It may have been 50 years ago, but for a local Vietnam veteran, he can recall nine days in May like it was yesterday.
Edward Meier was a young man in 1967, fresh-faced as he entered Vietnam. However, things would change rapidly as he was thrust into one of the more devastating battles of the war.
"I was a brand new kid and I didn't have a full month in-country," Meier said. "I was in the first major battle for my unit. It was really hellacious. The North Vietnamese mortared us and they had a ground attack against us. For the next four hours, we battled, trying to stay alive because they were right on top of us."
For nine days, mortar shells and ambushes became every day occurrences. As the sun rose and set each day, he lost more friends.
"I was so scared that my team leader had to grab me by the legs because I was shaking so bad, and calm me down," Meier said. "After the battle, we couldn't believe we had gone through that. It was hellacious to say the least. The fear was incredible. A lot of people did some really great things that day."
Meier says in his brigade they had 130 men, but when the gunfire and fighting stopped nine days later, only 18 remained. The event truly put he and his fellow brothers in arms to the test.
"It was the physical exertion you had plus the mental exertion everyday that you never knew when you were going to get hit," Meier said. "You didn't know if you were going to survive."
Meier credits his life to those who lost theirs during the battle and he says they're always on his mind.
"I have to tell you, it's almost every day," Meier said. "That stuff never leaves you. I'm terrifically glad I served. I'm even more proud and humbled that the people I served with were that good."
Although a hero in his own right for protecting his country, he can't help but feel guilt after losing so many of his friends.
"You have a tremendous amount of survivor guilt," Meier said. "You also feel bad because you know that a lot of lives back here were disturbed because of the losses. I have to do this because I have to honor them and I do that constantly as much as I can."
Meier doesn't just limit it to Memorial Day. He is a member of the Color Guard for the Vietnam Veteran Association of Waukesha, he drives for the Disabled American Veterans once a week, and he shares stories of the war with local high schools and Boy Scout Troops. He shares the story of the men who paid the ultimate sacrifice and his own story of resilience in the face of danger.
"Every day I would get up and thank God I made it to another day," Meier said. "At night, I would thank God that I had gone through another day. That was the kind of thing you had to do. I know when I got off the plane in Vietnam at Bien Hoa Airstrip, I said to myself, 'I'm not coming back from here dead. I'm going to make it.' You had to do that. That's the only way you could get through it and support each other."
