Memorial Day holds a special significance for Columbus resident William Roberts.
Roberts, who served as a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War for 18 months in 1968 and 1969 with the Army”s 4th Infantry Division, takes time each Memorial Day to remember his fallen friends and his family”s lengthy military history.
Although Roberts, a Columbus native, was about 25 when he served two tours in Vietnam as an Army chief warrant officer.
“Serving over there was really an experience, and it is something I will remember for the rest of my life,” said Roberts. “Actually, (Memorial Day is) more about remembering the ones who didn”t come back than it is about those who did.”
Can you explain what it was like serving over there?
The first six months, I flew everything from ash and trash to combat assault. Actually, my first mission after I got over there was to bring body bags out of Hill 875. That was the worst of the missions I flew over there.
It will definitely be something I remember for the rest of my life. We were in the Central Highlands, and for the first six months I had a fairly good record. After that, they moved me over to just flying VIPs around.
I flew a UH-1 Huey helicopter, and those are really great aircraft. In fact, they are still in use today. It was just a wonderful, tough aircraft.
Flying in combat was pretty much the ultimate challenge. You don”t get scared until it”s over because you”re too busy
What do you remember most about your time over there?
The people I served with and the friendships we built. There really aren”t many heroes in war, but most everybody goes and does what they have to do. They see what needs to be done and they do it. That”s just the way it is.
Some people are just put in positions where they have to hang it out a lot further than others. Those poor guys on the ground were the ones who really had it bad. They loved us, and we would do anything for them after we saw their living conditions. I mean, you just can”t imagine the jungle.
As a veteran, what does Memorial Day mean to you?
Actually, it”s more about remembering the ones who didn”t come back than it is about those who did. I had a lot of friends that didn”t come back, and a roommate that didn”t come back.
I remember them and my father that served in World War I and World War II and my father in law who also served in World War II. They really had it so much tougher than we had it back then.
I recently found an old World War II atlas, so we will spend some time this weekend retracing my wife”s father”s steps in Europe. A lot of the little towns they marched through are no longer there today, so we have to have an old atlas to show us where they went.
I have a lot of military history in my family, so Memorial Day holds a lot of memories for me.
Is it hard for you on Memorial Day to go back and think about the friends you lost in Vietnam?
When you”re in combat with people, your friendship reaches a new height. It”s just amazing the camaraderie you build with those people. So when you lose a friend, it”s really hard. I still think about and miss my roommate all the time.
Have you been able to keep in touch with some of the people you served with in Vietnam?
My roommate was killed in a (AH-1) Cobra crash over there, and I was able to find on the 4th Infantry Aviation Division chat site online his wife”s address after all these years. I contacted her and let her know that there were some folks over there who really cared for him. We”ve kind of stayed in contact through that since then.
I”m still really close friends with some of the people I served with over there, and I will be for the rest of my life.
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