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Grand Valley State University
Veterans’ History Project
Otis “Butch” Romans
Vietnam War
2 hours 7 minutes 27 seconds
(00:00:36) Early Life
-Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1945
-His father had been in the Navy in World War II and fought in the Pacific Theatre
-He grew up in Muskegon, Michigan
-His father found work in the factories in Michigan after the war
-He lived between St. Louis and Muskegon
-His mother would occasionally take him and his siblings back to St. Louis
-He graduated from Muskegon High School in 1964
-After high school he found a job
(00:02:26) Volunteering for the Draft
-He always planned on joining the military
-He was inspired by war movies and World War I
-He always wanted to be a paratrooper
-When he was old enough he began to consider enlisting
-When he was eighteen he registered for the draft
-He received orders to report for an Army physical
-He went to downtown Muskegon and was taken by bus to Fort Wayne in Detroit
-He spent the night in Fort Wayne and did they physical all day the next day
-This happened in1966
-The draft was in effect by now and Vietnam had escalated
-There were some that didn’t want to get drafted and tried to avoid it
-This was more prevalent during the second
-He was approved for service
-He ultimately decided to just volunteer for the draft
-The draft was a two year commitment and enlisting was a four year commitment
(00:06:52) Basic Training
-He was sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training
-Prior to that he had a second physical at Fort Wayne in Detroit
-Afterwards he was sworn into the Army
-He was taken by train to Louisville, Kentucky
-Greeted by drill sergeants at the train station
-From Louisville he was taken to Fort Knox by bus
-When he arrived at Fort Knox he started getting screamed at and given orders by drill sergeants
-Part of immediately getting immersed into the regimen of Army living
-On the first night he and the other recruits were shown how to make their bunks properly
-They were all marched to a processing center
-Picture taken, blood work done, given haircuts, and issued fatigues
-Had to take the clothes that were given to you even if they weren’t the right size
-After four days of processing they were loaded onto a truck and taken to the basic training
�-Part of the fort and not a separate facility
-After the first week they were issued rifles
-The first week consisted of classroom work
-Learning about how the Army is set up, protocol, and other basic information
-Basic training consisted of a lot of physical training
-The rifle that he was issued was the M14
-Taken to the rifle range and taught how to sight their guns
-Given training on how to carry out assaults and how to fight with bayonets
-He adjusted quickly to Army living
-He could run well and was in shape so the physical training wasn’t difficult
-He went into the Army knowing that he was going to get yelled at
-He remembers one recruit that couldn’t march which led to him (Butch) getting yelled at too
-It was part of the idea that they weren’t individuals; rather, they were a unit
-A lot of the recruits were from the South, but some were from Michigan
-Lasted eight weeks
(00:16:45) Advanced Infantry Training (AIT)
-A lot of the men were receiving orders to go to Fort Polk for infantry training
-His orders were for Fort Dix, New Jersey
-This meant that he would be going to paratrooper training after Fort Dix
-The training at Fort Dix was focused on learning how to be an infantryman
-The training there was easier for him because he had adjusted to being in the Army
-Most of the men at Fort Dix were from the southeast (The Carolinas, Georgia, etc.)
