By David Fleet
dfleet@mihomepaper.com
Washington D.C. — In 1969 Duane Getzmeyer graduated from Waterford Kettering High School, received his diploma in June, his draft notice in July and was in the Army by August.
Within about a year he was at Cam Ranh Bay Vietnam where he asked for 101st Airborne but ended up in the 196th Light Infantry Brigade, Third Platoon, Company B, 2/1 Battalion. He was stationed at Firebase Hawk Hill between Danang and Chu Lai. Near Highway 1 Central South Vietnam.
“This platoon was a group of America’s best, sent to a foreign land to fight in a war,” said Brandon Township resident Getzmeyer, of the 30 or so that served together for about a year. “This group would later become my band of brothers, a brave group like those who served before and to defend our nation in the future.”
Getzmeyer, who walked the point on patrols was hit by shrapnel in his chest, side and hand from a booby trap that also injured four of his fellow soldiers.
Getzmeyer arrived in Vietnam in June 1970, wounded Oct. 27. 1970 at 19 years old and returned home on Mother’s Day 1971. He would receive a Purple Heart for his service along with the National Defense with star (combat), Vietnam Service, Vietnam Campaign, Army Commendation, Bronze Star.
More than five decades after Getzmeyer, then a young private who was plunged into brutal combat with other young soldiers, the bonds remain.
In early November 2024, about 13 soldiers from the Third Platoon gathered at Vietnam Veterans Memorial for their reunion that has continued every other year since 1986.
Getzmeyer’s first reunion was 1986, about 15 years after leaving the Army. He recalled some feelings of trepidation prior to that first gathering.
“It was either going to be real good or real bad,” he said. “I did not know what to expect. There was a lot of stuff I just did not want to remember. I had forgotten a lot since returning home.”
Getzmeyer’s first reunion included a visit to the Vietnam Wall at night.
“It freaked me out,” he said. “I broke down and they helped me out. The next day I asked them why did you do that to me? And the answer was, ‘they wanted to bring me out of it.’”
“It worked, it shocked me out of it,” he said.
Getzmeyer has attended several platoon reunions since then. They share photo albums, stories and often talk about what they do today. Family members of some of the platoon attended and provided information along with memories of those who have passed.
“We gather to enjoy life, to remember those we lost whom we will never forget,” he said. “We endured a war, it’s something the protected will never know. Unless you served there you will never understand. That period in time defined us, and made us what we are today. We all became good citizens.”
“The Civil War defined us as a nation while World War II defined us as a people. Being in combat created that bond, it was a time where if you made a mistake people died. Then, you’d have to write a letter to some mom that her son was a hero.”
“I hope other veterans know you’re not alone,” said Getzmeyer. “It’s different today then when many of us came home.”