Joe was my friend
We were roommates in flight school. It was not as intense an atmosphere as OCS, but it was challenging. I dropped out of college to get in on the Vietnam War. Joe was eight or nine years older and a seasoned veteran. We were in the Warrant Officer Candidate program because it was the only place that guys without college degrees could get into flight school. Joe taught me to polish brass, and spit shine boots and concrete floors. I tutored Joe on all of the academic subjects that would have washed him out.
The old soldier that Joe was, he knew how to mess with the rest of us. When we were marching in formation Joe could look like the perfect soldier while he kept a running banter going on that only the guys around him could hear. If we tried to answer, we couldn’t do it like Joe could, so we got in trouble. If we laughed at something he said we were in trouble. If we were focused on what he said we would mess up the drill, and we got in trouble. Maybe Joe was teaching us to focus, but I always thought he was just having fun.
The day Joe soloed he was so excited that he went exploring and went out of bounds. When I saw him back in the barracks he was almost in tears. “I’m grounded and they are going to board me out next week.” Sometime in the night Joe put on his civies and slipped out of the barracks and off post.
The next time I saw him was 2 days later. He was in the room when I got back from class, clearing out his stuff. Joe looked like he had been beaten by a crowd. Both eyes were black, and there were several other bruises on his face. Both hands and one ear were bandaged. I commented that it looked like he got his ass kicked. He agreed that he hadn’t done too well at the start of the fight, “but they didn’t finish me off so I kept fighting.”
To make sure he didn’t run into anyone he knew Joe had gone to an Off-Limits club. Three of the local thugs who hung out there jumped him on his way out. The fight started the thugs way and ended Joe’s way, except that he was still there when the cops arrived. Joe sat in the back of a cop car and watched as each of the thugs got a stretcher ride to an ambulance, and then the cops took him to the main gate and turned him over to the MP’s. He was no longer waiting for a board to remove him from flight school.
Several years later I was on a 3 day TDY to DC. When I walked into a bar near my Hotel, I saw Joe. I walked over to the table where he and several other guys were sitting around in uniform and said “Hi Joe!” He greeted me warmly and insisted that I join them. I had made Captain by then, but there was a Major at the table already, so I would not be the one breaking protocol and I sat down. Joe introduced me as his flight school roommate/tutor and introduced the guys around the table; the Major’s name was familiar, but I didn’t place it. Shortly after he finished the introductions, Joe Said “Don’t go away, I have to go to the head.” As Joe left, the Major said ”Joe is our Hero. The rest of us ran out of options and did what we had to do, but Joe kept doing it again and again. Each of his Silver Stars were submitted for the Medal of Honor but he kept doing it better ” When the Major said “Medal of Honor”, he unconsciously patted his chest and I saw his. Then I looked around the table and realized that I was in the presence of Military celebrities. Everyone at the table besides me was wearing a MOH.
“I didn’t know” was all I could say, and it was not much more than a whisper.
“Didn't know what “ the Major asked.
“I didn't know Joe had the Medal of Honor, didn't know that's what this group was. The last time I saw Joe he was beat up, getting the boot from flight school, and his spirits were very low.” I started to get up.”I apologize, I didn't mean to horn in on....”
The Major interrupted me. “Sit down Captain.”
I started again “Sir, I...”
The Major interrupted again “We will all leave if you can't stay and visit with Joe if we are here,” he looked around and all of the others at the table nodded.
'No sir “ I said.
It was settled in his mind ”So sit back down, what are you drinking?”
So I sat, and I listened to the conversation till Joe got back and then Joe and I caught up for a while. The main thing I remember from the conversation was that Joe had it made. As the only surviving Medal of Honor winner from the 101st he could stay in uniform in cushy jobs as long as he wanted. I remember Joe as calm and comfortable and on his way to a great life. His only regret was that he would never be able to go back to Viet Nam and combat.
“So, are you learning to stay out of trouble?” I asked at one point.
“Nah” he said “Wouldn't be here if I had. I had to go AWOL from the hospital twice and hitch rides back to my unit, otherwise I wouldn't have been there when they needed me.”
A question on a forum that I frequent reminded me of Joe, and I looked him up on the internet.
It has been a long time, and it took a while for me to be aware of how sad the information in his Wikipedia article is:”
…... He managed to finagle a second tour in Vietnam. From April to June 1970 he served as a Pathfinder with the 101st Aviation Group, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) and from June to December 1970 he served as a Platoon Sergeant with Company A, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile). In December 1970 he received a direct commission to Second Lieutenant and served as a Platoon Leader with Company A, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) until April 1971. Upon his return to the United States he attended the Infantry Officer Basic Course at Fort Benning and was then assigned as an instructor at Fort Polk, Louisiana
Despite wanting to serve twenty years Hooper was forcibly retired in February 1974 as a First Lieutenant, mainly because he barely had a GED and had taken only a handful of college courses”
There was a Reduction-in-Force after Viet Nam, and a lot of soldiers were forced out. If I had asked Joe when I saw him in DC he would have told me that his MOH made him RIF-proof. More than that, all of the officers that I knew who were riffed had the opportunity to revert to their permanent enlisted grade and remain in service. “Forcibly retired” sounds like behavior that could not be tolerated.... Of course it may be that an unpopular war made MOH winners less valuable to the services.
