Page 9 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2020- Online Magazine

Don Roden Commander of
am Houston Roden Sr.,
World War II Army veteran,
Sfought with the Golden
Acorn Battalion (Company E 346th
Infantry Regiment 87th Division) in
the Battle of the Bulge under Gen.
Patton. He came home to his young
MARINE CORPS
MOPH 553 VIETNAM
as told to Jane Bromley AMARILL O
bride after the war. The North Vietnamese attacks on more
soldier became a farmer than 100 cities and outposts in
and raised four sons; South Vietnam. It was an attempt
this is the story of the to foment rebellion among the
youngest one. South Vietnamese population and
encourage the United States to scale
Donald Lynn Roden back its involvement in the Vietnam
was born in 1949 and War.” Don was assigned to the 3rd
grew up with his Battalion 27th Marines 5th Marine
brothers on a farm near Division. “We were the first Marine
Olton. Lots of native regiment to fly into a combat zone.
West Texans will be
able to relate to this During Corporal Roden’s service
childhood memory: in Vietnam, he became a “tunnel
“Mother made my rat”, an unofficial specialty for
brothers and me cotton volunteers whose job was to
sacks so we could pick clear and destroy enemy tunnel
cotton after school. We complexes where supplies, weapons
also hoed cotton during and food were often stored and
the summer.” After his where VC guerrillas could hide
senior year from Olton underground. Typically, a tunnel
High School in 1967, rat was equipped with only a pistol,
he enlisted. His brother a flashlight, and C4 explosives.
Eugene had already Those were dangerous missions
joined the Navy and because of the many unpredictable
was serving in Vietnam ways the VC would use to booby-
on a ship. “I was 18 trap the tunnels.
years old when I joined
the Marine Corp. At that May 28, 1968 was life-changing for
time, I wanted to join the young Marine. “My platoon
the toughest military did a lot of night patrols north of
branch.” Da Nang along Highway 1. We all
knew that US soldiers in our area
After basic training at were tripping a lot of booby Traps
Marine Corps Recruit [now known as IEDs (Improvised
Depot (MCRD) in Explosive Devices)] while on
San Diego, Don was patrols. On a day patrol, we were
trained to carry the heading to a village that had been
M72 LAW (Light infiltrated with North Vietnamese
Anti-Tank Weapon – a soldiers. We knew we were
portable one-shot 66mm getting close because the jets were
unguided anti-tank weapon.) “Our dropping Napalm very close to our
staging training to go overseas position. When we were given the
was shortened, and we were sent go-ahead to move into the hot zone,
straight to Vietnam [Feb. 12, 1968] I was the second to last Marine in
because of the Tet Offensive, our squad walking down a trail.
which was a coordinated series of I was carrying two LAWS on my
continued on next page...
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