William Crockett Dishon

 

Birth date

 

 11-27-30

 

 

Age they entered the service

 

 19

 

 

Hometown

 

 Snowville, Virginia

 

 

Branch of the service

 

 US Air Force

 

 

Rank

 

 Senior Master Sgt.

 

 

Name of their unit

 

 Korean War ( 544th Recon. Tech, Sq.)

 Vietnam War (432 Tac Recon. Sq.)

 

When they served

 

 Feb. 1950 to July 1971

 

 

Where did you serve?

 Ten different bases in various parts of the US. Germany, England, and Thailand.

 

 

Did you enlist or were you drafted?

 

 Enlisted

 

How did you feel about going to war?

 Volunteered for service in Korea, because WWII was fresh in my mind. Was not allowed to go because of security clearance. Gladly went to serve in Vietnam and Thailand. In retrospect the Vietnam War was a terrible waste of recourses and lives because our armed forces were restricted in their use of force for political reasons. The war could have been won except for the leftist fifth column agitating against the war in this country.

Did you have any family members that went to war? If so, did they survive?

 A brother in law in WWII and a brother in Vietnam. Both survived, but barely.

 

 

Were you ever wounded? How and where?

 

 No

 

 

 

Did you receive any medals? Which ones?

 No medals for valor. My unit was awarded the presidential unit citation. Personally received (4) air force commendations medals.

 

 

 

Do you have a war story you would like to tell?

There is one story of remarkable heroism of the men in our air sea recon sq.  One of our pilots was down in a rice paddy about 25k from Hanoi and they went in with helicopters and AC 130 gunship and snatched him out under intense fire from communist forces.

 

 

 

 

 

What was your reaction when you found out the war was over?

 Korea- I was happy that the war ended and at least the South Koreans did not end up living in communist slavery. Vietnam- The end of that War brought sadness, bitterness and disappointment to me personally. I think of the enormous sacrifice and the love of seven friends and for nothing. The Vietnamese still suffer under their combatants monsters

 

 

What was the most frightening event of the war for you?

 I was not personally involved in combat. My men used to get small arms fire when they went outside the fort to dispose of classified waste. Communist sappers got in our fence and blew up some of out planes and killed some sentries. I was not personally involved in disposing of these combatants, but there were anxious moments.

 

 

 

What was the most cherished memory of the war for you?

 A young Thai girl weeping and telling me what she was glad the Americans were there. She believed that her country was in danger and in her words her country would die. Her country wasn’t in danger but she had a clearer idea of what was at stake in Southeast Asia than anyone in this country.

 

 

 

 

Do you have regrets about your service in Vietnam?

 I have no regrets about serving my country. I sincerely regret that we were unable to give the Vietnamese people the gift of freedom after so much suffering and sacrifice. I regret that so many people in this country turned against it and openly supported the communists. They do not deserve the freedom they enjoy.

 

 

 

How do you feel about America today?

Our country seems to be confused and unable to unite against the dangers we face. There seems to be an element of the extremist political left that so not want to see our struggle against terrorism succeed. They believe they can make political gains if we fail.

 

 

How do you feel about the war on terrorism?

 It is real. It is now and we need to unite against that threat. We do not have time for political games.

 

 

 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

 

 No, nothing really.