More from the Wikipedia article:”
Rumors persist that he became distressed by the anti-war politics of the time and took to excessive drinking which contributed to his death. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Louisville, Kentucky May 6, 1979 at the age of 40. The most decorated american soldier ever.
Medal of Honor
Silver Star-2
Bronze Star-6
Purple Heart-8
I don't know the circumstances, so I don't know whether Joe was “distressed by anti-war politics”, disappointed that the brass did not respect his exploits the way he expected, or disappointed that he was unable to stay out of trouble and stay in the service. In my opinion and experience none of these are required, and any would be enough for an old soldier like Joe to drink too much.
The question that started me looking for Joe recently was ” what is the most important mental skill for a soldier?” I would have quoted Joe:” they didn’t finish me off so I kept fighting.” his MOH citation seems to repeat that several times. Reading about how things went for Joe after the last time I saw him makes me think that there is another very important question :” what is the most important mental skill for an ex-soldier?” Joe's life after the war echoes the question, but no answer. I'm gonna try:
“I will never again do anything as important as what I did there. I will not have to make life-or-death decisions for my men. I will not have to risk my life, or take another's.” ...all true, but, the rest of your life is important to you. For me my children are what made my life important after combat. Joe had a caring wife that he trusted to take care of his kids, so that didn't worry him. (I will caution that if concern for your children is what gives your life importance, all you have done is kick the can down the road. They won't be dependent forever.) Every Veteran whose life lost importance when they came home must find something that they do that is important enough to justify facing the demons of what they have done and where they have been.
So, ” what is the most important mental skill for an ex-soldier?”
...... finding something they do or can do that is important to them....and doing it.
Medal of Honor citation
Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company D, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. Place and date: Near Hue, Republic of Vietnam, February 21, 1968. Entered service at: Los Angeles, Calif. Born: August 8, 1938, Piedmont, S.C.
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Staff Sergeant (then Sgt.) Hooper, U.S. Army, distinguished himself while serving as squad leader with Company D. Company D was assaulting a heavily defended enemy position along a river bank when it encountered a withering hail of fire from rockets, machine guns and automatic weapons. S/Sgt. Hooper rallied several men and stormed across the river, overrunning several bunkers on the opposite shore. Thus inspired, the rest of the company moved to the attack. With utter disregard for his own safety, he moved out under the intense fire again and pulled back the wounded, moving them to safety. During this act S/Sgt. Hooper was seriously wounded, but he refused medical aid and returned to his men. With the relentless enemy fire disrupting the attack, he single-handedly stormed 3 enemy bunkers, destroying them with hand grenade and rifle fire, and shot 2 enemy soldiers who had attacked and wounded the Chaplain. Leading his men forward in a sweep of the area, S/Sgt. Hooper destroyed 3 buildings housing enemy riflemen. At this point he was attacked by a North Vietnamese officer whom he fatally wounded with his bayonet. Finding his men under heavy fire from a house to the front, he proceeded alone to the building, killing its occupants with rifle fire and grenades. By now his initial body wound had been compounded by grenade fragments, yet despite the multiple wounds and loss of blood, he continued to lead his men against the intense enemy fire. As his squad reached the final line of enemy resistance, it received devastating fire from 4 bunkers in line on its left flank. S/Sgt. Hooper gathered several hand grenades and raced down a small trench which ran the length of the bunker line, tossing grenades into each bunker as he passed by, killing all but 2 of the occupants. With these positions destroyed, he concentrated on the last bunkers facing his men, destroying the first with an incendiary grenade and neutralizing 2 more by rifle fire. He then raced across an open field, still under enemy fire, to rescue a wounded man who was trapped in a trench. Upon reaching the man, he was faced by an armed enemy soldier whom he killed with a pistol. Moving his comrade to safety and returning to his men, he neutralized the final pocket of enemy resistance by fatally wounding 3 North Vietnamese officers with rifle fire. S/Sgt. Hooper then established a final line and reorganized his men, not accepting treatment until this was accomplished and not consenting to evacuation until the following morning. His supreme valor, inspiring leadership and heroic self-sacrifice were directly responsible for the company's success and provided a lasting example in personal courage for every man on the field. S/Sgt. Hooper's actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.
