(PHOTOS PROVIDED / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
THE WALL … Campos stands with his hand on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington DC.
VIETNAM … Campos stands for a picture during his time in Vietnam.
By: Jacob Kessler
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jacob@thevillagereporter.com
Flag City Honor Flight recently presented 84 veterans with a trip to DC. The flight took place on Tuesday, November 12th and celebrated the organization’s 2,000th veteran being honored with the flight.
One veteran who was honored that day is Ernesto Campos of Bryan. Campos is originally from Harlingen, Texas, which is not too far from the Rio Grande and Gulf of Mexico. He was drafted into the Army on August 18th, 1969, and served for four months in Vietnam.
Campos described his arrival to Vietnam as very hot. The noise took some getting used to and travel to and from just about anywhere took place by helicopter.
After around two weeks in the country, Campos received orders to travel to a firebase where he would link up with his platoon.
While on base, soldiers who were out in the field would return for some R&R (rest and recuperation), which meant Campos and his platoon would head out as their relief.
During one of their times out in the field, Campos was assigned to walk point (out in the front). While in training, soldiers were told to look out for anything that may look out of place, no matter how small the item may be. This caused Campos to notice something up ahead and forced him to stop.
His Lieutenant approached and asked why the group had stopped. Campos, not really being sure, thought that a vine stretched across the path everyone was going to be walking through, looked suspicious.
One of the soldiers approached the vine and noticed it was a booby trap. Attached to the vine was a string which was tied to a crossbow.
If the vine had tripped, the crossbow would have shot out and hit whoever set it off. The trap was disarmed, and Campos received the crossbow as a souvenir.
On a separate trip, and while on a search and destroy mission, Campos was walking up a hill with a village located at the top. While walking off the path in a line formation, a punji stick forced its way into Campos’s leg.
The stick, which was made of sharpened bamboo, was one of many different kinds of traps left in places, with the sole purpose of hurting US soldiers.
These sticks would also normally be coated in a neurotoxin from the skin of certain tree frogs but could also be covered in human feces to cause an infection.
Campos proceeded to pull the stick out and went on to complete the mission. Upon returning to the base, Ernesto was tagged and sent to a hospital for treatment. This led to Campos receiving his first Purple Heart.
After getting healed up, Campos returned to his unit out in the field. He continued on with his duties before being injured again, close to two months later.
Angi Scott, Ernesto’s daughter, explained that this time left Campos with issues that have continued on throughout the rest of his life.
It was during the nighttime and Campos was pulling guard duty on the outside of their perimeter. Suddenly, while standing near 105mm artillery guns, he heard a shout ring out that said Fire for Effect.
After that, all that could be heard was booming as the guns were fired. Campos put his hands over his ears, but it was too late, the damage had already been done.
When he pulled his hands away from his ears, what could be seen was blood due to damage done to his eardrums.
He went to a medic who ended up telling him he needed to go back to the US for treatment. He was also told that his hearing might come back and that the ringing sound might not stop.
The next day, when Campos was on a helicopter trying to leave and head for medical attention, the helicopter began to take fire.
Being overloaded, the helicopter was struggling to climb off the ground. Due to this fact, Campos pushed off from the helicopter so that it could take off and escape the fire. Due to this, he had to wait another day to make it to the proper medical facilities.
Then, on his way back stateside, he began to become sick during a layover in Tokyo. What was originally thought to be malaria, was due to an infection that started because of his perforated ear drums.
Two weeks went by before Campos was able to travel to Alaska, and from there to Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
In Virginia, Campos spent six months on medical hold before being given the title Medical Supply Specialist at Walter Reed Army Hospital. Campos ended his Army career with two Purple Hearts.
What was experienced by soldiers during the Vietnam Campaign was something that cannot ever be put entirely into words.
That, along with the countless experiences these soldiers faced and the need to give these individuals the recognition they deserve, is what makes these flights special.
For Campos, the experience was summed up in one word, wow. “My experience to get to go on the honor flight was wow. We went to the Vietnam Memorial wall and saw the names from the top of the memorial to the bottom.”
“I was able to see the names for the very first time. I put my hand on the wall and, if you’ve never seen a grown man cry, this man cried when I was touching the black wall.”
Campos also explained that, even with getting to see all the monuments, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, cemetery at Arlington, one of his favorite parts was when they got off the plane back in Toledo.
An envelope was given to everyone that had thank you cards inside, some from friends and family members.
There was also a ton of people there to greet them. Members of the Honor Guard, regular people there holding up signs saying welcome home veteran, friends and family members there. Everyone was there to give their thanks and shake the hands of those veterans who fought for them.
Towards the end, Campos saw his grandson standing and waiting for him before he came over and gave him a hug. This was special due to the three-hour drive it takes to make it there.
This, and all the experiences the veterans were able to have in DC, made the trip extra special. “The Flag City Honor Flight was absolutely amazing. It was one experience I will never forget.”
