Robert Williams grew up in Colville, Utah, and followed three generations of his family into the military: commissioning through Army ROTC at the University of Utah before serving as an artillery officer in Vietnam. In this episode of Ask A Vet, Robert takes us from basic training at Fort Lewis through his time as a battery commander on a remote firebase in the Vietnamese highlands — the boredom, the terror, the firefights, a helicopter crash, and the split-second decision that came closest to costing a life. He also opens up about the reception he received coming home, the PTSD he didn't recognize until decades later, and what finally started to heal on an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. with his son.
This is Episode 50 of Ask A Vet — thank you for fifty episodes of listening to these stories.
CHAPTERS:
00:28 – Meet Robert: growing up in Colville, Utah, and a family history of service
02:53 – ROTC, a failed physical, and fighting to stay in
04:59 – Basic training at Fort Lewis
07:28 – Fort Sill: learning the guns and the M101 howitzer
09:33 – Night training and a scare on aggressor detail
11:55 – Firepower demonstrations and "time on target"
14:20 – Orders to Vietnam: leaving a pregnant wife behind
16:49 – Landing in-country on New Year's Day
19:13 – Camp Red Horse and life in the rear
21:38 – Taking command on LZ Linda / Hill 270
26:30 – Under fire: flechette rounds and a 20-minute firefight
28:47 – The drug problem on the hill
31:09 – Urinalysis, discipline, and hard calls as a young officer
33:35 – Inside the Fire Direction Center
36:00 – Contaminated water takes down the whole battery
38:26 – Getting sick, and leading men barely out of high school
40:23 – Keeping men sane: cockroach races and homemade games
44:49 – Going down in a helicopter
47:10 – The rocket attack they weren't allowed to stop
49:33 – B-52 strikes and danger-close air support
51:58 – Witnessing a midair collision 53:58 – Reassigned to Quinyon as base defense officer
56:02 – The closest he came to killing someone — and becoming the "whore control officer"
58:30 – Discipline duty during off-base entertainment nights
1:00:41 – A Montagnard farewell dinner: a crossbow, poison, and pigeon heads
1:02:38 – A body on the shore and the final weeks in-country
1:05:05 – Riding with a Korean convoy
1:07:19 – Two of the hardest things he saw in Vietnam
1:09:45 – A close call with incoming mortars
1:11:55 – Notes for the colonel and the province chief
1:13:44 – Learning his daughter was born — and had emergency surgery
1:15:18 – R&R in Hawaii, and the hardest part: going back
1:17:29 – Wheels up for home
1:19:51 – Coming home to a hostile crowd in San Francisco
1:21:49 – Assignments in Germany and Minnesota, finishing a master's degree
1:24:14 – Leaving the Army and his takeaway from Vietnam
1:25:38 – Recognizing PTSD — decades later
1:28:44 – What lingers: sights, sounds, and smells that don't go away
1:30:26 – Agent Orange, burn pits, and the health costs that show up later
1:32:00 – The Honor Flight with his son
1:33:24 – A welcome home, decades overdue
1:34:06 – Final thoughts & Reflections
If you or a Veteran you know has a story that should be heard, we'd love to hear from you at humanographyproject@gmail.com.
🎖️ Curious Humanography is proud to partner with Utah Honor Flight, helping veterans visit memorials built in their honor. To learn more or support their mission, visit UtahHonorFlight.org and honorflight.org.
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