Cpl. Darren Walton, USMC Reconnaissance, Vietnam, Part 1
Listen now
Description
Darren Walton grew up north of San Francisco and stood out as a distance runner in high school. When he found out he would soon be drafted into the U.S. Army, Walton joined the Marine Corps, intending to be part ofthe track team. Things did not turn out that way, and Walton was soon undergoing all sorts of elite special forces training and eventually being assigned to a USMC reconnaissance unit. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," we share the first half of Walton's story of service. He explains the training he went through, how a recon team is assembled, how it prepped for missions, and what it was like to be the point man. Walton also shares battling the jungle along with the enemy, difficult life and death decisions that had to be made within seconds, and having to be extracted after being attacked by "rock apes." And don't miss next week's podcast when Walton shares his most harrowing moments in Vietnam, being snatched from almost certain death by extraction teams who disobeyed orders, how the Marines helped a local Vietnamese orphanage, and how hostility to the war back home compelled Walton to keep his service hidden for more than 40 years.
More Episodes
Frank Wright joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942, when he was just 16 years old. Before long, he became one of the famed Marine Raiders. After deploying first to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, Wright contracted malaria and had to spend time recovering. After that, he was part of Marine...
Published 11/20/24
Published 11/20/24
Lee Brousard enlisted in the Navy with the intention of joining the Naval Air Corps. But as he was traveling to Florida for flight training, the Navy changed those plans and sent him to San Diego for naval training. After completing basic training, Broussard then finished at the top of his class...
Published 11/13/24