Platoon 3056

by James M. Mahon

Governor Kepthorne, Fellow members of the all Idaho Platoon 3056, Ladies and Gentlemen. I am honored to stand before you on this day and honored that my brothers picked me to say a few words.

I am here to speak to you of Patriotism. More specifically, I’d like to speak to you about Patriotism as demonstrated in the 1960's by the men gathered on these steps. Many people believe that sex, drugs, and rock and roll defined the 1960’s. However, the real 60's were not a time of self-gratification but, rather, a time of self-sacrifice. President Kennedy challenged the generation in one of his most famous speeches to "…ask not what your country can do for you… …ask what you can do for your country." If anything, we took these words too much to heart. The United States during the 60's was not a pleasant place. We were living at the height of the “Cold War” with Russia, Cuba, and China directly threatening our nation with nuclear war. The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 brought home the threat of nuclear war, with intercontinental ballistic missiles aimed at us only miles off the coast of Florida. Communism was not just a perceived threat; it was a direct threat to us.

The men gathered here today from Platoon 3056 made a choice many years ago to join the United States Marine Corps and to defend our country in spite of the horror we witnessed nightly on national television. War was brought to us in living color and the horrors we witnessed did not prevent us from choosing to support our country. We saw the death and destruction and witnessed the enemies’ success during the 1968 Tet Offensive. In spite of this, we chose to enlist. We could have as easily have chosen to hope that we would not be picked in the draft, or that if we were, run to Canada. Let me tell you that took a great deal of courage. The long and proud history of the Marines was earned on the front lines of each of our countries wars. The saying “first to fight,” was not simply words but reality. Each man standing before you enlisted in time of War in a service that almost guaranteed that they would serve in Vietnam.

Some were destined to have jobs other than infantry but Marines were all trained to be riflemen and Vietnam was a war without front lines. War is not about glory. War is about death and destruction. My first thought of Vietnam after landing in Da Nang as an 18 year old Marine was that the country itself smelled like death. I came to realize that the only way you survive a battle is to completely destroy the enemy before he destroys you. Also, the only way to keep your sanity and to function effectively is to accept that you will not live to see home again. The future ceases to exist, you live minute to minute on a fear induced adrenalin high that magnifies every feeling and every sensation, and makes time stand still. A year in combat feels like a lifetime by any other measure of time. In the 6 months that I served with a front-line Marine infantry unit, I never saw anyone leave except in a body bag or on a Medivac Chopper.

I was lucky and was Medivac'ed out after being blown up by a booby-trapped 60 Mortar round. I’ve spent a lot of time since Vietnam in and out of hospitals, on an average of once every three years since 1969. My right leg was eventually amputated below the knee and later was taken above the knee. However, I am still alive and that is much better than the alternative. 58,000 of our fellow Americans died in Vietnam. Their names are inscribed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall and each of them paid the ultimate price for freedom. As far as I know, no member of Platoon 3056 was killed in Vietnam, but like me many were wounded. Without the advancements in medical care that were available to us in Vietnam, some would have died.

In the Vietnamese language, they do not say that they miss people who are no longer a part of their everyday lives. Instead, they say they remember them. Two members of Platoon 3056 are not able to be with us on this day. Not because of other commitments or short notice. Both have since died. Freedom lives today because Jay Mullins and Jim Maher were willing to risk their lives for each of us. Please take a moment to remember two of America’s heroes.

I remember years ago watching the movie, "The Deer Hunter." While I did not see anything in Vietnam like the scenes depicted in the movie and do not believe those things actually happened, I do believe in the emotions the movie generated and in the effects on and changes in people that it depicted. In the movie, one of the central characters goes crazy from the horrors he witnesses and endures; eventually, he kills himself. Another character is severely wounded, and even the movie’s main protagonist is forever changed emotionally. All of the horrors of war, while exaggerated by Hollywood, are played out in this movie. War can change you mentally, emotionally, physically, and it may even take your life, and while I personally believe that few things are worth dying for, I do believe that freedom is worth risking your life for. In the last scene of the movie, all of the main characters come together and sing "God Bless America" after burying their friend. They have been witness to the horrors of war but, like Veterans everywhere, they would go through it all again if their Country asked them.

Each of the men standing before you made the choice to serve their country in time of war. It was a difficult choice and not a popular choice by many of our peers. While age prevents us from serving our country today, I still remember the young strong American men of 35 years ago and feel pride to be a member of such a group of heroes. Like the cast of the Deer Hunter, each of these men would still serve if they were able to. However, war is an ugly, physically demanding game, and as such is reserved to our young men and women. While this is a day to honor the men of Platoon 3056, I encourage all of you, all of us, to remember all of America’s service men and women on this day, to choose your battles for freedom well, and to live your lives fully. Never be so afraid of dying that you are afraid to live.

Thank you. God Bless America, and to the men of Platoon 3056, OO Rah!