-Only two or three of the other men were going to paratrooper school
-All of the AIT was focused on preparing for getting deployed to Vietnam
-There were mock Vietnamese villages
-Getting prepared to fight the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese
-Most of the instructors had been to Vietnam
-They followed the training program, but also offered their own advice
-He was able to visit Philadelphia while he was in AIT
-AIT was a little more relaxed than basic training
-Lasted eight weeks
(00:23:17) Jungle Training
-At Fort Dix he also went through a training course called Jungle Training
-It lasted one week
-Trained on how to patrol Vietnamese villages
-Learned about the guerrilla tactics used by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese
-There was a wooded area near the fort that served as the “jungle” area
-Received some training on how to survive being a prisoner of war
-Taught about and exposed to some interrogation techniques
(00:24:25) Paratrooper Training
-He went to “jump school” (paratrooper training) at Fort Benning, Georgia
-It lasted three weeks
-First week: ground training
-Second week: tower training (jumping out of a tower on a zip line to mimic a jump)
-Third week: Five qualification jumps (parachuting out of an airplane five times)
-During this portion of training he had to run everywhere
�-Heights didn’t bother him at the time
-The jumps that they did were called “static line jumps”
-The ripcord of the chute is hooked to a wire in the airplane
-When you jump out the door the ripcord is pulled and the chute is deployed
-He didn’t get hurt during any of his jumps
-The chutes couldn’t be controlled which meant that they were at the mercy of the wind
-He knew one training unit where some men were hurt during windy jumps
(00:26:56) Deployment to Vietnam
-From there he was sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina to join the 82nd Airborne Division
-He was only there for a month
-Served with the 504th Infantry Regiment
-A unit in the 1st Air Cavalry Division had openings in Vietnam
-He decided to transfer to that unit
-He was given ten days of leave before reporting to be deployed
-He went to San Francisco and was given a physical exam and vaccinations
-He was placed on a military transport with other men bound for the 1st Air Cavalry
-Stopped at Wake Island to refuel
-Stopped at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines due to engine problems
(00:31:06) Arrival in Vietnam
-Arrived in Pleiku
-Remembers the intense heat and seeing ripples off the ground
-He was shown where bunkers were in the event a mortar or rocket attack happened
-He was taken to a reception station in Pleiku
-He was told stories about the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley
-From Pleiku he was taken by Caribou military transport up to An Khe
-It was too dangerous to travel on the road
(00:34:28) Joining the 1st Air Cavalry Division
-The concept of air assault by using helicopters was a fairly new one
-During the Vietnam War the 1st Cavalry Division became the 1st Air Cavalry Division
-They had access to 648 helicopters (mostly Huey helicopters)
-He was sent to another reception station at An Khe
-He was assigned to 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Air Cavalry Division
-It had fought at the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley
-It was Colonel Custer’s old battalion
-He arrived at night in An Khe and was given a folding cot to sleep on, but no rifle
-He remembers everyone having a pocket bible that they kept in their pocket over their heart
-It was for moral support, but it also added a little protection
-The next day he was given an M16 assault rifle
-He had never shot one before getting to Vietnam
-Given twenty magazines of ammunition, necessary gear, and a flak jacket
-He was given a week of “Remount Training”
-Learning how to rappel out of a Chinook and Huey helicopter
-Given more bayonet training and more target practice on the gun range
-He rappelled out of helicopters at ninety feet
-Given hand to hand combat training
-The last day they ran up, then down, a hill rigged with fake booby traps
�-Also told that no Vietnamese civilians were safe
-Even children were used by the communists to kill American soldiers
-Some were more trustworthy than others though
-Workers on base were safe, but they were the only ones
(00:44:18) Going into the Field
-He went out to the field and joined his platoon and his company
-They were operating near the Ia Drang Valley
-He spent the first night in the field with Headquarters Company
-He was considered a “FNG” by the other men in his unit
-Inexperienced and a danger to the other men
-He was given the duty of carrying ammunition for the M60 heavy machine gun
-He was only given a little instruction by the other men
-Told to get rid of most of his gear so he could carry more ammunition
-Told to tape magazines together so they could be reloaded faster
-Learned to only keep eighteen rounds in the magazine as opposed to twenty
-Otherwise the rifle would jam
-They walked to Landing Zone X-Ray
-Site of intense fighting during the Battle of the Ia Drang where 200 men were killed
-Considered hallowed ground and ordered to walk in silence
-Walked over the dry creek bed where there was heavy fighting
-Saw the mountain where the North Vietnamese base had been
