"As a kid, we all have bumps and bruises and sprains and broken fingers, or whatever it is. And there's kind of a lesson that you learn, and that lesson is, ultimately, those injuries kind of heal, and you're back in the backyard again playing the pick-up ball."
Description of Interview:
The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Rocky Bleier in the 16th round of the NFL's 1968 draft. After his rookie season he was drafted again, this time by the U.S. Army. He served with C Company, 4th of the 31st, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, Americal Division at Hiep Duc. He tells of the wait-a-minute vines, and elephant grass, the leeches, and the red ants of Vietnam. He remembers being asked upon arrival at the company whether he was “a head, or an alchie?” (that is, a pot smoker or juicer [beer drinker]). He describes the day his company was sent to rescue B Company, who had been pinned down near Million Dollar Hill, and were themselves ambushed in a rice paddy. He was shot in the leg and managed to crawl back to the tree line, where an enemy hand grenade bounced off his captain’s back and exploded between them, filling his legs with shrapnel. And he describes his rehabilitation, his recovery, and his return to the Steelers in 1972, with whom he went on to win four Super Bowl rings over the next eight seasons.
Key Words: moon landing, care packages, mail call, hot chocolate, C-4, M79, "ChiCom" hand grenade, morphine, wooden cross, Million Dollar Hill, Super Bowl
Key Names: Captain Tom Murphy, Second Lieutenant Jim Simms, Dr. Andy Laorr, Art Rooney, Jan Scruggs
Unit:
C Company, 4th Battalion, 31st Regiment, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, Americal Division
Service Location:
I Corps, Chu Lai, Hiep Duc Valley
Read the Complete Transcript of this Interview.