John Walton

(US Army)

 

John Walton, son of

Walmart founder

Sam Walton,

defied his father’s

objections in order to

serve in Vietnam. 

 

John left college in 1968,

galvanized by

the Tet Offensive

and frustrated by

academic debates.

“There were a lot of

people talking about

the war in the dorm

rooms,

but I didn’t think they

understood it,”

he later said. 

 

John enlisted in the Army, volunteering for the elite

Green Berets,

where he trained as a

Special Forces medic

and rose to assistant

team leader in the

secretive

Military Assistance

Command Vietnam-

Studies and Observation

Group (MACV-SOG).

 

Assigned to Spike Team

Louisiana at Forward

Operating Base 1

in Phu Bai,

John conducted covert

reconnaissance missions

in the hostile

A Shau Valley

and across the border

in Laos.

His defining moment

came on August 3, 1968,

during a perilous

operation in the

A Shau Valley,

a North Vietnamese Army (NVA) stronghold.

His six-man recon team,

led by Wilbur

“Pete” Boggs,

was pinned down

in the jungle.

One teammate was

killed instantly,

Boggs was critically

wounded,

and radio operator

Tom Cunningham lost

a leg.

As medic, John braved

relentless fire,

crawling to treat the

wounded while

engaging encroaching

NVA soldiers.

When a grenade

incapacitated Boggs,

John assumed command, calling in an F-4 Phantom

airstrike dangerously

close to their position,

breaking the enemy’s

advance.

 

Extraction was a

desperate gamble.

South Vietnamese pilot

Captain Thinh Dinh,

defying orders, landed

his King Bee helicopter

under heavy fire.

John helped load the

wounded as bullets

struck the chopper.

Overloaded, Thinh

rolled the helicopter

downhill to gain speed,

narrowly escaping

over the treeline.

John’s actions-treating

wounds,

fighting off attackers,

and coordinating the

airstrike—saved his

team from certain death.

For his “courage,

cool head, and medical

ability,”

he was awarded

the Silver Star,

the nation’s

third-highest valor award.

 

John’s service in

MACV-SOG, one of the

war’s most dangerous

assignments,

marked him as a soldier

of extraordinary grit.

His Vietnam experience,

forged in the crucible of

combat, defined a legacy

of bravery far removed

from his family’s retail

empire.

Tragically, John died

on June 27, 2005,

when his experimental

ultralight aircraft

crashed shortly

after takeoff in

Grand Teton National

Park, Wyoming.

God Bless this American!

 

존 월튼(미 육군)

월마트 설립자 샘 월튼의 

아들인 존 월튼은 

아버지의 반대에도 

불구하고 베트남에 

참전했습니다.

존은 1968년 대학을

 중퇴했습니다. 

뗏 공세에 자극을 받았고, 

학계 논쟁에 좌절감을 

느꼈습니다.

 그는 나중에 "기숙사에서 

많은 사람들이 전쟁에 대해

 이야기했지만, 

그들이 전쟁을 제대로 

이해하지 못하는 것 

같았습니다."라고 말했습니다.

존은 육군에 입대하여 정예 

그린베레에 자원 

입대했습니다. 

그곳에서 특수부대 

의무병으로 훈련을 받았고, 

비밀 군사지원사령부 

베트남 연구 및 관측단

(MACV-SOG)의 

부팀장으로 승진했습니다.

푸바이에 있는

 전방작전기지 1의 

루이지애나 스파이크 팀에

 배속된 존은 적대적인 

아샤우 계곡과 국경 너머 

라오스에서 비밀 정찰 

임무를 수행했습니다.

 그의 결정적인 순간은

 1968년 8월 3일,

 북베트남군(NVA)의 

거점인 아샤우 계곡에서 

위험천만한 작전을 

수행하던 중 찾아왔습니다. 

윌버 "피트" 보그스가

 이끄는 6인 정찰대는 

정글에 고립되었습니다.

 팀원 한 명은 즉사했고, 

보그스는 중상을 입었으며, 

무전수 톰 커닝햄은 다리를

 잃었습니다. 

의무병으로서 존은 

무자비한 포화 속에서도

 기어가며 부상자들을 

치료하는 한편, 

침범해 오는 북베트남군과

 교전했습니다.

 수류탄에 보그스가 

쓰러지자, 존은 지휘를 맡아 

F-4 팬텀을 위험할 정도로

 가까운 지점까지 공습하여 

적의 진격을 저지했습니다.

탈출은 절박한 

도박이었습니다. 

남베트남 조종사 틴 딘

대위는 명령을

 무시하고 킹 비 헬리콥터를

 맹렬한 포화 속에 

착륙시켰습니다. 

존은 헬리콥터에 총알이

 떨어지는 동안 부상자들을 

태우는 것을 도왔습니다.

 과적된 틴은 헬리콥터를

 내리막길로 굴려 속도를 

높였고, 

간신히 삼림 지대를 넘어 

탈출했습니다. 

존의 활약, 즉 부상 치료, 

적과의 전투, 

그리고 공습 조율 등은 

그의 팀을 죽음의 위기에서

 구했습니다. 

그의 "용기, 냉정한 판단, 

그리고 의료 능력"으로 

그는 미국에서 세 번째로 높은 용맹 훈장인 은성훈장을

 받았습니다.

전쟁에서 가장 위험한

 임무 중 하나였던 

MACV-SOG에서의 

존의 복무는 그를 비범한

 투지를 가진 군인으로

 만들었습니다.

 전투의 시련 속에서 다져진

 그의 베트남전 경험은 

그의 가족이 세운 

소매업과는 거리가 먼 

용맹의 유산으로 남았습니다. 

안타깝게도 존은 

2005년 6월 27일, 

그의 실험용 초경량 

항공기가 와이오밍주 

그랜드 티턴 국립공원에서 

이륙 직후 추락하면서

 사망했습니다.

이 미국인에게

 신의 가호가 있기를!