-They set up camp for the night and the next day moved over toe Landing Zone Albany
-Also considered hallowed ground because more men died there than at X-Ray
-Got to the Ia Drang River and crossed it
-They took some sniper fire during that extended patrol, but didn’t get into any firefights
-The patrol lasted three weeks then they rotated back to An Khe for two days
(00:53:06) Transfer to 2nd Battalion
-The 1st Battalion had too many soldiers so he was transferred to B 2nd Battalion 5th Cav Reg
-He was still viewed as being a “FNG” by his new unit
-This assumption remained until he explained that he’d been in country for three weeks
(00:55:25) In the Field with 2nd Battalion
-It was 100-105oF and humid every day
-Jungle fatigues would be soaked with sweat during the day
-By nightfall it was 70oF and he would be freezing
-Started to learn how to anticipate night ambushes and when to set up a listening post
-A listening post usually had three men and a radio, watching for enemy movement
-If there was a trail, they knew they would have contact that night
-He would only get about two full nights of sleep each week
-At the end of marching for the day they would stop and set up camp
-First by establishing a perimeter and digging foxholes
-Then by setting up trip flares and claymore antipersonnel mines
-He remembers setting up camp one night and the lieutenant had a bad feeling about it
-Decided that they needed to move and set up a new camp
-Usually worked as a platoon (20-40 men), but sometimes as a company (100-200 men)
(00:59:42) Working with Other Units
-Sometimes they would work with Alpha and Charlie Company on larger operations
�-Delta Company was usually close by supporting them with heavy weapons
-When they worked with these other companies they never saw them though
-In the areas they operated in there were firebases
-These bases had larger artillery and could support them if necessary
-Stayed about five miles from a firebase
-Some nights the firebases would do what is known as “fire for effect”
-Established where friendly units were
-Kept enemy units out of the area for fear of getting hit by artillery
(01:02:05) Living Conditions in the Field Pt. 1
-He stayed with Bravo Company (2nd Battalion/5th Cavalry Regiment) for two and a half months
-Spent most of that time on extended patrols
-Lived on C Rations for food
-Helicopters would come in at night to give them extra food and water
-This was in the event that they were cut off due to an ambush
-They always made sure to set up camp near a landing zone
-Sometimes they would set up camp early so they could get hot food flown into them
-Some of the C Rations that they had were from 1945
(01:05:00) Enemy Contact
-Had more enemy contact in 2nd of the 5th than in the 1st of the 7th
-Most combat was sporadic firefights and random encounters with enemy troops
-The North Vietnamese would only stay and fight if they knew that they had more soldiers
-There was concern that if the enemy retreated that an enemy mortar strike was coming
-Ran into a lot of enemy bunker complexes in the area that they operated in
-Rocket propelled grenades were a major threat
-Did not participate in any major actions
-Remembers the sounds of the firefights being very chaotic
-The firing of heavy weapons and small arms and the screaming of orders and wounded
-When he was in 1st Battalion his 1st Lieutenant told him to stay calm and focused
-If you were able to do those two things you could pick targets and do your job
-Listening posts were always relatively quiet, but because of that your mind played tricks on you
(01:10:00) Interacting with Civilians
-He remembers one night they set up camp near a village
-At night a trip flare was set off, as a result they detonated their claymores
-When the movement continued they opened fire in the direction of the trip flare
-When morning came it was discovered that the “enemy” had been a wayward buffalo
-Army officials came in and paid the villagers for the dead water buffalo
-They would walk through villages on their patrols
-Children would come up to them asking for food
-Some of the more hardened soldiers would just shove them away
-He would always stop and give them something from his rations though
-In retrospect he feels bad for the villagers because they were placed in a difficult position
-They were forced to help the Viet Cong
-If they helped the Viet Cong they would be killed or arrested by U.S. forces
-If they refused to help the Viet Cong though, then the Viet Cong killed them
-Learned that some of the Viet Cong didn’t exactly want communism, they were just nationalists
-They were sick of a foreign power running Vietnam
�-They just wanted self-government, even if it was communism
(01:14:16) Prostitution and Drug Use
-Prostitution and drugs were a problem in the urban areas
-Remembers on the road from the base to the city of An Khe there was a collection of brothels
-These brothels were actually overseen by the Army and, in a way, encouraged
-The prostitutes were examined by Army doctors on a weekly basis
-The Army set the prices for the services offered
-It kept soldiers safe and in a controlled environment
-In the field prostitution was almost nonexistent
-There was drug use in the field, but he didn’t see it
-Remembers that some of the villagers would smoke marijuana
