1-40th FA honors its own Vietnam veterans

By Mitch MeadorJune 28, 2018

Thanks in general
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Long-due welcome
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FORT SILL, Okla., June 28, 2018 -- Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 40th Field Artillery made it possible for more than 100 of their forebears, who fought in Vietnam, to finally enjoy the homecoming ceremony they deserved.

Their long-overdue welcome happened, just as today's redeployment ceremonies do, in Rinehart Fitness Center. It had all the usual trappings -- joyous music by the 77th Army Band, a battalion chaplain delivering the invocation, and cookies and soft drinks served up by the USO. There were speeches, a word of thanks to the veterans, and most of all, cheering, applause, and sign-waving by the service members and families in the bleachers who showed their support.

"It brought tears to my eyes," said Bill Baugus, who served as color-bearer for the ceremony. "When we came home from Vietnam, it was very unpopular. We came home in late '67. And almost in self-defense, we didn't talk about it. And it just kind of became the way you put it behind you and went on with your lives."

Baugus said the ceremony provided a sense of closure.

"It's just really, really special to know that people really did care," he said.

Baugus, who hails from a town near Cincinnati, Ohio, was the A Battery medic that everybody called "Doc" in Vietnam. He and Jim Olsen of Bagley, Minn., organized the reunion, which is how he ended up as color-bearer.

"We were 500 strong here at Fort Sill and shipped out in September '66. We shipped out 500 of us together. The captain was there for 3 1/2 years. Obviously replacements came in over that time. But most of these people here are the '66-'67 timeframe," Baugus said.

Gary Brand of Anaconda, Wash., was elated to have a line of Soldiers waiting to shake hands with all the Vietnam veterans. He had this to say:

"I was a draftee in 1968, and went through basic training in Fort Lewis, Wash., AIT (advanced individual training) at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and I was a replacement Soldier at the 1st of the 40th in Vietnam in late June of 1968.

"I went to the best unit in the world, bar none. The guys that trained as a group, took the guns over on the ships, were the mentors to teach everybody coming into the units how to be good Soldiers, how to work the guns, how to be the fastest gunners and stuff like that.

"I worked in an FDC, which is fire direction control, and we did the fastest charts and got the rounds on target faster than any unit in Vietnam, I'm here to say. And I'm very proud of the work we did over there.

"I am totally honored at this reception. I am surprised and almost brought to tears. I can't say enough about Fort Sill taking the time to bring us in, treat us with amazing dignity and honor. Be treated like royalty, and I am really happy," Brand said.

The 1-40th FA Vietnam Veterans Association has held four of its 12 reunions here at Fort Sill, and once they dedicated a memorial in Constitution Park to their Soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam. One of the guns they fired in Vietnam is in the Field Artillery Museum. Brand identified it as a 105mm Self-Propelled Howitzer, which was the No. 5 gun in B Battery.

As for reuniting with his old Army buddies, Brand said "getting together with the boys is always a blast. It's beyond anything you could get anyplace else. To recover for many years of wondering how come nobody ever said thank-you? We are brothers forever."

Lt. Col. Ralph Heaton, commander of 1-40th FA, greeted veterans of the "Gauntlet Battalion," saying, "One great thing about our Army is that we have a special connection with our past. We celebrate our long and proud history, as evident in recognizing our 243rd year of service to the nation, and this event is no different.

"Today we pay tribute to the brave men sitting in the chairs in front of you," he said. "It's extremely fitting as we celebrate the regiment's 100-year anniversary since being organized, that we're able to do so while celebrating the 50th anniversary of the battalion's service in Vietnam, one that began right here at Fort Sill.

"Fifty-two years ago, the 1st Howitzer Battalion, 40th Field Artillery Regiment, was reactivated here at Fort Sill in what is now known as the horse pasture down by the stable and the Field Artillery Museum," Heaton said.

"The Vietnam War was continuing to turn, at an ever-increasing tempo. After the training was complete, a long train ride that took them to Oklahoma City, on west to the port of Oakland, (Calif.), and then a two-week journey on the sea troop transport, the battalion found itself in the heat of conflict.

"Over the next three years the battalion fought gallantly, firing over 1 million rounds through the same 18 M108 self-propelled howitzers in places like the infamous Rockpile, Con Thien, Hamburger Hill, and Khe Sanh. They fired in support of Marines, Special Operations forces, and U.S. Army units. They earned the Presidential Unit Citation and three Meritorious Unit Citations, and earned 12 campaign streamers, which still adorn their battalion's colors today.

"But what brings us here this afternoon is that 51 years ago, when the majority of you returned from serving a year in Vietnam, you were never given the proper return and the recognition you deserved. There was no battalion formation to reunite loved ones after months of separation. There was no band playing 'The Star-Spangled Banner' and 'The Army Song.' There were no signs drawn and painted by loved ones that hung around the gym. Just an empty hangar, an empty train station," Heaton said.

Instead, what they heard went something like this: "Welcome back. Have a good weekend. See you at PT Monday. Dismissed."

Heaton praised the battalion command team -- retirees Lt. Col. Lee Roper and Command Sgt. Maj. Thurman Cousins -- who trained, equipped, and led the unit with distinction in Vietnam. Heaton then led a round of applause to thank the veterans for their service.

That 1-40th FA was no ordinary battalion is amply demonstrated by the portion of its unit history devoted to the Vietnam War, as read by Capt. Thomas Fleming, battalion operations officer: "1-40th FA was located at Camp Carroll in (the) vicinity of Dona-Ha on Highway 9 just west of Highway 1, 10 miles southfrom the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in Vietnam. 1-40th FA was among the first U.S. Army Field Artillery units in I Corps' area of operation and was the first artillery unit to fire into North Vietnam.

"The battalion operated in Quang Tri City, Ca Lu, Cam Lo, the Rockpile, and north of Dong Ha. These areas were bombarded with heavy artillery fire from two North Vietnamese divisions, north of the DMZ."

The "Gauntlet Battalion's" A Battery ended the ceremony by presenting the 1-40th FA Vietnam veterans with commemorative pins symbolizing their service during the Vietnam War.