Vietnam Veteran’s Day, March 29th, 2026.

I was 24 when I left Vietnam, and from 1969 to 1973 I spent 27 months in-country. It’s hard for me to believe that I left Vietnam on March 29th, 1973, 53 years ago. It seems like it was just yesterday. I’m sure part of that is because I’ve written these reminiscences about my time in Vietnam, and my experiences there. But still it was 53 years ago.

Of my graduating class from Officer Candidate School 18 of my fellow classmates have their names listed on the wall in Washington DC. I was one of the lucky ones even though I was sent over as ‘cannon fodder’ with a life expectancy of 19 seconds in combat somehow, I survived. I had good Sergeants and I listened to them.

My time as an Advisor was much different than many of my compadres who were in the infantry leg units, the artillery units, the units fighting on the ground or in the air for that matter. As an Advisor I was working directly with the Vietnamese in small villages and small towns trying to improve their lives and their security.

So my time was different in Vietnam, and I didn’t experience the horrors of war like many of my fellow service members did. I fought with the Vietnamese in their battles, and I learned to respect them as good soldiers. I also developed a respect for my enemy; they were fighting for their cause and in many cases we’re very professional.

So what makes March 29th a special day Vietnam Veterans?

March 29th is the last day that American combat troops were in Vietnam. We were all pulled out by that date and sent back to the United States. Our part of the war was over. There were still Americans in the embassy in Saigon and still soldiers who were in support roles for the Vietnamese who were not affected by the withdraw on March 29th. But that’s the date that in reality the war that we fought ended.

In my case I just happen to be one of those last soldiers out of Vietnam as I’ve mentioned in my books before.

I and about 180 other men were literally trapped at tanzanite Air Force Base as a part of the bargaining chips against the Vietcong and North Vietnamese and their adherence to the principles that were established by the Paris peace accords. I and my friends were supposed to leave earlier than that but because of the fact that the north Vietnamese had not completely stopped fighting in some parts of the country we were required to stay and not go home. We were pawns.

Being at Camp Alpha was a bit scary the north Vietnamese and vietcong were given buildings on the air base as part of their agreements to join the peace Commission. I’d wake up in the morning and feed both N Vietnamese and Vietcong flags hang on buildings very close to where we were located. At camp alpha we did not have any weapons had they decided that they wanted to overrun our base it would have been a very simple task we would have all been captured and probably imprisoned.

When our flight finally arrived, we processed out of the camp alpha station and walked to the aircraft and boarded the plane. The young Lieutenant from camp alpha came down the road and checked all of our names to make sure that everyone was properly manifested. The commercial airliner closed the doors he died on to the runway and as the wheels left the ground there was a massive cheer from everyone inside of the plane we were going home.

It was a 22-hour flight. We flew first to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, from there to Guam, from there to Honolulu, and finally to Travis Air Force Base in California. When the plane taxied to a stop, we started to get off the plane some of the soldiers bent down and kissed the ground we were home we had survived the war.

We lost about 69,000 men in Vietnam thousands were seriously wounded both physically and mentally when they came home. When we came home, we came home not as victors, but as a member of a class of people that a lot of the population did not want to accept. I won’t say I was ever mistreated but we definitely did not have the respect that soldiers from previous wars had when we arrived.

So, when I look at March 29th each year, I reflect back on that day that flight and that feeling of relief when those wheels left the ground then we started to head home.

So, to all of my fellow Vietnam Veterans, Thank You for Your Service but more importantly Welcome Home my brothers and sisters; we made it.

If you’re enjoying these blogs please drop me a comment or if you have any questions that I might answer, again submit a comment on the comment pages. I’m always glad to hear from you.

Again, please take a look at all of my books that I have listed. They can be purchased from Amazon.com with the click of a button directly from my website, www.ptaylorvietnamadvisor.com.  Until next Friday, Have a good week.

The Advisor Series:

• “The Advisor, Kien Bing, South Vietnam, 1969-1970. A Novel” (Available on Amazon ASIN: B09L4X5NQ3)
• “The Province Senior Intelligence Advisor, Kien Song Province 1970-1971; A Novel” (Available on Amazon ASIN: B0BHL2XCX5)
• “The Hardchargers,” Vietnam 1972-1973; A Novel” (Available on Amazon ASIN: B0C7SPR1JY)
• “The Tuscarora Trail” (Available on Amazon ASIN: B0D3QY2GM6)

Check out my website for other books that I’ve written or edited.

Website: ptaylorvietnamadvisor.com