“You Might Be My Platoon Leader One Day, And I Don’t Want You To Get Me Killed”: Intense Ranger Training And Combat Experiences In Vietnam

Bill Talcott was born in Saranac, Michigan, in 1944. His father was an accountant and his mother helped with the family business. Bill grew up with a little brother who was four years younger. Growing up, he was interested in “sports and girls,” enjoying all sports, especially baseball. In high school, he played shortstop, and at Central Michigan University he played first base for a year. Bill was raised in a small town where “everyone knows who you are.” His grandpa had served in World War I and his uncle served in World War II. He went to Central Michigan University to play baseball, but after one year but focused on business administration and ROTC. ROTC was mandatory for the first two years, but he enjoyed the program and kept with it. He recalls classroom training, and field exercises at Ft. Custer, Michigan. Bill was the Distinguished Military Graduate in 1966, receiving a coveted Regular Army Commission that enabled him to branch Infantry with guarantees of Airborne and Ranger school. By the mid-60s, his ROTC instructors were Vietnam Veterans and their example inspired him, especially William Nolde (the last official American combat casualty of the Vietnam War). After graduation, Bill completed the Infantry Officer Basic Course and Ranger school before a brief assignment to Hawaii to train National Guard Soldiers. Airborne school followed after he returned from Hawaii. He thought Airborne was “scary, but easier than Ranger.” He describes Ranger school as “terrific” and he praises the “outstanding NCOs” who taught him. Earning his Ranger tab was both the “most difficult thing [he’s] done” and his “proudest accomplishment,” and it served him well in Vietnam. He felt that Ranger school offered excellent training and leadership, and arriving at his first unit with the Ranger tab gave him instant credibility. After Airborne school, he deployed to Vietnam, and he was confident in his training but had no combat experience. Deploying to Vietnam, he was assigned to 1st Platoon, A Company, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, and later he was assigned to the Recon Platoon in E Company. When he took over his platoon, he discovered half of his Soldiers were Airborne and half were “legs,” but he tolerated no tension between the two groups. As a Ranger-qualified officer, he discovered that his Company Commander, CPT White, “expected more of me.” His first Platoon Sergeant was an E8 who had been demoted for involvement with the black market, and sent to the field as an E7. Bill led that platoon for three months before being assigned to lead the Recon Platoon. In that unit, he had an experienced Ranger-qualified E7 as a Platoon Sergeant, and when that NCO rotated out, he recommended a good E5 to replace him. Bill was operating in War Zone D in the Cu Chi, Hobo Woods, and Iron Triangle area near Tan Son Nhut. He describes his first time under fire on the Mekong River, where his Platoon was operating on motorboats. It was immediately after being assigned to the Platoon and he was learning his unit callsigns along the way. Typical missions he conducted were search and destroy missions, ambushes, and combat assaults, where they were inserted by helicopter. Mostly, they fought the Viet Cong, whom Bill describes as competent and well-armed with AKs and RPGs. They operated out of tunnels and Bill remembers being mortared frequently. While operating in the Hobo Woods, they were “always on alert,” and Bill remembers being “on edge,” where “even the kids were against us.” He describes planning for and conducting a typical patrol, where, in his briefing to his Platoon Sergeant and Squad Leaders, he got input from his NCOs to get “buy-in.” As the Recon Platoon leader, he did more “night work,” and he describes conducting night ambushes. He recalls that sometimes contact was daily, but sometimes weeks passed without engaging the enemy, and then you have to fight complacency. He describes his most unique mission, where they killed two or three VC (and he lost one of his Squad Leaders), and searching the bodies they discovered that they had killed VC “tax collectors.” When the S2 came out to gather the documents and money they recovered, he wanted to search Bill’s Soldiers, and Bill refused. He reflects on his most vivid memory of his time in Vietnam. They were on a night mission in the Hobo Woods in May 1969 and were trying to get back to the firebase, which was under attack. During that fight, one of his RTOs was killed and the other was paralyzed, and both Bill and another Soldier were wounded. He recalls, “That was rough,” and shares that “you get to know your RTOs.” He then discusses the importance of knowing your Soldiers without becoming too close to them. As the Recon Platoon leader, he enjoyed more freedom, and he received his orders from the S3 (Operations Officer). The Recon Platoon often was tasked with finding the “bad guys,” frequently operating at night searching for specific targets with little support nearby. He recalls one instance where he was assigned to guard a specific bridge, and there were prostitutes operating under the bridge that were frequented by other GIs. “Nowhere was I trained for this type of situation,” he recalls, but “you do what you think is right,” indicating that he put the prostitutes “off-limits” while he was in charge. The 3rd Brigade of the 82nd returned from Vietnam in October 1969, and Bill returned with them after only 11 months in country. When he got to his hometown, he noted that “people weren’t real welcoming,” and they “didn’t like seeing the uniform.” He was then assigned as the 3rd Brigade Assistant S3 and helped plan a “jump-fest,” almost deploying to Oman, Jordan, to rescue American citizens during the crisis in late 1970, but the situation deescalated after the first plane of paratroopers left the runway. Bill ETS’d in early January 1971 and began working for the National Life Insurance Company in Chicago. He suffers from Post Traumatic Stress, Tinnitus, Heart Disease, and issues from Agent Orange. In retirement, he has found a new calling, helping Veterans and especially hospitalized Veterans as the Hospital Chairman. He is a Legacy Life member of VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Post 9400 and a member of Cootie Pup Tent 11, which has donated over 200,000 to hospitalized Veterans. He is also the Buddy Poppy Chairman, which is their big fundraiser on Veterans Day and Memorial Day. He has been volunteering for almost 20 years and has received numerous awards for his service, including the Phoenix VA Volunteer of the Year (2015) and the National VA Volunteer of the Year (2019). He has also been inducted into the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame and the Central Michigan University ROTC Hall of Fame. These days, most of his time is spent with the VFW or Veterans Administration. He spends so much time with hospitalized Veterans because he wants to pay it back for all those who took care of his Soldiers when they were evacuated and whom he never got to visit or say “goodbye.” He hopes one day to care for one of his Soldiers. He ends the interview stating that he was very proud and honored to lead troops in combat, declaring, “We accomplished our missions,” and even though he wishes it had ended differently, he’d do it all again.