“The Learning Never Stopped”: A Vietnam War Grunt Retires As A Delaware National Guard General

Terry Wiley was born in 1948 and grew up in Middletown, Delaware, with an older and a younger brother. His father was a machinist for All-American Engineering who had served on an LST in the Navy during World War II. His mother came from the West Virginia coal mines, but became a Rosie the Riveter working in Delaware at an ammunition plant during World War II. His parents met at a USO dance after his father returned from the Pacific. After the war, Terry’s mother became a nurse for the State of Delaware. Terry’s father and uncle were World War II veterans, and he knew that someday he would be in the military. As a boy, he was involved in Boy Scouts and Civil Air Patrol, where he learned to swim and rappel. In the early 60s, he really had not heard much about Vietnam, but he knew a few guys who had joined the Army. In 1966, he enlisted. His reception station was Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, in January 1967, and Basic Training followed at Ft. Gordon, Georgia, where they lived in World War II era wooden barracks. He benefited from knowing customs and courtesies from Civil Air Patrol, and he enjoyed shooting weapons like the M-14. Airborne school followed basic, and after twisting his ankle on his first jump, he knew that if he limped, he would be recycled, so he soaked his ankle, wrapped it tightly in an Ace bandage, and persevered. After Airborne School, he had 14 days to get to Ft. Dix, New Jersey, to deploy to Vietnam. He remembers flying from McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey on Braniff, stopping in Alaska and Japan before landing in Saigon at Bien Hoa Air Base in the middle of the night. When the door opened, the humidity and smell hit him, and as they unloaded the plane, he thought, “Where’s my gun?” The chicken wire across the windows of the bus that took them to reception was a “rude awakening.” He was supposed to go to the 173rd Airborne Brigade, but recent high casualties diverted all incoming paratroopers to the 101st Airborne Division. He traveled to Phan Rang and he completed SERTS (Screaming Eagle Replacement Training School), where he had a week to acclimatize, before joining 3rd Platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment. SGT Jesse Ramey was his team leader and he made sure his troops were “squared away.” After “Cosmo stepped on a landmine,” Terry inherited the M-60. He describes learning noise and light discipline, and keeping his 7 canteens full (and using iodine tablets). They ate two C-Rations a day and enhanced the flavor with dried onions and spices sent from home, as well as the Tabasco sauce that came with the meals. He recalls one day where they experienced heavy contact all day, necessitating 50% security that night. Terry volunteered for first watch that night because he wanted to eat a C Ration. He picked the baked beans and meatballs meal, and was “dying with heartburn” all night. Unable to digest the meal, he stayed up on guard and let his buddy sleep. He reflects on his toughest mission, on December 6, 1967, when Eric Wayne Johnson (his battle buddy from Basic and AIT) was on point and Terry was walking drag. They encountered a North Vietnamese ambush, and Eric was killed. In the lead element, everyone but Terry was killed or wounded. Terry escorted Eric back to his family in Jacksonville, Florida. He describes staying with Eric’s family. After the funeral, Terry flew back to Travis Air Force Base, and decided to spend New Year’s Eve in San Francisco before catching a flight back to Vietnam. Terry describes his experiences during the Tet Offensive in the Central Highlands. He was assigned to reinforce the American Embassy after it was overrun. While in Saigon, they cleared houses and escorted the Marine guards back to their safe house. After Tet, 1st Brigade was sent to Hue / Phu Bai. Next, they conducted operations in the A Shau Valley. The difficult terrain in the Central Highlands was a challenge for the new replacements. Terry remembers “lots of contact,” and air assaulting into various hot spots. He was wounded in a nighttime RPG rocket attack, taking shrapnel to his legs, back, and buttocks. He was medevac’d and spent three or four days recovering. He volunteered to ride shotgun on a convoy picking up beer and soda from Da Nang to get back to his unit. He extended his tour for 6 months and made E-5 before returning to 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry at Ft. Bragg. In 1969, his unit was assigned to teach Plebes at West Point, and he drove his ’66 Corvette up to the Academy. There, during a block of instruction on camouflage and concealment and squad maneuvers, he ran into Cadet Babbitt, his old squad-mate from Vietnam. Terry next describes some of the techniques he learned carrying the M-60 in Vietnam. He talks about keeping the weapon clean, carrying extra ammunition, and moving with his AG (Assistant Gunner) as a team. He learned to fire accurately from the hip and the shoulder. The hardest part was carrying the weight and moving through the jungle while ensuring he had clear fields of fire. He describes what he carried on missions and getting resupplied (including two cans of beer and two cans of soda on resupply). He reflects on the best cup of coffee he’s ever had, looking out over the fog covered terrain while sitting on a mountain in the A Shau Valley. He also describes his “funniest, scariest moment.” They had been in a firefight all day and were moving to high ground for their night defensive position. When he woke up the next morning, there was no one around. He realized that, asleep, he had slid down the hill sitting with his M-60 on his lap. After finishing his time at Ft. Bragg, he left the Army on December 19, 1969, but planned to become an Officer. Back in Delaware, he joined DuPont as an iron worker. He met his wife in 1970 and married her in June 1972, and he planned to go to college to become a physical therapist. He ended up working for DuPont for 15 years as an iron worker and 17 years at DuPont in research and analysis. After commissioning through National Guard OCS in 1975, he served as a Signal Officer in the Delaware National Guard, where he worked in a variety of signal jobs. He was able to extend in the National Guard, retiring at the age of 62 as a Brigadier General. In 2013, he became a CASA (Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army) and served in that capacity in Delaware for 10 years. Terry has failed at retirement because “when you’re blessed you have to give back.” He serves as the President of the New York and New Jersey Chapter of the 101st Association and works with the Delaware Veterans Home. He is also involved with his church, the Boy Scouts, the Association of the US Army (AUSA), and the Delaware Military Museum. He loves attending unit reunions and the Week of the Eagle at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. He is proud of his service and would do it all over again. He concludes the interview reflecting on his pride in “being a grunt,” and states, “I owe the military my life and my career.”