(Bill and Marianne joined Ted and Mona on their boat in July 2022, and this is one of the stores that were recounted during that fun, long weekend.)
When I served in Vietnam, I was the installation engineer in Qui Nhon. My responsibility was to effectively supervise the civilian contractor, Pacific Architects and Engineers, that did the actual work to maintain the bases, operate the fire department, ran the generators for electricity and so forth. After I got discharged from the Army in 1971 I was a First Lieutenant, and some time after I was out of the army I received in the mail a package. Inside was a Bronze Star medal. The citation said I was awarded the Bronze Star for exemplary service. I was flabbergasted because I didn’t think I had done anything particularly special. On reflection, however, there was one incident that might have been the trigger for the medal.
In 1971, the Americans were leaving Vietnam, and we had just closed down a large ammunition dump a few miles west of Qui Nhon and transferred the munitions and related materials to a Vietnamese ammunition dump. Shortly after this transfer was completed, the Viet Cong sent some mortars into the ammunition dump, and the place exploded. I was at least five miles away in my quarters, and when I woke up after hearing the explosions, I found myself under my bed looking for my helmet. The explosions continued for the next 5-6 hours. Since Pacific Architects and Engineers had the fire department, they went out and staged at the entrance to the ammunition dump but the manager refused to allow the firemen to go in and try to extinguish the fire because the ordinance continued to explode.
About that time, a full colonel who had some responsibility for the ammunition dumps showed up and he asked me to order the P A & E firefighters, who were all Vietnamese, to go in and extinguish the fires. I consulted with the P A & E manager and told the colonel that I would not direct the firefighters to enter the compound. It was clear that there would have been casualties and that any remaining munitions would no longer be usable. I then contacted my superiors, and told them what I had done. A few hours later, after things had died down, the firemen went in and extinuished the remaining fires.
The next day, the colonel had been removed from our presence and I heard no direct repercussions for refusing to do what the colonel ordered. While I don’t know for sure, it’s my opinion that I received the bronze star because I was unwilling to follow a direct order from a full colonel.