Ken Beaton: Ray returned

“If you remember the ‘60s, you weren’t there,” said Grace Slick, Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship’s lead singer. Ray Frederick remembers the 1960s 7,825 miles from San Jose, South Vietnam.

During Frederick’s junior year, 1963-64, at Pioneer High School in San Jose, Calif., Mr. Guinn was a first-year teacher and the assistant varsity football coach for the Mustangs. Mr. Guinn would later become Nevada’s Gov. Kenny Guinn from 1999 to 2007.

After graduating from Pioneer High School in 1965, Ray and Gen exchanged their wedding vows on Jan. 14, 1967. For their first year wedding anniversary he received his draft notice. The draft notice literally took two years from the newlyweds.

Ray was inducted and reported to Fort Lewis southwest of Tacoma, Wash., for three months of basic training in old World War II barracks. Next, he traveled to Fort Polk in Louisiana for three months of Advanced Infantry Training, AIT. Ray was rewarded with a one-week leave with Gen before his plane flew across the Pacific Ocean to land in Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment (The Red Warriors) 4th Infantry Division, the 4th ID. Brigadier General Teddy Roosevelt led the 4th ID at Utah Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Pvt. Frederick was assigned to an infantry company “in the field.” He always knew his next meal would be C rations. The 4th ID’s policy was to have their infantry in forward field positions. Instead of six-man patrols, the 4th ID had four man patrols because if a patrol was ambushed, they only lost four men, not six. In fact, Secretary of Defense McNamara wrote he expected everyone sent to “Nam” to die. You were expendable.

Summertime was the monsoon season, rain every day. With all the mud, both sides were not able to move, killing your enemy was out of the question.

Ray was not trained as an RTO, Radio Telephone Operator, but his company commander, Captain Emmit “Tuffy” Burton selected Ray as his next company RTO. Between the radio, C rations and water, Ray was carrying at least 60 pounds while Captain Burton and his company were “humping the bush.” It was dangerous to walk on a road or trail. You could be ambushed or step on a land mine. Each soldier was humped over using a machete to cut a trail doing a “sweep.”

A “cordon and search” was performed precisely before the rising of a full moon. To perform a “cordon and search,” Ray’s company would surround a suspected enemy village before the rising of a full moon, the darkest time period. When the full moon began to rise, Captain Burton would give the command to capture everyone in the village. Any male who ran was shot as a suspected Viet Cong or NVA, North Vietnamese Army.

About a month after Ray became the battalion RTO for Lt. Colonel Bob Carter, the grunt who replaced Ray as the company RTO was killed in action, KIA. Ray thought, “That could’ve been me!”

Colonel Carter’s goal was to get all his men home. He flew on a helicopter to where his men were in a “fire fight” with VC. While getting off the chopper, he was shot and died. Ray reported Colonel Carter’s death to his division’s headquarters.

“I received several disbelieving calls from division asking me to repeat the colonel being KIA.”

After Ray’s experiences in “Nam,” he returned to San Jose to be confronted with negative attitudes. Ray and Gen had two daughters who gave them three grandchildren.

The following is a poem titled “Things You Didn’t Do” which Leo Buscaglia quoted with permission in his book, “Living, Loving & Learning.” The female poet recalls when she borrowed and dented her boyfriend’s brand new car, “I thought you’d kill me, but you didn’t.” She recalled flirting with guys to make him jealous, spilling strawberry pie on his car rug, forgetting to tell him the dance was formal and he wore jeans. She concluded, “Yes there were lots of things you didn’t do. But you put up with me, and you loved me, and you protected me. There were lots of things I wanted to make up to you when you returned from Viet Nam. But you didn’t.” (I’ve read that poem hundreds of times. My eyes leak every time.)

Five lives are living, loving and learning today because Ray returned. Thanks, Ray, for your service and all your sacrifices.

Ken Beaton of Carson City contributes periodically to the Nevada Appeal.