St. John reflects on Veteran’s Day, time in service
Submitted Photo Vietnam veteran Rick St. John sitting on the deck of his home in Sky Valley.
American Legion Post 370’s newest member, Vietnam veteran Rick St. John knew at a young age what he wanted to do with his life; serve in the army.
The Waterbury, Ct., native was a sophomore in high school when he told his father that he wanted to go into the United States Army.
“I always wanted to go into the army,” St. John said. “My father was in the National Guard full time. When I was a sophomore in high school, I went up to my dad and told him that I figured out what I wanted to do. I told him that I wanted to be in the infantry and in the 101st Airborne. He told me that I needed to become an officer and go to West Point to do that.”
In 1966, St. John graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and went on to serve in the army for 26 years.
“I got a congressional appointment and all of that stuff and graduated from West Point,” St. John said. “I fulfilled my wish. I became an infantry officer, and my first assignment was in the 101st Airborne Division.”
Looking back, St. John said he would do everything all over again.
“I would say that serving the army and my country was important,” St. John said. “But it takes many forms. You don’t have to go into the infantry. For example, my son joined the Peace Corps. There are various ways to serve. I would tell my younger self to watch out for Vietnam.”
After graduating from West Point, St. John was deployed to Vietnam, where his division was nicknamed “The Wandering Warriors.”
“At Fort Campbell we did a lot of training in airborne operations and things like that,” St. John said. “In Vietnam, we did the whole gamut. The brigade I was in, was actually detached in the 101st Airborne Division and was assigned the role of what was called a fire brigade. We were sent into hot spots. So, for seven months, we just went everywhere. If there was a tough situation, we were generally sent there. That is how we were nicknamed The Wandering Warriors. We did everything from bayonet charges in War Zone D to street fighting. We were in the mountains, jungle, everywhere.”
After getting out of the service, St. John wrote a book based on his time in Vietnam, titled Tiger Bravo’s War: An epic year with an elite airborne rifle company in the 101st Airborne Division’s “Wandering Warriors,” at the height of the Vietnam War, which garnered several awards including a gold medal and Founders Award for an “exceptional work of literature” from the Military Writers Society of America, first place in military nonfiction from the 13th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards and first place in history at the IndieReader Discovery Awards.
“I spent seven years researching this book,” St. John said. “I interviewed 30 plus surviving members of the war. I went to the National Archives and did my research, getting all of the original battle maps. I spent a few years writing it and then published it.”
The feedback on the book so far, according to St. John, has all been positive.
“Especially the members of Tiger Bravo, they love it,” St. John said. “Their families also love it and that is part of the reason I wrote it. It was hard to write. Some parts I had to rewrite about three times. It was very cathartic, and some parts of the book are very intense.”
When St. John thinks of Veteran’s Day, he said he thinks of all of his fellow veterans.
“Unlike my generation, we were essentially shunned when we came back from Vietnam,” St. John said. “The country has completely shifted its mindset and I am very happy that these young veterans get to be recognized the way that they do.”
Now being American Legion Post 370’s newest member, St. John said American Legions across the nation are very important to all veterans.
“The American Legion is a way for veterans to keep serving,” St. John said. “It’s not just veterans helping veterans. The one in Highlands is very active and Ed has done a great job.”
For those young kids looking to join the service, or young active members, St. John said it is a good way to grow.
“Serving is a great way to grow, but I would make sure they understood that there is a sacrifice involved,” St. John said. “Not just for them, but for their families, as well. Veteran’s Day is about veterans, but sometimes we forget that the families are veterans that have sacrificed in some manner. A lot of times they are not recognized as much as they should be.”
With two successful careers behind him, retiring as a U.S. Army Colonel in 1993 and as a group executive of a global financial transactions processing company in 2012, St. John is now working on his bucket list, teaching and writing. He lives and writes in the woods, by a small lake, in Sky Valley, Ga.
For more information on Tiger Bravo, visit amazon.com and look up Tiger Bravo by Rick St. John.
- By Christopher Smith