I Was There


I was there the day Lewis Puller was injured by the booby trap. His platoon was providing security while my intelligence unit prepared to search a village.

We called the medivac, and I cannot help but recall the courage shown by Puller. Although very seriously hurt, he turned his platoon over to his sergeant and was concerned about his fellow Marines.

This brings back memories I haven't thought of in years.

Thanks for the Home Page.

Carl Haynes


By way of a biography, I joined the Marine Corps after graduating from the University of Nebraska in January of 1966. Went to OCS and Basic School in Quantico, VA; received my commission; and was in Vietnam by December of 1966.

I was assigned to Second Battalion, First Marines as an infantry platoon commander and assigned to Quang Tri Province until we moved to Con Thien. Was there for 120 days, received a purple heart for shrapnel, and then moved to Dong Ha for a few weeks before being assigned to Khe Sahn. As you can see I made all the garden spots.

I was at Khe Sahn for a little over 120 days until it was closed. Managed to catch a little more shrapnel at Khe Sahn. Was promoted to first lieutenant at Khe Sahn (actually Hill 861).

>Our battalion was moved south of DaNang after Khe Sahn, and I was the battalion intelligence officer (S-2) and worked with the battalion and Vietnamese police force on search and destroy operations. It was during that time that Lewis Puller was hurt.

I came home and was assigned to the Naval Amphibious Base at Coronado, CA, in charge of a Marine MP unit providing security for the Pueblo inquiry. This took about six months.

After that, I was assigned to Des Moines, IA, as an officer selection officer recruiting officer candidates at the various Iowa colleges and universities. This was at the height of the protest effort, and it was really difficult to hear what some of the antis were saying and how unwilling they were to step up for their country. I had the good fortune to make my quotas every year and helped recruit over 200 Marine Officer candidates. Somewhere at this time I was promoted to captain.

After a little over four years, I was discharged on June 1, 1971. Coming from a military family I never thought there was another way but to join when you finished school. I had the great pleasure of knowing some great people during that time and came to understand that, often times, talk is not enough; and you simply have to stand up for your beliefs.


Copyright 1999 by Carl Haynes, All Rights Reserved

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