Honoring Our Veterans: Walter Cooper, Sgt. E-5 US Army (RA)

Join us in honoring our hero Hibernian Brothers.

I enlisted in the US Army in January 1966. This was the time when a major troop buildup was being planned for Viet Nam. After basic, advanced training and special schooling I was assigned to the 199th Light Infantry Brigade. This 199th was reactivated specifically to be an airmobile unit trained in jungle
counterinsurgency. We boarded the USS Sultan in Oakland, California in early November. We made an amphibious landing at Van Tau, Viet Nam on Dec.10,1966. (Sailing the North Pacific in November is a story for another time.)
We were stationed at Song Be, Viet Nam for climatization and additional training. However, that really didn’t happen. Instead, we immediately became part of “Operation Fairfax”. During this time, I made about 10 “Eagle Flights” (airmobile assaults) to seek out and destroy VC cells operating in the Saigon
area. In March 1967 I was promoted to Sergeant, and we began to operate occasionally in the Delta Region being transported in Swift Boats.
I was hospitalized on two occasions prior to being wounded. The first was a scorpion sting on Christmas Eve while hacking out an LZ for a supply drop, and then for heat exhaustion after a fire fight. On June 1, 1967 I was wounded while leading an ambush patrol. I was awarded an Army Commendation Medal
with Vdevice for my actions during the firefight as well as the Purple Heart. This was my ticket home. However, my greatest accomplishment was that not one man (or teenager) under my command was killed or wounded except for me.