Vietnam War: US Marine Tells All About Being Hit in the ’68 Tet Offensive

Video Description

In this episode of Curious Humanography, we sit down with Marine Corps veteran Richard Lemmons, who served two tours during the Vietnam War, including surviving a mortar blast during the Tet Offensive. Richard shares his journey from growing up in Utah, enlisting after his father’s passing, enduring boot camp, serving as a Fire Direction Control Marine, experiencing Operation Starlite, life at Chu Lai and Phu Loc, being wounded in 1968, and the long-term impacts of PTSD and recovery. A huge thank-you to Utah Honor Flight, our partner in preserving and honoring veteran stories. To support their mission of sending veterans to Washington D.C. to visit their memorials, at no cost to them, visit: https://www.utahhonorflight.org/ If you value these stories and want to help us preserve more of them, please subscribe, like, comment, and share this episode. Your support helps ensure these voices are never forgotten. CHAPTERS: 01:00 – Childhood and decision to enlist 05:00 – Marine Corps boot camp & training 10:00 – Deployment to Okinawa and arrival in Vietnam 14:00 – Artillery life, 105 howitzers & Operation Starlite 20:00 – Daily life: H&I fire, R&R, mail, and base conditions 26:00 – Returning home, Fort Sill, & volunteering for a second tour 32:00 – Tet Offensive: Richard is wounded by mortar fire 40:00 – Hospitalization, recovery, and returning to civilian life 50:00 – PTSD, long-term effects, VA disability, and reflections on service Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UvdMjkOkOgoHM2yIckhlh?si=dcb8d3f6ff96428a Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/curious-humanography/id1854840136