COL Richard Coachys, U.S. Army, Vietnam

Richard Coachys went to Indiana University on a football scholarship but also joined the Army ROTC on campus. After commissioning, he expected his early training to be followed by a deployment to Germany. But those plans were disrupted by the Vietnam War, and the young officer was soon leading his platoon on patrols and into combat.

In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Coachys tells us about his training, his first thoughts upon arriving in Vietnam, and what those early patrols were like. He also takes us into the most intense combat from his time in Vietnam, leading his men under fire, and being wounded by multiple enemy rounds.

Coachys also shares very personal stories about families devastated by losing children in the war and what it was like for him to visit the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial in Washington for the first time this year.