Wouldn't change a thing

Steve Flauding reflects on tour in Vietnam and the details that still remain with him

"I went to Phu Cat for two weeks of training and that was kind of exciting because I did something really dumb. I was out at my end of the Qui Nhon and it was during the Tet Offensive and the bus was five hours out taking us to Phu Cat, whoever was going that direction. Being young and bulletproof, I stuck my thumb out and hitchhiked ... to Phu Cat."

Steve Flauding has lived in the Valley for 41 years. In that time he has worked a variety of jobs. He went from being a troubleshooter for Carbon County School District No. 1 to logging to serving as a deputy for the Carbon County Sheriff's Department for nearly 20 years. Before all of that, Flauding was an 18-year-old who had enlisted in the Air Force to serve in Vietnam.

"I knew I was going to be drafted. In 1969 I was 18 years old. I was prime," said Flauding.

At that time, most of the young men who were drafted into service would be either Army or Marines. They would be the ones that were boots on the ground, moving through the jungle in a war that had already been going for 14 years by the time Flauding enlisted. Serving in the Air Force, Flauding did one tour in Vietnam and his military occupational service code (MOS) was refining liquid oxygen (LOx).

First stationed in Tuy Hoa, Flauding refined LOx for the LOx converters in F-100 jets as well as supplying medical grade gaseous oxygen for the base hospitals. The plant that Flauding worked on while in Tuy Hoa produced five tons of LOx a day. For a two week period, Flauding trained in Phu Cat and eventually was relocated to Da Nang.

"Occasionally, I think about this stuff. I get a little teary eyed when I see it sometimes. Not because I was a hero or anything. I'll tell you who did all the grunt work; it was the Army and the Marines. Those guys were out there in the jungle marching around, some of the riverboat guys from the Navy," said Flauding. "I was an augmentee. I was an augmentee from, like, two days after I got in country."

As an augmentee, the only time Flauding would find himself in battle would be if the base was attacked and he had to man either an oscar station, which sat on a hill, or a gulf station. This happened twice while he was stationed in Tuy Hoa.

"That night, we got nailed and they come by, pick me up, put me in a hole and I had an M-16. The second time, I was in the oscar station with claymores and an M-60 machine gun, .30 cal. Other than that, I didn't see what these other boys saw," Flauding said.

Flauding may not have seen what those serving in the Army or Marines saw while in Vietnam, but his decision to hitchhike 20 miles from Qui Nhon to Phu Cat did give him views of the country as his trip took part in three separate rides. The first two parts of his travel was with two different Army jeeps.

"I rode with two Army guys. I thought they were going all the way over there, they said, 'Well, we're turning off to Camp Granite.' They let me out in the middle of country. No gun, no nothing. The two other Army guys picked me up with a Jeep and they carried me a little further, then they turned off and went someway," said Flauding. "Then I got picked up by a local in a semi truck."

When he finally arrived in Phu Cat, he was asked by security where he had come from. Flauding informed them he had hitchhiked from Qui Nhon.

"He said, 'You've got to be kidding me.' It was after that I found out that Ho Chi Minh's birthplace was between there and Qui Nhon," Flauding said. "I got ripped for that one. Didn't lose any points or anything, but I did get told 'Don't you ever do that again.' Here's the thing with Americans; they get into a foreign country ... we got this thing in our head that we're still in the United States. Well, you're not and it's a very dangerous place. That could have ended up really badly for me. I was 19 years old and ignorant."

This year marks 50 years since Flauding enlisted. It's been nearly 45 years since the fall of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and the end of the Vietnam War. There are still things that Flauding remembers, little things that he doesn't see in the movies. 

The outdoor movie theater, for example, was made of plywood and would often have lizards crawling over it while the troops watched "Hang 'Em High" or "Herbie the Love Bug" for the umpteenth time. The projectionist, always referred to as "Luther," would get heckled by the audience if the film reel broke and needed repaired. Beer was always in steel cans and it would be squeezed like a tomato to tell if it was good or not. 

"If they didn't pop back out, they were skunky," said Flauding.

Another thing that Flauding remembers, but he doesn't see make it into films about the Vietnam War, are the various ways those serving would mark their short time remaining in country.

"We had short-timer ribbons and short-timer sticks and short-timer calendars. A short-timer stick is bamboo with a dragon's head on it and there's twelve sections. I never had the stick, I never had the use for it, but every time you cut a month off you cut a section off that bamboo. You ended up putting the dragon's head around your neck," Flauding said.

The short-timer ribbons came from a half-gallon of Seagrams VO whiskey. The person serving who was on their short-timer status would have to drink the bottle and would then place the yellow and black ribbon in their lapel.

"I learned a lot from it. It's one of them deals; never want to do it again, wouldn't change a thing," said Flauding.

With the march of time moving on from the Vietnam War, fewer of those who served now remain. Two years ago, Flauding went to look up a person he served with. The two had spoken on the phone a handful of times and had planned to meet.

"Mikey Patruno was his name, and he'd died. He was originally from Buffalo. Mike's one of them guys helps you get through it," Flauding said. "A couple years older than me and just a really good fella."

When it comes to anyone who is wanting to serve their country, Flauding advises that they are doing it for the right reasons and it is something they want to do.

"If there's someone who wants to defend our country, I'm all for it, but be sure that's what you want to do," said Flauding.

Following his tour in Vietnam, Flauding spent the remainder of his time in the Air Force as a dental assistant. His wife, Sherry, was pregnant with their first child and, at the time, he was concerned about something happening while deployed. Changing his MOS, Flauding left the Air Force with the rank of Buck Sergeant, though he was Airman First Class while in Vietnam.

 

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