The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/315570
port at Louisville and we thought we were going to Par- is Island. It was just after dark when we took off and I start- ed noticing it was getting light- er the longer we flew. We had no idea and we landed in San Diego. "It was a completely differ- ent world, climate and cultur- ally," said English. While at Camp Pendleton during their basic training, English rated expert at the fir- ing range. He said he hadn't fired a gun more than a cou- ple times. So while in training he listened and paid attention. "We had a lot of guys from out west who grew up shooting. They already knew it all so they didn't pay attention dur- ing the training and most of them didn't fire expert." He said one day while in line, all the guys who fired ex- pert were asked to step out of line. They were told there were some openings in snip- er school. He decided to do it. It was a four week course, followed up by about another two months and then he was off. They flew from the Unit- ed States to Okinawa, Japan. "That was as far as the com- mercial airlines went back then." They were then loaded in- to C130s, also known as Old Shaky. English said they were sitting there and the pi- lots started it up and it ran for about 15 minutes. He said the noise and vibration was so bad he thought they had tak- en off. Then all of a sudden they shut the engines down the tail door opened up. The pilot told them there was a vi- bration and it would have to be fixed. "I thought with all that noise and different vibrations, how in the world did they hear that one? " When they arrived in Viet- nam, he said they were load- ed into "deuce and a halfs" and driven about 15 minutes to a base camp. "When I first got to Viet- nam, I wasn't a sniper. I was with the 11th Delta Compa- ny, First Battalion of the First Regiment of the First Division. It was a regular infantry com- pany." English said from the time they left Okinawa, it was tense for him. "You are always in doubt. You are thinking in two more hours, is this going to be the end of my life? Here we live in security. There is no secu- rity over there," said English. He said in World War II the warring parties knew where they were going to clash. But in Vietnam, there were no lines and they didn't know where or when they would be attacked. "There was no front line. "When you can have all the training in the world, but un- til you see the real thing you just don't know. When you first come under fire, if you survive it, I don't guess it ever gets eas- ier, but you learn to accept it," said English. He started as a backup for a sniper. He said the snipers go out in twos. The sniper car- ried a Remington Model 700 308 caliber rifle with a scope and capacity of five rounds. His back up carried an M-14 in case things went bad. English said snipers typical- ly fired from 500 meters away. After a couple of months, Eng- lish became the sniper. "There is one major differ- ence between being a sniper and being in a regular infan- try platoon. The one big differ- ence that will stick with you is in line company when the first bullets start coming, when it is all said and done, you are literally just slinging bullets. You know they are out there and you are here. You really don't know if you hit anybody or not. You know the bulk of yours hit them, but not if you actually got them. "When you are looking through the scope and you see the guy go down, it was you. No one else fired. "You are doing your job. But over the years, it will start to work on you because you ac- tually know you have killed somebody" said English. When English was asked how he dealt with that, he an- swered "I knew you would ask me that," said English as he got up and walked to the kitchen and started digging through his cabinet. He brought back an armful of pill bottles. "I take this one to go to sleep at night. I take this one for blood pres- sure and this one to stay calm, and another nerve pill. There is a difference between nerve and anxiety pills," said Eng- lish, who is now 66 years old. "It wasn't always like this," said English. When he returned home from Vietnam, he farmed and drove trucks. He started driv- ing long haul trucks. "I worked 80 to 100 hours a week. I nev- er slowed down. I would just work and eat, and when I quit, I would just go right to sleep. I wasn't on any medication." It was a work ethic he had ingrained in him by his father. "I think I can say this. My fa- ther is the only person I know whoever worked three full- time jobs for 30 plus years." English said he was a full- time Presbyterian minister, he farmed and kept animals, and work another full-time job at King's Station Mine. "I can honestly say I nev- er had a job I didn't love. I loved what I was doing. I would just as soon be roll- ing down the highway as out on a golf course. Now I real- ize that is how I dealt with it. I just worked until I dropped at night. I never slowed down and I never had to think about it," said English. He said his travels as a trucker and in the military have taken him to all 50 states. "But I have never put my feet down in Hawaii. I'm going to have to change that." He said while in the military, he flew to Hawaii, but never got out of the plane. "I think in 2005 I had some- thing happen to me I wasn't planning on. I started getting old. I was awake, but I didn't want to work any more. I would pull into a truck stop and I would rest. That was idle time. . . When you have idle time, things start floating back on you and you start re- membering things." Those memories took a toll on English. He retired. "My nerves were totally shot." He attended clinics for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, including a 14-week clinic in Waco, Texas. He came out with a 50 percent disability. He has physical scars as well. He was injured in an ac- cident by a young green sol- dier, who was killed by a boo- by trap in a foxhole. Shrap- nel, dirt and debris from the explosion hit English in the back. It caused a large