August 9 – AUSTIN – Texas Land Commissioner and Chairman of the Veterans Land Board (VLB) Dr. Dawn Buckingham introduced the next installment in the series highlighting the VLB’s Voices of Veterans oral history program. Today we hear the story of U.S. Army veteran Sergeant Francisco Barrientes, who served in the Vietnam War and was awarded two Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star.
Barrientes is a native Texan from Edinburg. He was drafted into the Army in 1968, but said he was ready to serve his country and had the support of his family. After basic training and advanced infantry training with the U.S. Army, he was sent to Vietnam, where he faced guerrilla warfare and unfamiliar terrain.
Although he was told that the North Vietnamese were deliberately targeting machine gunners and radio operators, Barrientes volunteered to replace the machine gunner in his unit. His leg was wounded by a hand grenade in 1969, but he returned to duty. However, Barrientes was wounded a second time as a machine gunner, and much more seriously.
“There was a bunker with two Vietnamese in it. And they were waiting for me, waiting for me to turn all the way around… so they could hit me in the face. So when I turned all the way around and saw the bunker, and I saw the two Vietnamese… I saw them at the same time that I got hit… they fired the AK-47 and hit me right in the nose, and the bullet went to my stomach; I swallowed it… and it stopped just a fraction of an inch before it hit my spine… I was wounded there, and of course I was scared.”
If he had fallen, he would have died if it had not been for the quick and brave work of the 19-year-old field doctor. Barrientes said he still calls him and thanks him for saving his life, many years after they left the service.
He underwent more than 40 surgeries to save his life and reconstruct his face at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. After his service, he became an indispensable part of his community. Barrientes was named a Hero for Children by the Texas State Board of Education, and the Edinburg School District named a high school after him.
When asked what message he would like to give to future generations, he said, “Serving our country is an honor…to give back to our communities, to our nation for all the wonderful things that we’ve enjoyed, all the freedoms that we’ve enjoyed. We have to remember, and especially now…we have to remember not to take that for granted. We have to enjoy it every day, one day at a time.”
Click here to listen to the story of Sergeant Francisco Barrientes.
Recommended local savings
Recommended local savings
