OPINION: Vietnam War Veterans Day reminds us of what it means to serve
Jim Jones
March 29 is Vietnam War Veterans Day, the day set aside to remember and honor those who served in that ill-fated war. A phone call earlier this month brought to mind a perfect example of what dedicated service-to-country looks like. My friend, James Peterson, called to say that he would be undergoing surgery for a dangerous cancer, likely the result of his substantial exposure to Agent Orange during two tours of service with the Special Forces in Vietnam. It hit me hard because here was a man who had dedicated his life to standing up for his country and now was faced with a hefty price.
I met James in August 2006 at the 40th reunion of the Twin Falls High School’s Class of 1966 (my wife, Kelly, is a member of the class). We were at the City Park, refurbishing the memorial dedicated on Memorial Day in 1967 to those from Twin Falls County who died in the war. Seventeen names, starting with Major James H. Allred in 1963 and ending with PFC Fred S. Smart in 1970, were eventually placed on the memorial plaque. James spent many hours over the years, helping to keep up the memorial.
In that initial conversation, we established that we’d both been stationed in Tay Ninh Province in 1968 — he at the Thien Ngon SF camp 71 miles northwest of Saigon and me with a heavy artillery unit near Tay Ninh City. The strangest thing happened when I mentioned that, as an aerial artillery spotter, I’d destroyed a river bridge south of Thien Ngon that enemy fighters used to transport weapons and supplies. James went to his car, opened the trunk, and brought back a picture of that very bridge. We bonded immediately.
It was not until years later we pieced together the fact that we had likely met at the Thien Ngon SF camp on Sept. 30, 1968. He was the communications specialist at the camp; the SF commander for the Province was flying me around to introduce me to the artillery customers I would be serving. The Thien Ngon camp was in extremely hostile territory. Two days previously, it had been ferociously attacked by an estimated two battalions of North Vietnamese soldiers. The scars of the battle were still evident.
As Stars and Stripes described the battle, the Communists fired about 1,000 rockets, mortar rounds and grenades into the relatively small camp, then suffered 130 dead in trying but failing to overrun it. The six companies of Vietnamese defenders suffered four dead. Thirteen were wounded, including four SF advisors. James was not one of them. James described the event as just business as usual those many years later.
James' service to the country did not stop there. Although I never asked him how he used his remarkable communication skills during the next several decades and he never explained, I have the abiding feeling he kept serving the country in a clandestine capacity. He commented in one reunion booklet that he’d had the “opportunity to work in communications and other fields and live in so many different countries both friendly and unfriendly.” James lived in The Bahamas for 19 years on his catamaran “Bifrost” until it was destroyed in a hurricane in 2019.
James made frequent visits to the Boise VA Hospital for a variety of conditions related to his service. Having been a gung-ho parachute jumper in his Army days (and perhaps in his later endeavors), his lower extremities needed frequent medical care. For a while, he parked a camp trailer on one of the two camper lots at the facility. He was and is a big fan of the VA Hospital.
We spoke after his recent surgery and he reported doing well. He has three daughters and one son, 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. He should have plenty of time and opportunity with them in this final chapter of his life to make up for his numerous years of dedicated service to his country.
In everything James has done, he has shunned publicity and recognition by way of medals, decorations and the like. He would be rather unhappy to know that I’m paying this tribute to his life of service. However, I can’t think of a better person to remember on Vietnam War Veterans Day than James Peterson, who came from tough beginnings to be a true patriot and fine example. Thanks, Brother.
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Jim Jones is a Vietnam combat veteran who served eight years as Idaho Attorney General and 12 years as a justice on the Idaho Supreme Court. He blogs at JJCommonTater.com.
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