FORT SILL, Okla. -- Tulsa-native Michael Champion was 26 years old when he was drafted into the Army in 1967. After completing basic combat training at Fort Polk, La., where he was the honor graduate in his company, he attended armor reconnaissance school at Fort Knox, Ky. Then he immediately went to a noncommissioned officer school there graduating as an E-5.
When Sgt. Champion reported to his first unit near the demilitarized zone in Vietnam, he found out they didn't have any tanks so he was given on-the-job training to become a helicopter observer/scout. The pilots also gave him flight training on the OH-6 Cayuse helicopter in case the lone pilot got shot, then the observer could fly or land the reconnaissance helicopter.
Champion had been in Vietnam for one month when the old OH-13 Sioux helicopter he was in got shot down. About 10 days later the OH-6 "Loach" he was riding was hit by enemy fire and crashed.
Champion suffered a serious back injury. He spent the next month at a hospital in Okinawa, Japan, then six more months at an Army hospital in Texas. He finished the remainder of his two-year enlistment at Fort Carson, Colo. In his 40 days in Vietnam, Champion earned two Purple Heart medals.
John Deel was 19 living in Haysi, Va., when he was drafted in 1966.
"I wanted to be drafted because all my friends were," said Deel, now a Lawton resident. "If you didn't go in (the military) there was something wrong with you, physically."
After completing basic at Fort Bragg, N.C., Deel attended Advanced Individual Training at Fort Sill, and became a fires direction specialist. After six months at Fort Hood, Texas, Deel was sent to Vietnam.
At D Battery, 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery, Deel worked with 105mm howitzer crews that provided artillery support from about 10 landing zones.
"We were all young, 19 or 20 years old," said Deel. "Those were some of the greatest friends I ever had."
When 1st Sgt. Dan Tucker went to Vietnam in 1969, he already had 11 years in the Army. The Army needed senior NCOs there to provide leadership and guidance, he said.
"We reminded the young Soldiers to rely on their training and then you'll be OK," Tucker said.
The son of a career Soldier, Van Parton joined the Army on his 18th birthday in 1967.
"It was my duty; everybody was going," Parton said.
As a communications specialist, Parton was part of the 2nd Battalion, 94th FA at Camp J.J. Carroll in Vietnam.
"It was as far north as you could go in South Vietnam. We were the first unit to fire (FA) rounds into North Vietnam," Parton said.
Parton was at the siege at Khe Sanh.
"It was horrible. There were people as far as you could see just charging at you," he said.
Parton was shot through the arm one month into the battle, he was medically evacuated, recovered and finished his one-year tour in Vietnam.
Parton said he was shunned upon returning to America in 1969.
"Nobody liked you, people would spit at you and throw things at you," he said. "If you were a veteran, you didn't show it."
Champion, Deel, Tucker and Parton were four of the hundreds of Vietnam veterans and their family members, who were honored by the Fort Sill community with a welcome home ceremony March 29, 2013, at Rinehart Fitness Center here.
Events
The day included an early opening of the Army Field Artillery Museum for the visitors, a welcome home ceremony, lunch at the Patriot Club, a tour of the Old Post Quadrangle and its historic facilities, and an invitation to the post's retirement ceremony where they were the honored guests.
Thousands of people packed the fitness center to welcome the heroes. People waved signs madly and a continuous standing ovation of cheers and applause lasted 15 minutes as first, when the families, and then the veterans walked onto the gym floor.
Maj. Gen. Mark McDonald, Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill commanding general, greeted them.
"Vietnam veterans welcome back to the United States of America!" McDonald roared. "We are honored to have this opportunity to respect you, to honor you, to welcome you back, so thank you.
McDonald said it is the Vietnam veterans who are always here to welcome Fort Sill units back home, even if it is at 2 a.m.
"You have said: 'Never again will our Soldiers return home without a proper welcome,'" McDonald said. "You have taught us what right looks like, you have taught us how to welcome people home."
The general said as a teen he admired Soldiers who were fighting in Vietnam, and watched what they were doing on the nightly news. Three Vietnam veterans who were McDonald's Junior ROTC instructors were influential in getting him on the road to the Army.
"These were men of honor; men of integrity; men of stature," McDonald said. "They were men just like you. They set the tone for us; just as you have set the tone for this country.
"And, you did it in a tough fight, in a tough location ... with little public support," McDonald said. "But, you kept the faith in our country when many people didn't."
McDonald also acknowledged the families of the veterans, who endured a different hardship than family members today.
"You didn't get phone calls, you didn't get emails, we didn't even know what Skype was. All you got was what we call snail mail," McDonald said.
Unlike today, military families then did not receive public support.
"I'm sure there are people who questioned your dedication to your spouse, and your dedication to your country, he said. "For your service, which is no less significant than your spouses' service, we'd like to offer our appreciation to you," McDonald said.
Epilogue
Champion, now age 69, made the drive from Tulsa to attend the homecoming.
"I think it's outstanding. I hope the rest of the country picks up on this," said Champion, who after his service in the Army worked at Oklahoma oil patches and retired from the banking industry five years ago.
Parton, 63, said he heard about the ceremony from a friend.
"It's great. We've never had this before," said Parton, who went on to serve 11 years in the Army, and performed a second tour in Vietnam in 1970. He retired as a respiratory therapist from Wichita Falls General Hospital about five years ago.
Retired 1st Sgt. Tucker, 73, of Lawton, said the ceremony evoked much emotion from him, not so much as a welcome home, but to be recognized as a group.
"When we came back from Vietnam, we returned as individuals not as a unit," said Tucker, a former City of Lawton director of development.
And, Deel, 65, who retired from the Army as a sergeant major in 1999, continues his service as a combat developer with the Capabilities Development Integration Directorate here.
He said he had felt a little reluctant to attend the ceremony, "but standing on that gym floor I felt pretty proud."
Cutlines:
By Jeff Crawley
FORT SILL, Okla. -- Two Vietnam veterans tip their hats to an appreciative crowd as they enter Rinehart Fitness Center March 29, 2013, during a welcome home and thank you ceremony. About 200 Vietnam veterans and their families were honored throughout the day with activities on post.
By James Brabenec
FORT SILL, Okla. -- About 200 Vietnam veterans enter Rinehart Fitness Center March 29, to a standing ovation from the Lawton-Fort Sill community during a welcome home ceremony to honor them and their families. The day also included an early opening of the U.S. Army Field Artillery Museum for the visitors, lunch at the Patriot Club, a tour of the Old Post Quadrangle and its historic facilities, and an invitation to the post's retirement ceremony where they were the special guests. The City of Lawton also held a ceremony in their honor March 30, at McMahon Memorial Auditorium.
Photo by Felix Shiel
FORT SILL, Okla. -- Families hold up signs of appreciation for Vietnam veterans during the the welcome home ceremony March 29 at Rinehart Fitness Center here. The Vietnam War ended 40 years ago, and many of its returning service members had never received a proper return home ceremony.
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