Keith Hudnall: US Army

SP4, 11d US Army 1971-1974:

Hi CJ, my name is Keith Hudnall and I'm from Cleveland. I've been to Coshocton many times. I did not go to Vietnam. I was diverted when I got to Oakland CA and they sent me to Korea on the border.

There is this one thing that sticks in my head and it will never go away. I was a road guide standing on a culvert on a bridge. I was looking down at some Korean kids swimming in the pool of water there. I noticed that one of them might be in trouble -- he was maybe eight or nine years old. 

I saw a Jeep coming down the road and by then, I was frantic. I waved them down and we went down to the pool and pulled the kid out and started giving him CPR. The other person in the Jeep called one of our choppers. It wasn't long, the chopper came in and landed in the paddy. They loaded the boy in and took him away. The guys in the Jeep left me sitting on the bridge. I remember I just sat down and then I started to cry. They left me there.

About midnight, a Korean farmer came to me and invited me in his home. When I got up the next day I started walking. When people asked me, "Where have you been?" I said, "Nowhere." I was 18 and 1 month old.

I'm sorry about your man. It was all just so stupid. I lost a lot of friends. There are many questions I have about life. If I had reacted sooner, would my friend be alive? He could have been a doctor or the King of Mongolia, if I did not give up my set on a Kiowa for my friend. Could I have stopped it from crashing into the side of a mountain? I don't know. I do know, if it wasn't for baseball, guitar, mandolin, Twain and Steinbeck, I wouldn't know what to do. You should see my room -- 50-60 books. Now I'm reading Bobby Fisher on chess.

The bad thing about the army is, they spend half the time teaching you how to kill someone, and the other half, how to fix them. People that were not there or who weren't affected by it do not understand.

Bye,
Keith Hudnall
4th 7th Cavalry - Garry Owen


**Thank you for your service and for sharing your experience.
Welcome Home, Keith.
CJ

“I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do. And by the grace of God, I will.” ~Everett Hale