cut. "They tried to clean it out, but they didn't get it all." Years later when he re- turned to Pike County, he met his wife, Ruthie(Myers), be- cause of his injury. An infec- tion flare up caused him to have to have another surgery. "It was kind of like a backhoe scraping out my old wound to get all of it out. They got it all but it left a big wound." English said Ruthie, who grew up near him when he was a kid, was the nurse who was assigned to help him with the recovery. When they were grow- ing up, she was eight years younger than him. "When you are in your 40s and 50s, eight years isn't near as much difference as when you are kids." "It is ironic. When I got all this traveling done, I came home and married the girl next door. So I didn't get very far. God put us together," said English. He said their farms when they were kids were next to each other. The two eventually got married and lived in Algiers until last Fall when they moved into Gibson County near Mt. Olympus. He may have ended up not very far from where he start- ed, but on his way there and back, he traveled to 16 dif- ferent countries and more than 4 million miles. "That is enough to go around the world 100 times. It would take you to the moon and back about five times." English stays active in the Petersburg VFW, where he is adjunct, and oversees sched- uling of graveside ceremo- nies for veterans. He is also a member of the Rolling Thun- der and rides his Harley with the group. He plans to ride to Washington, D.C., in the near future with the group. Augusta Cemetery Annual Business Meeting Monday, May 26 Immediately following ceremony All contributions for the cemetery upkeep will be gratefully appreciated. McClure Cemetery Please send your donations for the care and upkeep of our cemetery to: John Palmer 401 n. 10th St., Petersburg, In 47567 Thank you for your past support. We would like to thank everyone who has donated in the past to the Cemetery. Due to the gas prices, the cost of keeping the cemetery mowed doesn't come cheap. So to keep it looking nice for our loved ones who are resting there, we are in need of your donations again. Any donations you can give would be very appreciated. Donations Needed Make checks payable to: Martin Cemetery Your donations can be sent to: Sue Houchin PO Box 132, Monroe City, IN 47557 donations needed oak Hill Cemetery Winslow, Indiana Dear friends of Oak Hill Cemetery, it's that time of year again when we have to ask for your help. If we are to keep the cemetery mowed and in good shape, we need your donations. Due to low interest rates, we don't get much interest money for maintenance. Your donations will be greatly appreciated. Send donations to Kenneth L. Curtis or one of the other trustees: P.o. Box 99, Winslow, in 47598 Sincerely, Paul Poehlein, Robert Erwin, Terry Strobel, Richard Tisdale, Diane Foster, Doug Foster, Kenneth L. Curtis SunSet Cemetery If anyone is interested in making donations to Sunset Cemetery, you may send them to: Patti Barnett 1585 N. County Road. 500 E. Winslow, IN 47598 We will also be collecting during memorial Day weekend at the cemetery. All donations are greatly appreciated. We would like to thank Coleman's Mowing Service and others for always keeping the cemetery looking beautiful. You may contact Greg Poehlein at 812-789-5405 for more information pertaining to the pur- chase of plots. Williams Cemetery West Highway 56, Bowman, IN To the faithful friends of Williams cemetery: The long, cold winter is over. Spring has arrived and so has the mowing season. Please assist with the mowing expenses as you have so faithfully done in the past. The only other revenue we have is the sale of burial plots. Donations may be sent to: Carol Moore 2614 W. St. Rd. 56 Petersburg, IN 47567 812-354-6634 Jerry Johnson 3728 W. St. Rd. 56 Petersburg, IN 47567 812-354-6779 James english and his Pike County friend, Denny tredway, had a chance meeting in vietnam. they were in different units and branches of the military, but happened to be in the same place. "i recognized his voice," said english. Briefs Prides Creek Beach will open this weekend Prides Creek's Beach will open on Saturday, May 24 and be open through Memorial Day from noon until 6 p.m. It will close and then re- open on Saturday, May 31 for the remainder of the summer. PC Showcase set for May 21 Pike Central Middle and High Schools will be hosting a PC Show- case on Wednesday, May 21 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. This event will showcase many stu- dent and staff projects. Categories include art, engineering, biomed- ical, math, student au- thored stories, science and "selfies." Everyone is invited to come out and see what Pike Central has to offer. Health Fair at Amber Manor May 28 A Health Fair will take place on Wednes- day, May 28, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Am- ber Manor. There will be free blood pressure checks, grip and pinch strength testing, and balance screening. Free bottled water and healthy snacks will be provided. Car wash for Team Gage May 31 The Pike Central High School boys' track and field and girls' softball teams are hosting a free will donation car wash at Casey's in Petersburg on Saturday, May 31, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to bene- fit Team Gage. Gage Besing is a five- year-old Petersburg boy with a brain tumor. Teen Miss Pike County pageant Applications are be- ing accepted for the 2014 Miss Teen 4-H Fair Pageant. Contes- tants must be ages 13 to 16 and a resident of Pike County. For more information and to sign up, call Summer Sorgi- us 812-766 -2387 and leave message. Junior Miss Pike County pageant Applications are be- ing accepted for Junior Miss Pike County Pag- eant. Pike County girls ages 9 to 12 may partic- ipate. To sign up, call Chelsea Sorgius at 812- 639 -4393. H English in Vietnam Continued from page 1 James english served the last half of his enlist- ment as a sniper trainer. above he works with a trainee on proper technique. A-4 Wednesday, May 21, 2014 The Press-Dispatch