Page 64 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2020- Online Magazine

Guillermo (Willie) Tijerina, Jr. Thankful

and Blessed

I I was moved to Cu Chi were ambushed, and we fought
first met my wife, Olivia, the
summer before my junior year
and assigned to the 25th
on that spot for almost a week. We
while hoeing cotton around
Lamesa, TX. She had four sisters Infantry division. After two weeks could not move down or go back
up. Helicopters with food and
at base camp, I was moved to
who were always around her. If Tây Ninh Army base near the ammunition were shot at if they
we had a date, I had to take one Cambodian border, assigned to attempted to get to us. We finally
of them along as a chaperone. We the 3rd Battalion, 22nd infantry made it down after we were given
married during my sophomore (3/22nd Bn, 25th infantry division). air support by fighter jets and
year at South Plains College where On my first patrol, I was walking army tanks firing from the base
I had a baseball scholarship. After with my M-16 rifle fully loaded of the mountain. Sadly, during
graduation from SPC, I attended and on automatic fire position! I every firefight, G.I.s were always
the University of Texas in Austin. I had no idea what I was doing. In wounded or killed.
decided to skip the spring semester my first firefight, we were fired
because I needed to earn money upon from a long distance, and Once, I was able to go to Hawaii
to support my wife and baby son, we all took cover. My friend, for R&R and meet my wife and
Eric. But when Uncle Sam found Alex, hollered at me, “Willie, son for a week. Seeing them gave
out that I was not in college, I got these SOBs are trying to kill us!” me the inspiration and will to
my draft notice. I was 21. In my 11 months and four days make it through the rest of my
in Vietnam, I was involved in tour so I could return home to
I had basic training that summer about 13 firefights. Most of the them. Seventeen soldiers had come
of 1969 in El Paso, then was time we would patrol the jungles to Hawaii for R&R, but only 12
shipped to Fort Ord, California for for days, sweating, and fighting returned to the plane when it was
advanced infantry training. After off mosquitos and ants and other time to go back to Vietnam. The
finishing AIT, we were given 30 insects as we walked. At night, we other five were reported AWOL.
days to go home and enjoy our would sleep on the bare ground,
families before being deployed. and in the mornings, we would In May 1970, we were flown into
Leaving my wife and son at the often wake up with ticks and Cambodia, looking for NVA base
end of those 30 days was one of the mosquito bites all over. Snakes and camps. An hour after landing, we
hardest things I’ve ever had to do. scorpions were everywhere. When got hit by “friendly fire” that killed
crossing a river or a stream, big seven of our comrades. We had
I was flown to Oakland, California, ugly leeches would stick to your been mistaken as the enemy. We
in mid-November 1969 where skin. encountered Viet-Cong and NVA
thousands of us new recruits were soldiers during that one month
waiting to be shipped out. The My first big firefight happened on stay in Cambodia. They would
only consolation was that I was top of a mountain called Nui Ba fire at us and then disappear into
there with most of the good friends Din (Black Virgin Mountain). Army the jungle and rubber plantations.
I’d made in basic training. We helicopters took my company to They were always on the run,
were flown to Hawaii first, then the top of the mountain where difficult to pin down. We found
to Guam and the Philippines, and we had a communication-station bunkers, stashes of rice and
finally to Vietnam, at Bien Hoa base camp. We were to come weapons, and booby-traps here
Army installation. That was the down the mountain and clear out and there. In late June 1970, we
longest flight of my life. any enemy bunkers that we came were on patrol outside of Tay
across. About halfway down, we Ninh when we were ambushed

64 Senior Link