My father, Robert James Brannon, III, was a Vietnam Veteran who served with the U.S. Army for six years from 1962 to 1968.

Dad was a helicopter gunman and mechanic with over 200 combat missions. While changing mortars, he would be shot at. He did not shy away from his wartime experiences and talked about them a lot. Once, he told me about a woman and her children in Vietnam. One of her kids walked up to his buddy and handed him a model toy, which later exploded and killed him. My dad then shot the whole family and barely escaped alive. He never got over it! He said that they couldn’t trust anyone after that.
They were in the jungle all the time getting men in and out on rescue missions. He survived 7 crashes and 4 gun shot wounds. He despised Hanoi Jane and all of the non-supportive groups. It really annoyed him after getting discharged, so he joined a bike gang and was into drugs and such until he met my mother. She saved him from the gang and himself… Dad’s grandfather and father served in WWI and WWII, respectively. Our ancestors fought in the Civil War. We have a weapon used in that war that has been handed down from generation to generation.

The PTSD eventually settled in from all of the shootings which took a toll on him. His health continued to deteriorate both mentally and physically with the worst being the lung disease from Agent Orange. He was on oxygen for the last three years of his life. The past ten years of his life really declined. He lost his bike in a fire and then Mom passed away. After that, Dad gave up on life altogether. Even though all of his combat related health issues were doctor approved, such as PTSD, hearing loss from guns and the chronic pulmonary lung disease and diabetes, to name just a few from Agent Orange, he was denied 100% disability.

This caused Dad tremendous stress and our family who had no means of caring for him. I knew of another veteran who was awarded 100% disability and was never in combat. I don’t understand. Dad’s health was on a steady decline, and he decided to shoot himself and survived. He later apologized to me but called me an idiot for getting him help. My sister called the paramedics who saved him. We had to put Dad in a nursing home at the end. He passed away in his sleep on January 22, 2015.
We are having a special biker’s rally with the Bandaleros, an elite biker group of veterans on Main Street in Sharpsville, PA on May 30, 2015 with 300 starting the procession. From there, his ashes will be escorted by the Honor Guard to his final resting place at the West Side Cemetery where Dad will join his father and grandfather, both veterans of WWI and WWII.

Only one of his friends from Nam remains alive today.
~Robert Brannon, IV, son of Robert Brannon, III, Vietnam Veteran
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God Bless all who serve and keep us safe.

Veteran Tributes : www.facebook.com/ComesASoldierswhisper
Vietnam Letters: www.VietnamAndBeyond.com