SALUTE TO VETERANS 2025: Battlefield promotions and lasting scars: a Vietnam veteran's story

Wayne Wilkerson really tried to avoid going to Vietnam. But eventually, in 1969, his luck ran out and he found himself in a war zone and receiving fast promotions.

“I went to college right after high school,” Wilkerson explained. “So whenever my draft number would come up, I would get a student deferment and avoid getting drafted. That worked a few times until the government decided I was getting drafted anyway.”

Wilkerson, who was nearing the age of 21 at the time, was the oldest soldier in his platoon at basic training, and he soon found himself accelerating in rank at a fast pace.

“I had honestly tried to get into the National Guard or the Reserves, but back then you had to know the right people and have the right connections for that,” Wilkerson laughed. “But I ended up making it to E6 (staff sergeant) in 16 months.”

Initially, Wilkerson was assigned the job of radio telephone operator, and he did his job training at Fort Gordon, Georgia.

“It didn’t take long at all for me to realize that walking around with a pack on my back with an antenna sticking out kind of made me a target,” Wilkerson remarked. “I delegated that responsibility to someone else as soon as I could.”

As fortune would have it, it wouldn’t take long at all for Wilkerson to get that opportunity because within a few months he was in a leadership position.

“I was in Vietnam for a year, and my promotion from E5 to E6 was basically a battlefield promotion,” Wilkerson explained. “And I’m very grateful and proud to say that the year I was there and leading other soldiers, I didn’t have a single man get killed.”

That doesn’t mean Wilkerson and his men didn’t see any conflict, though.

“My first hit — I call it my Forrest Gump shot — was a shot right to the buttocks,” Wilkerson laughed. “But after that, I took a bigger hit that put shrapnel in both my shoulders. Some of that shrapnel is still there.”

It was during that particular conflict that Wilkerson not only earned his purple heart for being wounded in battle, but he also earned the Bronze Star. The Bronze Star medal is awarded for acts of heroism, meritorious service or outstanding achievement. It’s the fourth highest combat award in the U.S. Armed Forces.

“There was an explosion and one of my squad leaders went down,” Wilkerson recalled. “He was badly hurt and part of his face was almost gone. So I grabbed him and carried him out of the conflict area after I called in for a medivac. I was able to bandage his face and save his life. And I made sure all my men were out before I called in medivac.”

A few months after that situation, Wilkerson was wounded again when another explosion on the battlefield sent shrapnel into his throat near his Adam’s apple.

“I honestly thought that was it, at the time,” Wilkerson remarked. “I thought it was over.”

A few of his nine lives

Looking back on his time in Vietnam, Wilkerson said he is grateful for his service and he is even more grateful that he didn’t lose any men under his command.

“There were a couple of times where someone pointed out that I probably lost a couple of my nine lives,” Wilkerson laughed. “I think I may have used all of them up at this point.”

Like many other veterans of the Vietnam conflict, Wilkerson said he sometimes struggles with post traumatic stress disorder, but he receives therapeutic treatment for it at the VA hospital.

“Being in the VVA (Vietnam Veterans of America) organization also helps a lot,” Wilkerson said. “It helps to be surrounded by people who have been through similar experiences and they know what you’re going through.”

Also, like many other veterans, Wilkerson said his wife has had to endure a lot because of his service.

“Bless her heart, my wife has been through Vietnam, too,” Wilkerson remarked. “In my sleep, I have had terrible dreams and lashed out and fought while I was asleep. It can be very violent. And she has been there for that.”

Within six months of returning home from Vietnam, Wilkerson said he found himself getting back into uniform by joining the National Guard in Warrensburg.

“I ended up spending 23 years in the National Guard,” Wilkerson said with a smile. “I was a crew chief in Warrensburg, and I ended up retiring as a first sergeant. While I was in the National Guard, I used my GI Bill and finished my college education, too.”

Wilkerson went on to work as faculty at Three Rivers College, where he taught business management for 26 years before retiring.

“I definitely have had a full life and I consider myself fortunate, but I’m sure I’ve used all my extra lives up, at this point,” Wilkerson mused with a laugh. “I was wounded in battle a few times, I got malaria in Vietnam, I have had three heart attacks, and I was the first person in my family to develop diabetes. But I keep going.

“It reminds me of what my dad told me when I got drafted. He told me that when you get called, you have to do your duty. And I would give that advice to any young person thinking about enlisting. When duty calls, you must respond. And don’t forget the America you’re fighting for — regardless of what branch of the military you might be in.”