“Is This My Last Sunset?”: A Platoon Leader In The 173rd Airborne Brigade

Gerald "Jerry" Quinn served as a Platoon Leader (Third Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade) and subsequently as Company Executive Officer (XO) in Vietnam from May 1967 to June 1968. He highlights the rigorous discipline of farm life, his rapid ascension through Infantry OCS, high-stakes tactical operations (including an ambush on North Vietnamese regulars and a critical medical decision to save an enemy soldier's life), and the enduring “band of brothers” bond that persists decades after redeployment. Jerry was born in 1943 and was raised on a family farm in Dayton, Pennsylvania. His father, a good mechanic, worked in construction, and his mother was a maternity nurse at a local hospital. Jerry is the youngest of three children. His sister is a year-and-a-half older and his five-year older brother graduated from Penn State ROTC before serving as an Air Force pilot. Jerry appreciated his farm chores and duties, which included milking cows twice a day, tending crops (corn, alfalfa, wheat), and managing livestock. He credits his early childhood with instilling a deep sense of discipline, responsibility, and a life-long work ethic that has served him well. He enjoyed high school, serving as class president for three years. He also captained the school’s championship basketball team, playing guard. At Geneva College, he lettered in cross country, was a pre-med major, and, with a barber license, cut hair on the side to earn money. After graduating from Geneva College and realizing that he did not have the money or grades to attend medical school, he felt that it was his patriotic duty to enlist in the Army in 1965 for OCS (Officer Candidate School). He completed both basic and AIT (Advanced Infantry Training) at Ft. Gordon, Georgia, where he enjoyed the training (especially shooting) and appreciated his Drill Sergeants. He was appointed a Squad Leader in basic training. Next, he reported to Ft. Benning, Georgia, for OCS, where he felt “as low as you can be” because the TACs “are trying to rattle you” to see how you react under stress. He believes OCS successfully prepared him to lead Soldiers in combat. He notes that the heavy emphasis on honor, integrity, tactical proficiency, and total familiarity with all infantry weapons gave him the perfect foundation before he took on real-world leadership responsibilities. His first assignment in the Army was as a Range Officer at Ft. Polk, Louisiana, where he supervised close combat and combat firing ranges. He enjoyed this assignment, which was “easy” compared to OCS. In the heat of August, he returned to Ft. Benning, Georgia, for Airborne school, where he enjoyed the 34-foot zip line tower and the 250-foot towers. In May 1967, he deployed to Vietnam, flying from California to Tan Son Nhut airport. He recalls seeing the sunset in Vietnam as they were landing and wondering, “Is this my last sunset?” Then, when the plane door opened, the heat and humidity hit him. Jungle School helped him acclimatize, learn about booby traps, and practice movement techniques, including not bunching up. During the ambush phase of his jungle school course, Viet Cong trying to mortar the airbase ran through their position, so his first “action” was in jungle school. He describes conducting tactical operations and how he maneuvered with his platoon. He explains that they moved with a highly disciplined patrol structure, led by the point man roughly 10 meters ahead of the slack man, with the Platoon Leader and RTO following behind. During a patrol along a ridge, the point man, Sergeant Latimer, noticed an overturned, still-damp pebble, indicating recent enemy transit. Moving slowly, they surprised four North Vietnamese soldiers cooking rice. They neutralized the threat and recovered vital intelligence. He describes a successful trail ambush in which they established their position at a trail fork using claymores and a machine gun. They allowed a column of North Vietnamese regulars to walk within feet of the first claymore before detonating it, and then executed a clean, pre-planned tactical withdrawal to the perimeter. He discusses his relationships with his Platoon Sergeants, and firing an NCO who could not read a map. He recalls a specific incident during a search-and-destroy mission near Tuy Hoa, when his platoon tracked a heavy blood trail left by retreating forces. They located a wounded North Vietnamese soldier with severe leg injuries. Recognizing the onset of hemorrhagic shock, Jerry gave a direct order to his medic, Vasquez, to administer their limited supply of albumin. The enemy soldier survived, and expressing deep gratitude, provided crucial intelligence that enabled a successful three-company assault the following day. After six months as a Platoon Leader, he became the Company Executive Officer and managed company operations from the rear. Shortly after his arrival at the battalion base camp at Kon Tum, sappers executed a highly coordinated night attack using satchel charges, landmines, and mortars, highlighting a critical lack of perimeter security and defense planning prior to the attack. During the Tet Offensive in 1968, he recalls moving by truck through Pleiku and Buon Ma Thuot. He remembers acting as a rifleman and assisting with casualty collection. He vividly recalls a soldier next to him losing his lower jaw to a bullet that passed directly by Jerry's face. In June 1968, he returned to the United States, flying into Oakland, where he met his brother and sister-in-law at the Hungry I, a famous local comedy club and music venue. Jerry extended for a year, was promoted to Captain, and was stationed at Ft. Riley as the commandant at the POR (Preparation of Overseas Replacement) School, where instructors taught lessons learned from Vietnam. He left the Army in 1969 and attended the University of Montana for a year before taking a job selling pharmaceuticals at Upjohn, becoming their top salesman. After six years with Upjohn, he took a job in sales, marketing, and advertising for Remington Arms (his dream job), where he helped introduce sporting clays to the United States. He then transferred to DuPont in 1986 until he retired in 2001. He views his time in the military as a great learning experience and an adventure, describing service to the nation as “noble, worthwhile, and honorable.” He strongly emphasizes the need for a modern "cleansing" ritual for returning warriors to heal moral injury and reduce veteran suicide, noting that reunions and faith are vital components of this healing process.