Donald Bussard, right, is pictured with Jay Beavers while in Vietnam. They remain close friends.

Donald and Linda Bussard sit inside their RV at the Pike Lake Campground in Warsaw Friday morning, hours before he was set to travel to Indianapolis before participating in an Honor Flight in Washington D.C. Saturday, Sept. 10.  InkFreeNews photo by Dan Spalding.

By Dan Spalding
InkFreeNews

WARSAW – You don’t need to hear the details to understand the magnitude of what Donald Bussard witnessed in what he calls the Mother’s Day ambush in May of 1969 in Vietnam.

Bussard, barely 20 years old at the time, was part of a heavy weapons platoon stationed near Duc Pho in south central Vietnam when the attack happened.

His Army platoon started with 97 people that morning and by the end of the ambush, he was one of 27 who was not killed or injured.

At one point during the attack, he was momentarily out in the open when a bullet struck and passed through his backpack from one side to the other. The impact propelled him several feet into the air and he didn’t realize until later how close he came to being killed when he saw the damage to the backpack.

Those memories of combat – some too painful to discuss – are also intertwined with a anguish of returning home afterward to a country where few seemed to appreciate their efforts and sacrifice.

“The worst part of it was coming home because they didn’t like us. They called us baby killers,” Bussard said.

The Army Sergeant retired from the military in 1970. He went on to have a 37-year career at United Telephone, which later became Century Link by the time he retired.

These days, he and his wife, Linda, are reverse snowbirds. They live near The Villages in Florida but reside at the Pike Lake Park Campground during the summer months so they can be near family.

On Saturday, he was expected to participate in an Honor Flight, a program that honors veterans by sending them to Washington D.C. 

He was nominated by a neighbor in the campground before the pandemic.

The Honor Flight was expected to include 88 veterans traveling with 88 guardians. Travel, food and support staff is provided free of charge.

Terry Bussard

Joining Bussard is one of his two brothers, Terry, also of Warsaw, who served in the Air Force, but did not see combat.

The group was expected to gather in Indianapolis Friday night, Sept. 9, before an early morning flight to Washington D.C., whether they planned to visit the World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean Memorial and the Vietnam wall. He said he’s especially looking forward to seeing the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery.

“I’d love to see the wall because there’s a lot of names on there of guys I was over there with,” he said.

During a conversation Friday, hours before leaving, Bussard, 74, shared a few light-hearted stories about his time in Vietnam and said he’s still closely connected with two army buddies – Jay Beavers of Texas and Ed Forest of New York.

“We’re brothers,” he said.

But the war left an impact on him. He still has dreams. He won’t sit with his back to the door and distractions prevent him from enjoying a book.

His eyes well up at times when he thinks about some of the experiences.

“There’s not a day goes by I don’t think about being over there – every day,” he said.

Bussard said Friday he was unsure how he’ll feel after the Honor Flight. Will it ease his anger over the country’s indifference and hostility that was alive in the 1970s?

He said he was told about a veteran who never could a good night’s sleep until after his Honor Flight experience.

“It could be therapeutic,” he said.