Joe Anzaldua enlisted in the Marine Corps at age 17, with his parents’ signed permission. After boot camp, he was sent to the Defense Language Institute in Monterrey to learn the Vietnamese language, and was then sent to Vietnam in March of 1969. He was initially assigned to a recoilless rifle platoon, but after two-and-a-half months became an intelligence scout. He saved a drowning child, and rescued the pilot, copilot, two gunners, and a wounded Marine from a crashed and flaming Chinook (for which he was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal with V). He survived a 155 booby trap, which blew him 45 feet in the air, and then returned to combat after recovering. Following a long battle during which he ran out of ammunition, Anzaldua was captured by the NVA and taken to a jungle POW camp in South Vietnam near the Laotian border. In 1971, he was marched barefoot to Hanoi and interned at Plantation Gardens and then the Hanoi Hilton. He was released in 1973. He returned to the States. Having been awarded a battlefield commission for his conduct while a prisoner of war, Anzaldua then successfully completed Officer Candidate School and became an infantry officer. He retired as a major after more than 24 years of service.

Key Words : Liberty Bridge, Kit Carson Scout, Plain of Jars, Agent Orange, Peace Committee, Code of Conduct, Uniform Code of Military Justice, Purple Heart, Navy and Marine Corps Medal

Key Names: Robert Alert, Colonel Ted Guy, David Harker, Hal Kushner, Tom Davis, Ike McMillan, Dennis Hammond, Robert Lewis, Gustav Mehrer, Julius Long, Frank Anton, [James] Daly, [Jim] Pfister