FORT SILL, Okla. (June 20, 2019) -- In 1967, Spc. 4 James Halstead was on his second tour fighting in Vietnam. While on a patrol with the 3rd Marine Division, he was told to remain guarding a post. But there at the post North Vietnamese Army soldiers captured Halstead.
"They first put me in a pit, but I pretended I was dying so they put me in a rope cage," said Halstead, now age 81.
One really dark night, lying in his cage, Halstead told his guard that he was sick. The guard came closer to take a look.
"I grabbed him and I popped his neck, then I got his machete and cut the ropes," said Halstead. "I took off and went into a swamp."
In the swamps Halstead said he survived by eating insects. "At first I was just swallowing beetles whole, but I realized I wasn't getting any nourishment, so I started chewing them, they weren't bad."
Hiding in a swamp Halstead monitored an NVA patrol that was passing. He ducked underwater and breathed through a reed until a straggler on the patrol was alone.
"When the last guy on the patrol came by I grabbed him and pulled him underwater and put my hand over his mouth. He took a bunch of water through his nose and drowned."
Halstead took the soldier's AK-47 rifle and made his way back to friendly territory.
Halstead would go on to do a third tour in Vietnam, and retire from the Army in 1977, after 22 years of service. He would then work another 22 years as a civil servant at Reynolds Army Community Hospital.
Wall of Heroes
Retired Sgt. 1st Class Halstead was one of three servicemen from the Lawton-Fort Sill Veterans Center who were inducted into 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery's Wall of Heroes. Joining him were former Navy Lt. Nathan Dobbs, and retired Master Sgt. Eddie Dabney.
Hundreds of Soldiers, families, friends, and Veterans Center staff packed the auditorium to see the induction June 13, the day before the Army birthday.
"It's a great honor to be inducted into the Wall of Heroes," said Halstead, who has been a resident at the Veterans Center for a couple years.
In his welcome, Lt. Col. Andrew Knight, 2-20th FA "Deep Strike" commander, said the three honorees came from different backgrounds, are different ages, but they are all service members.
"Today we honor these heroes, but it barely scratches the surface of the debt of gratitude these men are owed for the sacrifices they made to keep America and the rest of the world safe," Knight said.
The Wall of Heroes ceremonies provide the battalion's Soldiers a sense of their lineage, and an understanding that they are standing on the shoulders of giants, Knight said.
"There were many before us who served, and we do this to honor their service as we introduce our Soldiers to a lifetime of service," he said.
Col. Steve Carpenter, 75th Field Artillery Brigade commander, encourages his battalions to perform community outreach, Knight said. "He wants us to realize that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, and also to build a spirit of volunteerism that can benefit a person for an entire lifetime."
The Deep Strike battalion performs the Wall of Heroes ceremony about every 45 days, Knight said.
"2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery is a very proud unit, and its partnership with the Lawton-Fort Sill Veterans Center allows us to honor and tell the story of the people that reside in this community," he said.
The photos of Dobbs, Dabney, and Halstead now are part of the 15 images on the wall which is in 2-20th FA Headquarters' conference room in Building 3424, Babcock Road.
Each veteran was presented a certificate of appreciation by Knight and Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin Bowens, 2-20th FA CSM.
During the ceremony, the honorees joined Knight and Bowens in cutting the Army birthday cake.
Father's Day
Just three days before Father's Day, retired Col. Harry Dabney rededicated the cadet sword he wore for four years at the United States Military Academy to his father, retired Master Sgt. Dabney, 82. He originally presented the sword to his dad at his graduation May 26, 1982, at West Point. The sword hung in Master Sgt. Dabney's household for the past 38 years.
Master Sgt. Dabney enlisted in the Army in 1957, and served two tours in Vietnam. He received wounds during the first Tet Offensive while he was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. His other assignments in the Army took him twice to: Germany; Fort Lewis, Wash.; and Fort Sill.
Retiring from the Army after 22 years of service, he went on to a 23-year career with the U.S. Postal Service.
Three of the five sons of Master Sgt. Dabney and his late wife, Theresia, attended the ceremony.
His son, Joe Dabney of Cache, said the ceremony was especially meaningful for the family.
"Our Soldiers, like Dad, don't get the recognition that they deserve," Joe Dabney said. "The 75th (Field Artillery Brigade) coming out here, doing this is pretty special."
CENTENARIAN
Each inductee was introduced by a Soldier from the battalion. Sgt. Luis Gonzalez, A Battery, 2-20th FA, introduced Dobbs.
Dobbs was born May 19, 1919, in Wilton, Okla. He was one of 11 children. He learned about resourcefulness and hard work from his father, Jess, who worked in oilpatches throughout Oklahoma.
As a young man Dobbs worked oilfields all over the U.S. In the spring of 1941, while a student at Oklahoma A&M University in Stillwater, Dobbs was also learning how to fly so he could join the Army Air Corps. That July he was drafted into the Navy. By 1944, he was flying fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo planes in the Pacific theater. After World War II, he returned to the oilfields and worked for a pipeline company which gave him the opportunity to travel the world from Alaska to Saudi Arabia.
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