Veterans Remember
Southern Wisconsin veterans remember their experiences this Veterans' Day.
Photo by: Submitted photo
A 20-year-old Howard Wagner talks on a radio telephone in the mountain jungles near Phan Tiet, Vietnam.
The picture, dated 1970, was taken near the end of Wagner’s time with the 1st battalion (mechanized), 50th infantry.
Wagner was drafted in 1968. He was 18. He reported to Fort Campbell, Ky., for basic training, then to Fort Polk, La., for advanced infantry training and then Fort Benning, Ga., for non-commissioned officers training.
The 1st battalion, 50th infantry, was deployed to Vietnam in December 1969. The men provided road security, watching constantly for bombs planted under the road. But soon the commander took away the company’s transportation, Wagner said, because it wasn’t “getting enough kills.”
That forced the men to go up the mountains on foot, carrying a three-day supply of food, seven canteens and 100 rounds of ammunition, among other weighty items. Wagner said they were in the sweltering jungle for weeks at a time.
Wagner, 59, of Milton was discharged in November 1970, and when he arrived home, he met his daughter, who was born a few months earlier.
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