. … I think if they would have fired when I called … we would have had them right where we wanted them.”
Wildman was also in a major battle of Dai Do during the Tet Offensive. During that time he was forward observer for two men who would earn the Medal of Honor, Capts. Jay Vargas and James Livingston.
The hard times continued back home.
“When I came home, people spit on us,” he said. “When I came home from Vietnam I landed at Pittsburgh Airport and my wife Janey and my daughter Teralyn … that’s the first time I saw my daughter in 18 months. My wife had taught her the picture on the wall and she knew that was Daddy. … I felt so bad for the guys that I knew had families and never made it back. That broke my heart even more.
“Then we had to put up with the people that did nothing, all they did was hide,” he said. “Those ones who got out of going into the service.”
He added Vietnam was an unpopular war.
“I wound up in court many times for fighting, but I just could not let it go, what we’ve been through,” he said. “I had a lot of problems coming home with PTSD. I never slept too well. … My psychiatrist in Pittsburgh asked me how my sleeping pattern was and I told him I hadn’t slept in 50 years, and I haven’t. Every night of my life I woke up in the jungle or I wake up in the bed in a cold sweat. Every morning I get up I’d be tired, angry, I just put a lot of things on my mind.
“I did it and I’m proud of the things I did in Vietnam. Our battalion was a very active battalion in Vietnam. We won quite a few medals,” he said. “We did a good job in every battle we fought. I never was in a battle that we lost.”
Wildman said the struggle continues at home.
“I think every man had a lot of problems when they came home from Vietnam,” he said. “We’ve still got 21, 22 guys committing suicide every day and it breaks my heart to think that 50 years later we’ve still got men committing suicide. We’ve got homeless veterans living on the streets of this country.”
He received a Silver Star, and the battalion received a Presidential Unit Citation and Navy Special Unit Commendation; Combat Action Ribbon, Meritorious Unit Commendation; National Defense Service medal; Vietnam Service Medal with one silver campaign star; Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation ribbon bar; Republic of Vietnam campaign medal with 1960 device; and a Rifle Sharpshooter badge.
“There were a lot of heroes in Vietnam. A lot of heroes. They did a lot of good things, and a lot of them were never recognized for what they did. I say every man who served in Vietnam and saw combat is a hero,” Wildman said.
In civilian life he worked for American Electric Power, then Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel.