thedrifter
02-05-09, 07:40 AM
War isn’t history to Medal of Honor recipient
By Lisa Crutchfield
Published: February 5, 2009
The Vietnam War is not history to Brian Thacker.
He thinks about it every day.
As a U.S. Army first lieutenant, Thacker received a Medal of Honor for directing air strikes and artillery fire toward the attacking North Vietnamese army while defending a small hilltop base in Kon Tum Province in March 1971.
Thacker and his outnumbered troops held the hill for about four hours before he organized a withdrawal. While his troops escaped, Thacker stayed behind to provide covering fire with his M-16 rifle.
He evaded capture for eight days by hiding in a bamboo thicket.
"That citation for me is a current event," he said.
Thacker, who lives in Wheaton, Md., and is retired from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, wants students to understand his war experiences. He speaks to students several times a year, including yesterday at a seminar for high school students at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond.
"It's a big deal for me to meet someone who has sacrificed so much for our country," said Josh Parker, a junior at Atlee High School in Hanover County.
Parker, who hopes to be a Marine, said Thacker's stories amplified his desire to make changes in the military.
"I've always wanted to work on the rules of engagement," Parker said. "We lose sailors, Marines, soldiers every day because of rules politicians set up. There is much to be addressed."
That kind of circumspection is part of the seminar's mission.
"I do not believe history repeats itself," said Jon C. Hatfield, executive director of the Virginia War Memorial. "I do believe it presents similar circumstances. That's why it's so important for us to study history.
"Look at today's circumstances and look at what's happening in the future and equate it to the past," he told the students, who came from 11 school systems in Virginia. "Make better decisions.
"History is important. It's not memorizing dates but learning why things happened."
Yesterday was the fourth year the War Memorial has led a program about Vietnam; it holds other education seminars throughout the year.
"You see people on TV talking about Vietnam, and it doesn't seem real," said Ashley Gilbert, a junior at Manchester High School in Chesterfield County. She hopes to teach history. "Here, with these people, it's real."
Students watched a film on the 1968 Tet Offensive and got to try on uniforms and handle weapons from the War Memorial collection. An important part of the day was interacting with Thacker and other veterans in small-group discussions, which included many personal stories.
Jimmy Willis said the day was an important supplement to a military history class he takes at Manchester High School. "I'm interested in the historical aspects of [Vietnam]," he said. "This gives us an understanding of what war is like.
"They're telling us how it really was."
Contact Lisa Crutchfield at (804) 649-6362 or lcrutchfield@timesdispatch.com .
Ellie
By Lisa Crutchfield
Published: February 5, 2009
The Vietnam War is not history to Brian Thacker.
He thinks about it every day.
As a U.S. Army first lieutenant, Thacker received a Medal of Honor for directing air strikes and artillery fire toward the attacking North Vietnamese army while defending a small hilltop base in Kon Tum Province in March 1971.
Thacker and his outnumbered troops held the hill for about four hours before he organized a withdrawal. While his troops escaped, Thacker stayed behind to provide covering fire with his M-16 rifle.
He evaded capture for eight days by hiding in a bamboo thicket.
"That citation for me is a current event," he said.
Thacker, who lives in Wheaton, Md., and is retired from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, wants students to understand his war experiences. He speaks to students several times a year, including yesterday at a seminar for high school students at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond.
"It's a big deal for me to meet someone who has sacrificed so much for our country," said Josh Parker, a junior at Atlee High School in Hanover County.
Parker, who hopes to be a Marine, said Thacker's stories amplified his desire to make changes in the military.
"I've always wanted to work on the rules of engagement," Parker said. "We lose sailors, Marines, soldiers every day because of rules politicians set up. There is much to be addressed."
That kind of circumspection is part of the seminar's mission.
"I do not believe history repeats itself," said Jon C. Hatfield, executive director of the Virginia War Memorial. "I do believe it presents similar circumstances. That's why it's so important for us to study history.
"Look at today's circumstances and look at what's happening in the future and equate it to the past," he told the students, who came from 11 school systems in Virginia. "Make better decisions.
"History is important. It's not memorizing dates but learning why things happened."
Yesterday was the fourth year the War Memorial has led a program about Vietnam; it holds other education seminars throughout the year.
"You see people on TV talking about Vietnam, and it doesn't seem real," said Ashley Gilbert, a junior at Manchester High School in Chesterfield County. She hopes to teach history. "Here, with these people, it's real."
Students watched a film on the 1968 Tet Offensive and got to try on uniforms and handle weapons from the War Memorial collection. An important part of the day was interacting with Thacker and other veterans in small-group discussions, which included many personal stories.
Jimmy Willis said the day was an important supplement to a military history class he takes at Manchester High School. "I'm interested in the historical aspects of [Vietnam]," he said. "This gives us an understanding of what war is like.
"They're telling us how it really was."
Contact Lisa Crutchfield at (804) 649-6362 or lcrutchfield@timesdispatch.com .
Ellie