Baldemar Trevino Jr.
My father’s name is Baldemar Trevino Jr. He is the only son of Baldemar Sr. and Zoila Trevino. His mother always used to say that she was the Queen because if you translate her full name, Zoila Reyna de Trevino, it means I am the Queen of Trevino. He was prematurely born on a ranch in Charlotte, Texas weighing a mere three and one half pounds. He has one younger sister, Yolanda. Baldemar is 55 years old and his sister is five years younger.
Baldemar grew up in Pleasanton and graduated from Pleasanton High School in 1966. He was around 12 years old when he started working at a full-service gas station. That is something many of us have never witnessed. When he first started working there, he needed a stool to be able to clean the car windshields. Just before graduation he began working at a grocery store as a butcher. He did this for about six months until he got drafted into the army at age 19. He wanted to buy a car, but his dad told him to wait because he might get drafted, and he was right. Baldemar’s Chevy had to wait until he got out of the Army. In Vietnam, Baldemar was a corporal in the infantry and finished as a sergeant. He was in the Army for two years and Vietnam for one year. He earned six medals. The Vietnam Campaign Medal, which was given to most everyone who served in Vietnam, the Combat Infantry Badge was also given if a soldier fought for at least 30 days, and the Army Commendation Medal. The Air Medal was awarded for those soldiers who were dropped via helicopter into hostile grounds where they were often immediately fired upon. He also received the Purple Heart given to those wounded in combat. Baldemar was shot in his left torso area. And lastly he received the Bronze Star, which was awarded for valor.
When he got out, he went back to the grocery store as a butcher. It was at this same grocery store that he met his wife. Her name is Minerva Tijerina Trevino. She was the daughter of a customer at the store. They got married on October 14, 1972 in Charlotte at St. Rose of Lima Church. They moved to Edinburgh and Baldemar went into sales with a company called Jacob B. Decker (meats) and Sons. Later they moved back to the country life close to his dad’s farm. And finally they settled in Jourdanton and made a permanent home. They have four children, three girls and one boy. There names are Annabelle, 29; Adriana, 28; Baldemar, 24, and Anna Marie, 19.
Baldemar is a middle-class, Catholic Democrat. He collects old coins as a sort of hobby, although he ponders why, because he says he just going to have to give them to his children when he dies. He enjoys watching television is his spare time, and when he is in the living room he owns it. One can bet that not a wise soul will change sci-fi or John Wayne on him.
What kind of views did you have on the Vietnam War prior to being drafted?
Well, I didn't really have any political views, or really never thought much of it. I wasn't in the military at the time. I just didn't think of it at all.
How is it that you were drafted, because I was under the impression that the only son of a family could not be drafted?
Well from what I understand names were chosen by commitee people in Atascosa county. Now, I don't know the exact criteria, but I personally believe that racial prejudice had something to do with it.
Did you have any intentions of enlisting?
No I didn't. I just wasn't interested in volunteering to go to the military, whether there was a war on or not. I would much rather just gone on and done other things and not waste any time.
How did you feel when you learned you were being drafted?
Well I was a little disappointed. I was about to buy a new car, and I had to put that on hold since I had to, you know, to go and at least get tested to see if I would at pass, you know, to get drafted. I was disappointed. I would have just as soon gone on and done other things, not wasted two years in the military, you know, at the time.
Did you think you were fighting for a good cause?
Well, when I went down there from what I understood I would assume it was a good cause, but being down, I mean, cause was not really something that I was concerned with. I had a sense of duty and obligation to the goverment. I was drafted and I had to put in my two years, and you know, as the military says it's not up to me to question why just to do or die.
What were your views on the communist party, if any?
Well I didn't know much about the communist party. I was young, I didn't keep up with to much with politics. I always heard that it wasn't very good and you didn't have to much freedom, so I assumed that it wasn't something you'd like to be, you know, controlled under.
Did you serve longer than you were required?
No, just a year. I almost extended 30 someout days to get an early out, but a when they told me that my unit was going to go into Cambodia well I didn't feel like going to Cambodia. I figured I would just go home and spend six months in the states.
