A veteran pg 1 11-10-11
- Details
- Category: Past Issues
caption, page 1:
Vietnam Veteran
Alan Joslin of Putnam, a wounded veteran of the Vietnam war, hugs James W. Sampers' daughter after she presented him with a memorial rose at The Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. Sampers was killed in the attack that wounded Joslin. Courtesy photo.
caption, page 2:
Honored
Alan R. Joslin of Putnam is awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V" from Newport Naval Hospital Commanding Officer Capt. W. S. Hansen. The Bronze Star is one of the nation's highest combat awards. Courtesy photo.
By Ronald P. Coderre
On Sept. 7, 1969 four kilometers northwest of Cat Lai, Vietnam a U.S. Advisory Jeep being driven by .U.S. Navy EN 3 Alan R. Joslin, a Putnam native, was ambushed and hit with small arms fire or possibly blown up by a landmine. Joslin received multiple fracture wounds to the chest, back, right arm, face, buttocks and right thigh from the incident.
Alan Joslin: “I Was Lucky”
The picture is typical of those from the Vietnam War. It’s dusk, 7:20 p.m. to be exact; a U.S. Jeep is motoring down a dirt road with rice paddies on both sides. All is quiet; bur the silence is eerie for the driver Alan Joslin, USN EN 3 and his passenger James W. Sampers manning a machine gun on the rear of the Jeep.
The two-way radio crackles and it’s the radio man at Cat Lai asking if the pair would like an escort home. Joslin replies, “No need. We should be there in 15 minutes.” He replaces the speaker and almost simultaneously the Jeep is hit by enemy fire or a landmine and flipped over into a rice paddy.
The scene is chaos. Joslin has a broken leg and is unable to find his passenger, whom he’ll find out later was killed immediately in the ambush. As he’s laying there in shock he can see silhouettes wearing ‘rice hats’ and speaking Vietnamese approach.
As part of his preparation for his tour in Vietnam, Joslin had gone through amphibious assault and weapons training and a Vietnamese language school on a base in California. He puts his training to use by responding in Vietnamese to the approaching enemy.
“They were about 12 feet from me, when one of them said in their native language, ‘American adviser.’ At this point he’s shot through the lung and right arm. The Vietnamese rob him of his watch and wallet and depart leaving him for dead.
“I was lucky,” said Joslin.
In a state of shock, he gets up after the enemy departs and begins running. “I must have been going on adrenaline. I didn’t know what direction I was running. Everything was a blur, but I saw this light approaching,” he said.
Although he doesn’t remember much of what happened after that, he commandeered the vehicle, which was a moped, and managed to get on the back. The driver, whom Joslin says he has no recollection, drove him to the nearest village. Fortunately, the village was occupied by American military, who immediately called for a helicopter.
Joslin was med-i-evacked to the 3rd Field Hospital in Saigon and later flown to a military hospital in Japan. He eventually finished his hospitalization at the Newport Naval Hospital in Rhode Island. When Joslin was ambushed he was 10 months into his Vietnam tour. He spent 11 months in military hospitals and was honorably discharged in 1970.
Returning Home
Since the incident on Sept. 7, 1969, much has occurred in Alan Joslin’s life. In 1975 he met and married his wife Jo-Anne of 36 years. They have two adult daughters, Beth and Angela.
“I’m very proud of my husband,” said Jo-Anne Joslin. “He’s experienced sad times especially at Christmas, when we’re with family. He realizes that James Sampers isn’t with his family and that bothers him. But we work our way through it.”
Joslin remains in contact with Sampers’ wife and his four children, who are now all adults. In 1993 Joslin traveled to the Vietnam Wall in Washington where he was reunited with the radioman, who was the last person to speak with him prior to the ambush. He also met Sampers’ family for the first time.
“It was a very emotional moment for me at The Wall with the family. I had met the wife when I was in the hospital but this occasion was very special, especially when the daughter gave me a memorial rose,” said Joslin.
Joslin, who retired after 30 years as a truck mechanic for the State of Connecticut, still likes to tinker with automobiles in his garage behind his home. “There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t think of Jim. I have his picture in my garage and I make it a point to go by it every day.”
Joslin was awarded the Bronze Star for his action in Vietnam. And unfortunately because of government confusion was only awarded the Purple Heart 25 years after the incident.
Veterans Day is very special to Joslin. Four days prior, on Nov. 7, he’ll celebrate his 64th birthday. On the occasion of both events he thinks of Sampers, whose Vietnam Wall bracelet he has as a gift from the family. He also thinks of the 58,000 others who also gave their lives for their country in Vietnam.
“I don’t know what we gained. I hope we never have to do it again. But we enjoy freedom and I’d do it again if need be,” said Joslin speaking of the war. “I was lucky,” he said.