Page 58 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2020- Online Magazine
P. 58
Ron Goulette
A Purple Heart Trifecta
by Larry A. Williams
scored higher in [the got blown off my feet by one
other] area on my of them. I didn’t think I was
tests.” hurt, but I had shrapnel in my
back and head. I was sent back
“My first orders were to a hospital for recovery. In a
for Ft. Rucker in couple of days, I rejoined my
Alabama, but I never unit. On September 3 (just four
got that far. My orders days later), I earned another
were changed, and I Purple Heart. I was heating up
headed to Vietnam water in my canteen cup when
instead. We landed I was hit again. I heard nothing
at Cam Ranh Bay but was injured by a mortar
where I was assigned and had more shrapnel in my
to the 187th Infantry back. Once again, I spent two
Regiment, 101st or three days in the hospital,
Airborne Division, and was sent back to my unit.”
Company B. We were
sent straight to the Specialist 4 Goulette recalled
front. his third Purple Heart: “On
on Goulette, Army
medic, tells some hair- “We would fight for a hill September 10, we were going
Rraising stories about and hold it for two or three through a village. Our platoon
his time in Vietnam, and he days and then be ordered to was down to only 12 guys.
has three Purple Hearts to leave. The crazy part is that Normally there would have
substantiate them. He was born we had to destroy everything been 30. An NVA regiment hit
in Lubbock on September 19, on the hill so that it wouldn’t us with machine guns. Our
1948, to Alvin and Mozelle fall into enemy hands. I swear radio man grabbed a machine
Goulette and graduated from we would take and leave the gun and started spraying the
Monterey High School in same hill two or three times.” NVA. A sniper in a tree hit
1967. “I got my draft notice He also remembered, “The him, and he fell. Another guy
in October. They loaded us North Vietnamese called us the went to pull him out of the line
into three buses and took us to ‘Chicken Men’ because of the of fire, but he was hit. A third
Amarillo to get a physical. Out eagle patch on our uniform.” guy went to get him, and he
of 150-200 guys, they only kept was also hit by the sniper. Then
three of us. They put us up “On August 31, 1968, I earned I went to get the third guy and
in a hotel that had bars on the my first Purple Heart. We dragged him back to cover. I
windows and doors that locked were set up at a crossroads went back and got the second
from the outside. We were where a Vietnamese farmer guy and dragged him back to
flown to Ft. Polk, Louisiana for came by with two bags of cover; then, I went back to get
basic training. [From there,] hand grenades. The farmers the radio man. A helicopter
I was sent to Brooke Medical didn’t want any of us, so they dropped some teargas. My eyes
Center at Ft. Sam Houston, San told the NVA where we were were watering so bad, I couldn’t
Antonio, for 10 weeks training located and told us where the see anything. It took two hours
as a medic. I had a mechanical NVA were. The farmer started for the reinforcements to arrive.
background, but they said I’d dropping the grenades, and I Artillery shells started coming
58 Senior Link
