Forgotten Hero: Exclusive Interview with Vietnam War Veteran Walter W. Hatcher
Byline: Bridgette Bartlett Royall
Walter Wallace Hatcher has a story to tell. A native of a rural town in Chatham County, North Carolina, Hatcher served in the United States Army from 1967 through 1978. Growing up with humble beginnings in the Jim Crow South, Hatcher long aspired to be a soldier. He fulfilled this desire and ultimately completed two tours in Germany and two tours in Vietnam. He was last stationed in Fort Carson, Colorado where his rank was Staff Sergeant.
Joining the army as a Black American man in the 1960s, during the height of the civil rights movement, was not an easy feat physically, emotionally or mentally. Yet, Hatcher made the most of his situation and did so with pride, dignity and a huge amount of courage. During his military career, Hatcher received many accolades including his advanced marksmanship with the M-16 rifle to most notably receiving the distinguished Bronze Star Medal and the coveted Purple Heart Medal. Like most veterans who put their lives on the line for others, Hatcher is humble about his accomplishments. Here's his story.
wear blue: run to remember: When did you join the Army?
WALTER HATCHER: I joined the army in the spring of 1967. It was my senior year of high school. I received what they called a 120 day deferment, so that I could finish high school.
wear blue: What made you want to join? Were you drafted?
HATCHER: No, no no. I volunteered. I always did want to be in the Army. My uncle, Sylvester, he was a veteran. He was in the Army. My older cousin Ed who lived in Philadelphia. He was in the Army too. I looked up to them. I always wanted to be a soldier.
wear blue: What was the transition like going from a small town high school student to being a soldier on the other side of the world?
HATCHER: Here I am, fresh out of high school, hadn't ever been away from home. For basic training, I was right at Fort Bragg [near Fayetteville, North Carolina] but it seemed like I was a thousand miles from home. We were treated like trainees. When you went through basic training, you went through basic training. That was one of the worst experiences.
wear blue: Did you go to Vietnam immediately following basic training?
HATCHER: I took basic training in Fort Bragg, NC. From Fort Bragg, they sent me to Fort Jackson, SC for my advanced training (AIT). Then from Fort Jackson, they sent me straight to Vietnam. See, that was the thing that got me because when I joined the Army, when I was still in high school, I asked the recruiter, I said, "Sarge, if I join the Army now, will I have to go to Vietnam?" He said, "No. I guarantee you, you won't have to go to Vietnam for at least a year."
wear blue: Wow!
HATCHER: So that's why I really jumped on it too because I thought by this time next year the war will be over. From basic training to AIT, the day we graduated AIT, the Colonel came out and said, "All you all going to Vietnam, the whole battalion." He said, "You're all going to Vietnam except five people." So I crossed my fingers. I said, "I know I ain't going because I don't want it." Nobody wants to go to Vietnam. The first name he called was, "Hatcher".
wear blue: Yikes.
HATCHER: I said, "But sir, the recruiter told me ..." He said, "I don't care what that recruiter told you, you going to Vietnam." That was a hard experience. But I later learned I wasn't the only one who experienced that.
wear blue: Now take me back to the first time you experienced a fellow soldier getting killed or even severely wounded in Vietnam. What was that like?
HATCHER: The first time I remember [was with] one of the guys who I had actually become real close to during my first tour of duty. I used to be in the platoon with him. That morning after the enemy had attacked us so hard, I was going around getting a count of all my friends and he was the one who I hadn't seen. When I got around to where his platoon was, in his position, he was dead.
wear blue: It must have been difficult to function after that.
HATCHER: I'll be honest with you, I was crying like a baby. That was the hardest thing for me to get over. I had a good captain, my commander, he had been in Vietnam before. He was a combat veteran and I was young then, I was only 19 years old. He told me, "Get it together. We're in a war zone." He said, "That could have been you. Pull it together now, we're going to have to keep right on going." After he talked to me, I got okay. My second tour I didn't think about it like that. But it was hard. When you're in combat, you see guys getting shot and wounded all around you. It's hard. Especially when you're still coming back in one piece.
wear blue: Tell me how you earned your Purple Heart.
HATCHER: During my second tour of duty in Vietnam, I was wounded severely. If I recall the date, I think it was March 29, 1971. They medevaced me out from my unit where I got wounded. They took me to the nearest hospital in Vietnam. They couldn't do anything for me there. They put me on the same medevac helicopter and took me down to Da Nang in Vietnam. When I woke up, that's where I was, the Evacuation hospital in Da Nang, Vietnam. Once they released me from the hospital in Da Nang, Vietnam, they flew me to Yokohama, Japan to the hospital there. That's when I had the first surgery for the metal plate in my head. I stayed there for about two weeks and then they flew me to Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. I stayed there from April of 1971 to October of 1971 before I was released. I had multiple wounds...multiple wounds. I didn't have to go back to Vietnam after that. They put me back on active duty, but I didn't have to go back to Vietnam.
wear blue: That is truly incredible. And during your first tour in Vietnam you received a Bronze Star Medal for heroism. You exemplified such courage. Tell me about that.
HATCHER: Yes. That was from action. I was wounded severely. I don't recall that much, but that was where I received the bronze star for heroism. The only thing I can remember, it was one morning we had gotten up and it was to be a normal day. We were playing cards. We had just got the word from division headquarters that there was no enemy in the area so we were going to pack up and go to another area. I was walking around to my platoon to let all my soldiers know. That was when I heard that sound I had never heard before. I found out it was a RPG, a rocket propelled grenade, coming in on us. I heard that sound and when I came to my senses, it was three days later.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Some of what Mr. Hatcher cannot remember is summarized below in this article excerpt from his hometown newspaper which ran shortly after the incident.
““When an enemy rocket struck a bunker a few meters from his position wounding several comrades, Specialist Hatcher exposed himself to the intense enemy fire to move to the aid of his injured comrades. Reaching the bunker despite enemy mortar and small arms fire striking around him, he managed to help two of the wounded men back to position.
Administering first aid to his comrades, he took control of an M-79 grenade launcher and began firing into the advancing enemy ranks, eliminating many soldiers. As the platoon withdrew to a secondary defensive position, Specialist Hatcher remained behind, providing effective covering fire enabling his platoon to withdraw safely.””
wear blue: You have made such enormous sacrifices and we thank you. Let's shift gears a bit. Do you have any pleasant memories of your time in Vietnam?
HATCHER: Yes, I have some good memories of my time there. Believe it or not, some of my best memories were actually over in Vietnam. It wasn't all bad. I used to get letters from my parents telling me that they were praying for me and that the entire church was praying, all the way to the Pastor. That meant a lot. It was a booster to get those letters knowing that people back home hadn't forgotten you. They were praying for you. They love you. I will never forget that.
And my oldest nephew was born when I was over in Vietnam the first time. I got the letter from my sister saying she and my brother-in-law named the baby Benjamin Jr. I was telling all the guys in my unit, "I'm an Uncle! I'm an Uncle!" [laughs] I was so happy.
wear blue: Is there anything you want to add?
HATCHER: The worst experience I've had the whole time I was in the military, those awards that I received, the bronze star award and the purple heart, they're not even on my record. That really hurts my feelings. I contacted the headquarters in Washington, D.C. and they said they didn't have any record of me receiving them there. I have the [physical] awards here at home because my Momma used to keep all this stuff for me so I have the medals. But they don't have any record in D.C. and it's not on my DD-214, that's the discharge paperwork. It's not on there. I checked through different veterans’ organizations and stuff. I just don't understand it. I hope and pray one day before I leave this world that something can be done.