Forty-six years ago this Friday, the 196th Light Infantry was the last U.S. Army combat brigade to leave Vietnam as part of the withdrawal from the war, U.S. Army Pacific said.
Now a training unit at Fort Shafter, the 196th saw extensive combat in Vietnam from 1966 to 1972, experiencing 1,004 killed in action and 5,591 wounded in action.
Jim Boersema, a communications director to former Gov. Neil Abercrombie, graduated from college in 1968, got drafted the same year, and was an infantry soldier with the 196th in Vietnam in 1969.
“It’s not something that you want to do,” he said of the experience. “I would say 75 to 80 percent of the time, we were out in the jungle.”
At night, the soldiers would dig a foxhole and try to lie down flat if they could, he recalled.
On Friday, about nine veterans of the unit — including four from Hawaii — will be honored at 10 a.m. with a parade at Fort Shafter’s historic Palm Circle and a recognition of their service.
“For one reason or another, many soldiers were not properly presented their awards and medals at the time,” U.S. Army Pacific said in a release. “Some of these decorations just appeared in the service member’s record, while some were delivered by mail. While long overdue, the Army will fulfill its traditional obligation to present these medals.”
As the nation continues to try to make right its neglect of Vietnam veterans, the state House in March recognized National Vietnam War Veterans Day, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump to be recognized each year on March 29.
State Reps. Matt LoPresti and Gene Ward, a Vietnam veteran, offered a resolution “recognizing the brave
men and women who served our country during the Vietnam War and remembering those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.”
Among the 196th soldiers from Hawaii are Boersema, Allen Hoe, Thomas Keller and Larry Johnson, the Army said. Hoe served as a medic with the 196th in Vietnam in 1967-68. Others from the unit are coming from the mainland.
U.S. Army Pacific said veterans are encouraged to attend — especially those from the Vietnam era.
Boersema said the biggest battle he was in was in Hiep Duc Valley in August of 1969. An American helicopter went down and soldiers of the 196th were sent in to rescue the crew in 100-degree heat and humidity.
“We ran into the NVA, the North Vietnamese Army, and then Marines came down (to help) and we had a battle for over a week,” he said.
“Not a fun experience,” he said. “But there were some great people I was with.”
