Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
1:48 | After being knocked unconscious by mortar fire, McMahon finds himself stateside with nothing but his hospital pajamas. His postwar life includes schooling and a career with Amtrak.
Keywords : mortar fire Amtrak Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) National Railroad Passenger Corporation Aviation Tech school Chelsea Naval Hospital
17-year-old Charlie McMahon is sent to the Mediterranean to train as a US Marine. Under the tutelage of hard-as-nails Vietnam vets, he learns the lessons that will save his life.
Charlie McMahon leads a convoy into Hue, unaware that the Tet Offensive has begun. Upon discovering a city occupied by stubborn North Vietnamese forces, he and his team tread carefully, battling the entrenched army street-by-street, house-by-house.
On the road to Hue, McMahon encounters legendary war correspondent Catherine Leroy, who surrenders herself to North Vietnamese occupiers for her now famous article "The Enemy Lets Me Take His Picture". Years later, the two reconnect.
While chasing down the enemy following the Battle of Hue, McMahon is wounded by a surprise grenade attack. He remains in combat, and sees out the war with a hunk of shrapnel in his leg that remains to this day.
McMahon becomes part of the Combined Action Program (CAP), working with Vietnamese militia to protect villages from Viet Cong thugs. On one occasion, the village is spared from enemy attack by an army artillery unit acting without orders. He and the villagers develop a bond that would last for decades.
Charlie McMahon reflects on the struggles of Vietnam vets returning to hostile war sentiment in the US. He volunteers with the VA, helping younger vets returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.
