My Men Had Served a Year in Hell. I Was Getting Them Home, Come Humid Hell or High Water.

[douglas9]

General Becker shook my hand, said nice things about me, administered an oath in which I swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, then pinned a gold bar on my right collar while Major Phillips, my boss, pinned crossed infantry rifles on the left.

Ten days later, I got orders reassigning me to Fort Benning, Georgia. My combat tour in Vietnam was over.

I said my goodbyes and hopped a Huey to Camp Holloway, Pleiku. In the morning I reported for shipment and learned that I would be among 150 men returning. It was due in an hour. As the only officer in this group, I was handed a packet of orders and put in charge of getting every man in the group through the Military Airlift Command system. My first command!

The mere presence of a second lieutenant returning to the States raised questions. Wartime demands on the officer ranks had accelerated promotion cycles. Unless they were killed or court-martialed, second lieutenants became first lieutenants after one year. And they never deployed to Vietnam without at least six months of active duty.

A year later, when they rotated home, all were first lieutenants.

https://thewarhorse.org/soldier-overcomes-obstacles-to-get-troops-home-from-vietnam/