University students served country well
DURING THE EARLY 1960S, WHILE MANY colleges across the country were
protesting the war with sit-ins and peace rallies, students at what was
then West Texas State University were conducting bleed-ins–blood drives
to help support the war effort. It was with that sense of loyalty and love
of country that Don R. Watson of Lazbuddie passed up his 1966 graduation
ceremony from the University to enter the military for a career that
spanned almost three decades and two wars.
Watson, a WTAMU graduate and instructor in the Continuing Education
Center, is a retired colonel who fought in Vietnam and played a state-side
role in the Gulf War. He is one of many veterans across the country that
Americans will honor on Veteran's Day, Nov. 11.
Watson came to WTAMU in 1962 and immediately became involved in the
Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) and followed a curriculum in the
aviation cadet program. He and his fellow classmates enrolled in military
sciences classes and took flying lessons at Tradewinds Airport in
Amarillo.
In May 1966, one week before his college graduation, he received his
wings as a distinguished military graduate and a commissioned second
lieutenant. He shipped out early the next day for infantry training at
Fort Benning, Ga., and his bachelor of science degree in history was
mailed home.
After infantry training and flight school in army aviation, Watson was
sent to Vietnam in August 1969. He served as an executive officer and
platoon leader and flew more than 100 aircraft recovery missions. The
missions required quick thinking to locate and retrieve downed aircraft
before the enemy could strip the planes of equipment and parts.
"I think we worried more about the families we left behind than
being in the war," he said. "The families are the ones that are
forgotten. I left a wife and infant twin daughters behind, but my wife was
real supportive and that helped."
Watson spent one year in Vietnam and has no regrets about his role in
the war.
"I'm glad I served. Veterans feel they have done something special
to express their love to their country even if they can't always share
what they feel inside."
Even though his missions to recover downed aircraft carried an element
of danger, Watson knew he had a job to do and never thought about the
dangers involved. Their planes were often shot during recovery missions,
but many times the soldiers didn't even realize it until the mission was
completed.
"I just knew the good Lord took care of me," Watson said.
He retired in 1993 after more than 26 years of active military service.
Retirement didn't slow him down though. He has worked tirelessly to make
sure his fellow classmates who lost their lives in Vietnam will always be
remembered.
"Twenty-three classmates were killed in Vietnam, including my
college roommate, Ronnie Shepard," he said. "It was a hard time
for the faculty too, seeing their students leave and never come
back."
He is proud of the brass plaque that hangs in the Virgil Henson
Activities Center with the names of those 23 classmates and in the street
signs on campus named in honor of those lost in action. He helped with the
University's efforts at the Texas Panhandle War Memorial located at the
Randall County annex in Amarillo and, now he's involved in bringing a Huey
to campus on Wednesday, Nov. 13.
There is no sound more recognizable or nostalgic for a Vietnam veteran
than that of the Huey helicopter. That sound will reverberate across the
campus at 3 p.m. Nov. 13. The approach and landing is part of a
documentary movie being filmed throughout the country by Arrowhead Films.
It is called In the Shadow of the Blade, a three-year,
feature-length undertaking by aerial filmographer Patrick Fries.
Watson said WTAMU was selected as a landing site because the University
produced so many helicopter pilots through its aviation cadet program
during the Vietnam era.
"Those of us who went through the aviation cadet program at WT
became military pilots, and there were quite a few of us," Watson
said. "If the Huey is landing anywhere in this area, I think it's
appropriate that it lands on this campus."
The simple brass plaque, the campus street signs and the beauty of the
Texas Panhandle War Memorial all serve as reminders of what many WTAMU
students have given through love and loyalty–even the young man from
Lazbuddie who gave up commencement exercises–to serve their country.
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