(01:17:40) Encounter with a Gay Man
-When he was still at Fort Dix some girls in a nearby town wanted to throw him a party
-He had kitchen patrol duty and missed the last train for the night to the town
-At the train station he struck up conversation with a man there
-The man invited him to stay the night at his house
-On the way there the man told him that he was gay
-He didn’t know what “gay” was and thought he was a comedian
-The man finally cleared up the confusion, but was respectful of Butch
-In the morning he even made sure that Butch woke up and caught the train
(01:22:25) Living Conditions in the Field Pt. 2
-Every day was basically the same with Bravo Company
-Lived each day in the mud, in the heat, in the rain and sleep deprived
-Sometimes you wanted to get into a firefight just so you could lie down
-He became close with people, but at the same time you didn’t get to know much about them
-Example: Didn’t learn people’s names, just their nicknames and state of origin
(01:24:25) Operation Pershing and Getting Wounded
-His unit was participating in Operation Pershing in a place called Bong Son
-The North Vietnamese were trying to cut off northern South Vietnam from U.S. troops
-Seventy six helicopters were flown up to Bong Son on the coast of the South China Sea
-After they got established they started to work their way across Highway One
-For three weeks they didn’t make contact with enemy soldiers
-They got to a clearing and were supposed to cross to the opposite side and set up a camp there
-They were ordered to go straight across the open plain
-He was walking behind the point man when a machine gun opened fire on them
-The point man was hit and he (Butch) dove behind a small knoll
-The machine gun started firing on his position and he was hit in the leg
-It felt like being hit in the leg with a sledgehammer
-He thought that he was going to die
-He was more concerned about the survival of the point man though
-Decided that he’d rather die for his country than in a car accident or to a disease
-Gunships flew in and started providing covering fire for Bravo Company
-He was loaded onto a gunship and was evacuated out of the field
-He was conscious through the whole thing
-He thought that he would be healed in twenty four hours and could go back to the field
-Not the case though because he had a shattered tibia and could never fight again
�(01:34:57) Recovery
-He always grew up under the impression that gunshot wounds healed quickly
-He was sent to a hospital and went into surgery
-Given a spinal shot to numb him from the waist down
-He could still feel the incision being made, so they put him to sleep
-The next day he had to lift a small weight with his legs before he was evacuated to Japan
-Most likely to see if his wounded leg was stable enough to be moved
-He was loaded onto a large military transport to be evacuated to Japan
-Remembers that it was filled with cots and there was an operating room in the plane
-They stopped in the Philippines and then flew on to Camp Zama, Japan
-In Japan he had his second surgery and was given the option to have the bone rebuilt
-The other option was to just have a metal rod inserted
-He decided to have his tibia rebuilt
-After the surgery a cast was placed on his leg, but it was so tight that his leg swelled up
-Remembers that it was incredibly painful
-At the hospital in Japan there was a sign that said “Welcome War Heroes”
-Remembers being treated well and given a beer
-Felt guilt though because while he was comfortable his friends were still out fighting
-He stayed in Japan for a month
-He was loaded onto another plane and flown to Ireland Army Community Hospital in Fort Knox
-When he was in Japan he was able to call home and say that he was wounded, but okay
-He had what was called a “Million Dollar Wound”
-Would almost fully recover without consequence, but wouldn’t go back to fight
-He fell into a deep depression because of the guilt he was feeling
-The Red Cross finally urged him to just write home for the sake of his family
-When he got to the hospital in Fort Knox he was given a hamburger and a beer
-The guilt was still there though
(01:46:15) End of Service
-He wound up spending four (or five) months in the hospital in Fort Knox
-During that time he was given “convalescence leave”
-Way for him to free up the bed that he was in
-His parents and one of his sisters came down and visited him one weekend
-Remembers asking them to buy him a bag of potato chips
-During his leave he was greeted by relatives at the airport
-Guilty because he knew his friends wouldn’t get that kind of welcoming
-After his cast was taken off he was told that he could be medically discharged
-Decided instead to complete his commitment
-Went before a board of doctors to prove that the surgery had worked
-A reenlistment officer approached him and urged him not to reenlist
-He finally relented and agreed not to reenlist
-He finished his duty at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia
-His duty was to drive men out to a place for ambush training and instruct them a little bit
-Later he would drive back and pick them up after training for the day was done
-Because of his wound he didn’t have to pull guard duty
-He felt bad because when he arrived because command gave him a recruit’s bed
