A Journey Back in Time

It has been 50 years since the U.S. Marines launched "Operation No Name" during the Vietnam War in Hue. The attack began on April 7, 1968. Little did they know, they were embarking in a preplanned North Vietnamese Army field of attack.

Five days later, on April 13, Private First Class (PFC) Stephen J. Hinds, along with 25 other Marines, were killed.

"I'll be going out on a four-day sweep. I don't suppose I will make Easter Mass," wrote PFC Hinds in a letter to his mother, shared Heron resident Collen Hinds, PFC Hinds' sister.

PFC Hinds was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for putting his safety aside to assist his team's leader, who had been shot three times and needed immediate medical assistance. Upon leaving himself unprotected and moving his leader to a more secured location, PFC Hinds was fatally shot.

Collen Hinds has recently returned from a two-week voyage to Vietnam, where she embarked on a Military Historic Tours, Inc. excursion in recognition of the half-century anniversary. While visiting the area, she had the opportunity to pay her respects and attend the exact location where her heroic brother was shot.

When the war took place, the battle ground landscape was comprised of rice fields, with no buildings. Hinds shared photos of the same region, which reflected abundant progression. The area is now fully occupied with buildings and skyscrapers.

"It is crazy to think 50 years ago there was nothing here, and now you see tour buses parked all over," commented Hinds in amazement.

One special building was there 50 years ago and remains. Hinds was able to visit an old school house that served as a reconnaissance area for the U.S. soldiers. She shared that the building was used to regroup, and soldiers would pull the wounded to the school for protection.

PFC Hinds served in Vietnam for only two months. Hinds said her brother "wrote letters and you could tell how much he missed home." He formed tight bonds and friendships with fellow soldiers, of whom Hinds has been in contact with.

"These men formed a camaraderie," she said, addressing how each one must have felt so lonely and found comfort in one another's company. For that, she feels contented knowing soldiers formed a brotherhood with one another.

"I can see how my brother was totally out of his element," Hinds said. The region is hot, tropical, humid and not at all like Minnesota, where the Hinds family was raised. "I just kept thinking how my brother must have felt," she addressed how their upbringing was safe, secure, without any need of having to be defensive or "scrappy."

"It makes me sad that my brother was not able to enjoy the beauty. Instead he had to feel hatred, hurt and violence," Hinds commented while describing the exquisiteness of the Vietnamese landscape and people.

The Perfume River flows through the region's majestic mountain ranges. The awe-inspiring Marble Mountains, which served as a Vietcong hospital during the war, jet out of the ground in angular fashion giving home to several Buddhist and Hindu grottoes. The cluster of 5 mountains (named after the 5 elements: Kim (metal), Thuy (water), Moc (wood), Hoa (fire), and Tho (earth)), feature intricately detailed carvings of dragons and buddhas and an extensive tunnel system; which was used expansively during the war.

One other feature the landscape owns are undetonated bombs. Roughly a dozen bombs are discovered each year, according to Hinds. She shared a printed Vietnamese cartoon, that is currently in circulation, warning children of the danger associated with these bombs. Even without knowing the language, it is easy to understand the message by simply viewing the pictures. Stay away and report!

"Wonderful, humble, kind and very considerate the people are," she expressed. Through all interactions, she described how the Vietnamese are polite, gentle, respectful, compassionate, detail oriented and sincere. "It is a beautiful place and the people are beautiful too. I hope this (war) is to never be repeated again," Hinds reflected.

Four platoons fought in the four-day sweep and 112 Marines lost their lives. according to Hinds. Author Grady Birdsong, Vietnam Marine Veteran, recently published To the Sound of the Guns: 1st Battalion, 27th Marines from Hawaii to Vietnam 1966-1968 sharing his personal account of the battle. It is in his writing where gratitude, recognition and acknowledgement are granted to the many men who gave their all.

Birdsong includes quoted military reasoning for PFC Hinds' Bronze Star Medal. "Hinds courage, selfless concern for the welfare of his comrade and unfaltering devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country."

"I had to do something," Hinds said describing her decision to work as a nurse at the VA hospital in Houston in 1972, when the end of the war was in sight. It was here she witnessed first-hand the treacherous effects of war. Fighting to keep dry eyes while briefly reliving those days, she expressed frustration for the current lack of funding and help veterans receive.

For one year, she continued to give her all to those who gave their all for America. After her time in Houston, she relocated to Sanders County and continues working as a nurse in Sandpoint, Idaho. She is celebrating 35 years at Bonner General Hospital.

"I did find some closure," she admitted upon completing her tour of Vietnam. Hinds encourages anyone who is a veteran or has been touched by the war to reach out to her. "It would be good to connect," she said.