My name is Delmer Presley, and I am a Vietnam Veteran.

I was born in July 1949 in Pilgrims Knob, Virginia.

My father, William Hiter Presley, worked with the Virginia Department of Highways. My mother, Mary Lou (Tiney) Presley, was a housewife. I had 4 brothers and 5 sisters. Before entering the service, I was also employed with the Virginia Department of Transportation.

My brother Earnest was with the U.S. Army during the Korea conflict and my brother Elden was with the U.S. Army during the 1960s, serving in Germany. I was drafted and went into service on November 16, 1968. I went to Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Ord, California. After the rough physical training, I was sent to Vietnam on April 9, 1969 and came back in April 1970. I was sent to serve my last 6 months at Fort Hood, Texas.

I saw a lot of soldiers wounded by either enemy fire or booby traps. I did not get too close to anyone over there, for they would either be short timers, going home, or get wounded, and I would never see them again. I also saw a lot of Vietnamese children burned (still living) by napalm that the Army dropped from planes on some of the villages. The worst part for me was loading soldiers on the helicopters in body bags and seeing the Vietnamese people deformed by napalm. I will never be the same. My greatest fear was getting killed. I think the better part of me got left behind over there, somewhere in the jungles of Vietnam. I stay jumpy all the time, and loud noises really bother me. I have been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. I had and still have a difficult time readjusting to civilian life.

My return home would take me through the airports seeing all of the protesters of the war at the air terminals. I wish that I could have asked them why they treated us the way they did. We were only doing what we were told to do. I don’t regret going. I regret the way it turned out. But I love my country and I would do anything for the U.S. A.

It took me a while to get to know my family again, even though I stayed in touch by writing letters home to my mom and dad. But I don’t think the community as a whole ever accepted me back as a whole man. For those of us who made it back from the war, it didn’t mean that our problems were over with. That is when a lot of the problems began.

When people thank me for my service, I sometimes wonder if they really mean it or if they still deep down inside condemn me.
~ Delmer Presley, Vietnam Veteran

Elmer’s daughter, Christal Presley, Ph.D., has published an incredible memoir bout the unhealed wounds of war and their impact on the children of veterans in her book, THIRTY DAYS WITH MY FATHER, Finding Peace From Wartime PTSD
Thirty Days With My Father: www.amazon.com/Thirty-Days-My-Father-F…/…/ref=sr_1_1…

Veteran Tributes: www.facebook.com/ComesASoldierswhisper

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