It felt hot? a burning sensation similar to the sting of a bee.
That’s how Gary D. Frank, now a 69-year-old White Cloud, Mich. resident, described the feeling of fragments from a Viet Cong booby trap that ripped through his right ear.
‘They call those bombs IEDs or improvised explosive devices today,? said Frank. ‘The fragments just went through and came out the other side. I was patched up and the next day I was back out on patrol.?
Frank’s wounds were received near the Vietnam City of Chu Ulei in 1970. It was the second time the San Antonio, Texas native had been wounded since first arriving in May 1968 in the central Vietnam City of Pleiku.
Frank was actually awarded two Purple Hearts’presented for being wounded or killed in any action against an enemy of the United States or opposing armed forces. One of the two Purple Hearts was misplaced early last year in the Clio area and ended up in the hands of Ortonville VFW Post Commander Dennis Hoffman. After recovering the Purple Heart, Hoffmann, who served in the Army in the late 1960s tracked down Frank to an address in White Cloud, a small town located just southwest of Big Rapids.
Hoffmann contacted the White Cloud VFW Post 2053 Quarter Master Robert Burke.
‘Burke did not know Frank, but said the address was just down the street from his home,? said Hoffmann. ‘So Burke drove to Frank’s house and sure enough’he had lost his Purple Heart when he moved last year.?
Frank was surprised.
‘Honestly, I thought I’d never see that (Purple Heart) again,? he said. ‘I thought that it was gone forever. I’m just very appreciative of everyone who helped return the medal.?
The government mailed Frank his second Purple Heart after he was discharged from the Army in 1971, he said.
‘My first Purple Heart was pinned on me by General Abrams, Jr.,? said Frank. ‘He also presented me with a Bronze Star with a ‘V? on it for valor. I really don’t want to talk about that.?
Creighton Williams Abrams was the United States Army general who commanded all military operations in the Vietnam War from 1968?72. Abrams died in 1974. The Bronze Star is awarded for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.
Frank’s first wounds were from the Kontum region of Vietnam when fragmentation from several ricocheting bullets pierced his face and hands.
‘I was in the hospital for about a day, but I did not go back out in the bush with my unit for about a week,? recalls Frank. ‘That was during my first tour of Vietnam, which ended in 1969. I returned to Fort Carson, Colorado then back to Vietnam for my second tour the next year.?
Frank, who enlisted in 1964, reflected on his seven year Army career that started when he left high school at 17-years-old.
‘I had a lot of family issues at the time and I just figured the Army would be a better direction than where I was at the time,? he said. ‘I just really wanted to serve my country.?
Frank was sent to Fort Polk, La. for basic training and advanced infantry training.
‘They were teaching us to fight in the jungles,? he said. ‘At that time joining the Army was the best thing that ever happened to me.?
In May 1967, Frank, a sergeant in command of eight men, received orders to ship out to the central Vietnam city of Pleiku for his first tour of duty.
‘When you get off the aircraft for the first time in Vietnam you never forget the heat, humidity and the smell,? he recalled. ‘I was just 21-years-old and remember wondering if I could pull the trigger if I had to. Right after we landed (in Vietnam) there was a big military push and we went to a forward Army airstrip. Our first job was to help unload the wounded and dead. After what I saw there at that airstrip? I told myself I was not going to let that happen to my men.?
Today Frank suffers from numerous maladies as a result of his two tours in Vietnam’including mental issues, diabetes, cancer and high blood pressure. Many of his symptoms have been related back to the use of Agent Orange’one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program in Vietnam from 1961 to 1971.