-The recruit was kicked out of the barracks and had to sleep in a tent
�-At the end of his two year commitment he went to Fort Lee, Virginia to get discharged
-A friend from Muskegon drove down and picked him up
(01:53:41) Coming Home & Life after the War
-On the trip home he remembers stopping in Washington D.C. to see the Detroit Tigers play
-He was told to get out of uniform, keep his service a secret, and not to talk about Vietnam
-Confused him because he wanted to be proud of his service
-Remembers being at a bar with some friends
-Some people at a nearby table heard he had been in Vietnam and became confrontational
-He knew one man in Vietnam that would volunteer for dangerous jobs
-His rationale was that he would rather die in Vietnam than come back to harassment
-He did wind up dying in Vietnam
-Appreciates the fact that now at least people don’t blame the soldiers for war
-And that soldiers are properly welcomed home
-During the war he had sent most of his money home to save, so he took the summer off
-He wound up getting a job in Muskegon in office supply (most likely in 1969)
-Stayed with it for thirty eight years
(02:01:40) Reflections on Service
-He wouldn’t want to do it again, but if he had to he would
-After 9/11 he called up a local recruiter to ask if there was anything he could to help
-Believes that the political correctness and ignorance of politicians lost America the war
-Remembers that if there were enemy soldiers in Cambodia they couldn’t shoot them
-Even if the enemy soldiers were shooting at them
-He feels that our strategies and the Army’s inefficiency is why North Vietnam took over
-Believes that the United States is worth fighting, and if necessary dying for
-Feels that sometimes we take our rights and our government for granted
-Believes that people should get all of their information before protesting something
-Believes that the draft was a good thing
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Veterans History Project
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Grand Valley State University. History Department
Description
An account of the resource
The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1914-
Rights
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<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>
Subject
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Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American
Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American
Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American
Michigan--History, Military
Oral history
Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American
United States--History, Military
United States. Air Force
United States. Army
United States. Navy
Veterans
Video recordings
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Smither, James
Boring, Frank
Relation
A related resource
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
Identifier
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RHC-27
Language
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eng
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a>
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
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RHC-27_RomansO1718V
Title
A name given to the resource
Romans, Otis (Interview outline and video), 2014
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2014-12-18
Description
An account of the resource
Butch Romans is a Vietnam War veteran who was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1945. He grew up in Muskegon, Michigan and in 1966 he volunteered for the draft. He received basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, advanced infantry training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and paratrooper training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was deployed to Vietnam with the 1st Air Cavalry Division where he first served with the 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry Regiment in the Ia Drang Valley and later with Bravo Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 5th Cavalry Regiment in the area around An Khe. During Operation Pershing in Bong Son he was wounded and was medically evacuated. After recovering he completed his service at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia and was ultimately discharged from the Army at Fort Lee, Virginia in 1969.
Creator
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Romans, Otis
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Smither, James (Interviewer)
WKTV (Wyoming, Mich.)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral history
Veterans History Project (U.S.)
United States--History, Military
Michigan--History, Military
Veterans
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
United States. Army
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Moving Image
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a>
Rights
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<a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a>
Publisher
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Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan
Relation
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Veterans History Project (U.S.)
Format
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application/pdf
video/mp4