Table Of ContentCombat Chaplain
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Combat Chaplain:
A Thirty-Year Vietnam Battle
BY
JAMES D. JOHNSON
University of North Texas Press
Denton,Texas
Copyright ©2001 James D.Johnson
Unless otherwise indicated,all photos are from the collection of
James D.Johnson
Copyright © 2001 James D.Johnson
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First Edition
6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper in this book meets the minimum requirements of the American National
Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials,Z39.48.1984
Permissions
University of North Texas Press
PO Box 311336
Denton,TX 76203-1336
940-565-2142
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Johnson James D.,1940-
Combat chaplain :a thirty-year Vietnam battle / James D.Johnson.— 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 1-57441-133-0 (alk.Paper)
1.Vietnamese Conflict,1961-1975—Personal narratives,American. 2.Vietnamese
Conflict,1961-1975—Chaplains—United States. 3.Johnson,James D.,1940- I.Title.
DS558.5 .J65 2001
959.704(cid:1)37—dc21 [B]
00-069075
Dedication
Through history,it has been the males who go off to war and the females
who are back home supposedly unaffected by battlefield trauma.I dedi-
cate this book to four females who,directly and indirectly,were impacted
by the trauma of the Vietnam war.All four have made a profound impact
in my life,then and now.
Teresa Pina,Frank’s daughter,and Kellie Johnson,my daughter were
still in diapers in 1967–68.Both gave hope and reasons to live to two young
men 10,000 miles away in a very bloody war.Nguyen Thi Hoang Yen (Yen-
Nguyen),the same age,became a war refuge who survived continuous
threats from the war to her family,home and herself.Even though from
different places on the planet,these three could have easily been triplets.
Frank Pina,Pastor Ha and I could have easily changed places because
of the love we had for our daughters which surely fueled a continuous
desire to survive.Unfortunately,not all of us did.
Even though she was a toddler when she lost her father,Teresa’s
coming into my life in 1993 gave me emotional detergent for cleansing
of my decades long wounds.Yen-Nguyen was placed by God on a small
back street in Vietnam in 1996 so that the miracle of my finding her
allowed healing and cleansing with international and intergenerational
significance.Kellie,as my first born,gave me reasons to want to desper-
ately come home whole.Now in their mid-thirties,Teresa in Texas,Yen-
Nguyen in Vietnam,and Kellie in Louisiana,all have gone on with their
lives as adults.But they may never know or appreciate the dynamic affect
they have made on me,back then and in recent years.
Fourthly,there is Barbara,my wife of almost forty years,who has been
a constant source of support,strength,encouragement,and love,not only
during those terrible months in combat,but in the three plus decades since.
If I never receive any more of God’s grace, I can still count the gift of
Barbara as a major element of who I am.Without her,my life would have
been so drastically different.
Thank you,my “triplets”,and my wife,for who and what you are to
me.
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Contents
Introduction Back to the Real World 1
Chapter 1 Acclamation and a Decision—
June 28–August l8,l967 7
Chapter 2 Mobile Riverine Force and Snoopy’s Nose—
August 19–September 26,1967 31
Chapter 3 Ben Tre and a Hot a Landing Zone—
September 27–November 2,1967 71
Chapter 4 Bad Luck Tony and My Tho Orphanage—
November 3–December 31,1967 103
Chapter 5 R&R and a Massacre—January 1–19,1968 139
Chapter 6 Vinh Long and Tet—
January 20–February 2,1968 179
Chapter 7 Death on all Sides and “Keep your head down!”
February 6–March 6,1968 201
Chapter 8 A Different War and a Missing Body—
March 7–June 25,1968 233
Chapter 9 Home and Demons Awaken—
June 26,1968–March 1,1996 245
Chapter 10 Going Back! and Miracles—
March 2,1996–Present 271
Epilogue At Frank’s Grave and My Parade 291
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Acknowledgments
From what began as personal therapeutic writings that migrated into a
story and then into this book,I have many to thank.Through several drafts,
I had wonderful administrative support from Evie Lichti,Sara Barefoot,
Amy Parker and Stephanie Hoover.It was Stephanie,the daughter of a
Vietnam veteran who encouraged and helped me see the importance that
my story might have for the next generation,especially adult children of
fathers who were in combat.
Structural and style assistance came from Clara Crocker,Gail Holland,
Shannon Reichley, and Lynn Liles. Emotional support and encourage-
ment came from my children,Kellie,Grey,Stuart and Eric and most espe-
cially from my wife Barbara.
My story would never had become a book without the knowledge,
tenacity and belief in my journey by my literary agent,Jodie Rhodes.Finally,
I thank the University of North Texas Press who had the willingness to
invest in me and specifically to my editors,Ted Gittinger of the Lyndon
Johnson Presidential Library, and Paula Oates, who have been profes-
sional,understanding,and sensitive to my odyssey.
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