Page 55 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2021- Online Magazine

Marine corps
VieTnaM War

“I enjoyed success in my career, but I still had
symptoms of PTSD. My marriage ended, so I came
back to Lubbock where I worked at the Regional
Mental Health Center. I loved doing one-on-one
counseling and home visits. I would often go to the
jailhouse voluntarily. I knew people there because
I had grown up with some of them. I also started
coaching Little League and later YFL (youth football).
I loved coaching and teaching kids about life and
how to care about each other.” It’s still a common
occurrence for Bert to be out somewhere and hear,
“Hey, Coach!”
A beautiful lady named Sammie worked across the
street from MHMR at Lubbock National Bank. After
a couple of years of crossing paths, they fell in love
and have been married for 36 years. The couple has
five children, which includes two daughters and three
sons. One of the sons was adopted after his father, a

followed me. I think it was because I had a strong
belief in God and in myself. I would always say a
prayer and ask God to direct me. I believe it was my
faith that allowed me to hear shots being fired a mile
away. I'd yell, ‘Incoming!’, and everyone would take
cover. The only casualty during those six months was
accidental, when some soldiers were cleaning their
guns."

After six more grueling months at Khe Sanh, “I
thought I'd be stuck indefinitely in Vietnam, that the
tour would never end – but it did. When I found out
I was going back to ‘the world’, it felt so good. I was
happy that the people who followed me had lived.”
He was in Vietnam “18 months, six days, three hours,
and 15 minutes.”
Like all his comrades who survived, Bert had to
transition back to “normal life”. He resigned his
job and went back to school to earn a master’s in
Sociology and Psychology. “I had always wanted
to help people.” He became director of the Houston
Model City Program and was instrumental in helping
change the perception of the inner city - specifically
the Third Ward. “We would go door-to-door, learning
from people about how to help them.”

Lubbock Senior Link 55