The Vietnam War was raging when Dan King left his home on the Oneida Reservation one Sunday and told his mother he was coming back.
“I never said what year,” King joked in a recent lecture recalling his experiences.
King discusses his experiences at various events in Wisconsin. It is his way of keeping alive the memories of those who served alongside him. He shared his story on the occasion of Veterans Day.
He didn’t know his father very well, but knew he served during World War II. He also knew that his grandfather served during World War I. King said he left home to sign up for the military because that’s what he thought he had to do. It was a way to maintain the warrior tradition of his family and his tribe.
He was soon shipped to Vietnam.
He learned the horrible truth about war and being surrounded by death.
“I was scared, but I didn’t admit it,” King said. “They didn’t train you for that. They don’t tell you what it’s really like.”
He said movies always depicted those who served in World War II as glorious heroes who deserved medals and deserved everyone’s appreciation.
“There is nothing glorious about war,” King said. “It’s easy to make war, but how are we supposed to live with it afterwards?”
King was shot while serving. He had killed to save others. His friends had been killed while saving him. He said many units like his see some level of combat more than 100 times a year. Some of the young men who came through, teenagers actually, survived less than a month.
At home, those sights, sounds and even smells often returned.
King’s cousins asked him how many people he had killed, and he just walked away and wouldn’t answer.
King initially did not want any of the medals he had received. And he drowned his post-traumatic stress disorder with alcohol while trying to forget, often ending up in a county jail somewhere.
But he could never forget it.
King later realized that Vietnam differed from other wars in that there were often no clear front lines and no clear objectives. Soldiers were on high alert 24 hours a day and under high pressure.
King’s mother had urged him to go to church for healing, and that helped a little. He also turned to traditional Oneida ways by burning tobacco and praying to the Creator. That helped too.
“They say the pain goes away, but it doesn’t,” King said. “But I’ve learned to live with it and accept it.”
Today, as commander of the Wisconsin Indian Veteran Association-Oneida Chapter, King is an advocate for veterans and lobbies for the resources they need, such as PTSD treatment and housing.
King realized that he will forever have strong bonds with those he served with, as well as other veterans, and that at the end of the day, they are all just there for each other.
“Who is going to die for a flag or a country?” he said. “All the guys on the (Vietnam Memorial) Wall didn’t want a flag. They died for someone like me, friends. They died caring for each other.”
More: The suicide rate among Native American veterans has skyrocketed. What is being done in Wisconsin to help?
More: Native American veterans experiencing homelessness receive support from the Oneida Nation program
More: Native Americans have a proud tradition of serving in the military. This Vietnam War veteran in Oneida explains why.
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Frank Vaisvilas is a former Report for America corps member covering Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact him at fvaisvilas@gannett.com or 815-260-2262. Follow him further Tweet bee @vaisvilas_frank.
This article originally appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Oneida veteran shares story of fear and peace after Vietnam War