What was you worst and best experience?
Well I don't know what the worst experience would be, there was a lot of, I guess bad experiences or a lot of things would qualify under that answer. I mean the food wasn't that good when you eat out of a can most of the time. The smell when you first get into the country was terrible. The weather and the monsoon season was terrible. Having to sleep tied to a tree on a hill top sometimes to keep from rolling off, I mean that was bad. Being away from your family and loved ones was, you know a bad thing. I guess being shot was probably one of the worst.
Through research I have learned that drugs such as heroin, opium, and weed cigarettes soaked in opium were readily available and cheap. Was this true as far as you could tell? Did you see them being used around you? Did you use any of these drugs?
I didn't see much of any of the hard drugs, now I did see a few people smoking marijuana, and no I did not.
Do you still talk to any friends that you had in Vietnam?
Ah no, when we left Vietnam everybody went in different directions and we lost contact with each other.
Did you have the unfortunate experience to lose a friend or loved one in Vietnam?
Well, fortunately I didn't get to see anybody that I knew a killed, and I didn't have any friends from my hometown that were there with me I just made friends with people that were there, and there was nobody killed in the year that I was there. Their was only three of us wounded, but nobody was killed.
As with any war soldiers sometimes struggle with the horrors of war. Did you experience any trauma from what you saw? If so, how did you cope with it? Do you know of anyone who had a hard time dealing with the issues of war?
Ah no I don't know of anybody personally that had any problems or issues after they came back from the war, even though I've heard that a lot of them have, and as far as my being affected well I think I'm normal but that doesn't mean I am. I could be affected and not really know it.
Did you encounter any "cave rat" attacks or destroy any?
Well, in the area that I worked in we didn't encounter very many tunnels. We never had any problems with that.
Vietnam was the first war to be televised, how do you think this affected the public's opinion of the war?
Well, I think for the first time people got to see the horrors of war, and I don't think they like it they were not prepared for it. The Vietnam War was not a very popular war to begin with and the more they saw of the ugliness of war on TV the less support that the public had for the war.
Did you write letters home, if so to whom did you write?
At the time I would write to my parents and my girlfriend and that was it.
Did fear play a big factor in the time you spent in Vietnam?
No, actually I don't think it did. I don't think that I can say I was worried or scared, ah, you just always had to be prepared and react in the situation, ah, concentrate basically at the task on hand. It was just a question of, you know, you had to shoot or get shot so that was basically it, you couldn't afford to hesitate. And being young and thinking back on that, I guess being young and immature, a you know 18, 19, 20-year-old kids at that time I mean were not even scared of the devil at that age. We're too dumb to know anything about fear yet.
Did you receive any injuries?
Yes, I did. I have a gun shot wound. It still bothers me a little bit I have a problem
with twisting and stuff, you know it will pull on the muscles and I still have pieces of shrap
metal that worked the way of the gun shot wound to the outside of my skin.
What type of medical care did you receive, did you return to the field or were you sent home?
Well, when I was shot there was actually two of us shot at the same time, and we were basically given first aid or bandaged out in the field. Then they flew us with a helicopter into a base camp medical unit and from their we were transfered into a hospital unit. I was there for probably a week and a half to two weeks and then I was sent back to the field.
When you received your medals was there a ceremony in which you got to meet the president?
No, they just passed the orders down from the main head quarters down to the company commanders and down to the platoon commanders, and they basically just issued a piece of paper saying you had this medal and they gave you the little medal in the box, but their was no ceromonies of any kind.
Do you have any medical conditions that you think may be attrubuted to Vietnam?
Yeah. Well I have a partial loss of hearing from the loud noise of machine guns, artillery, tanks, and other things, so that you can attribute to the war in Vietnam.
Reports of Vietnam's use of the chemical Agent Orange are believed to have caused cancer in soldiers. Have you ever heard of the reports? Do you think you were exposed to the chemical?
Yes. I have heard of the reports. We were in areas where Agent Orange was sprayed, and I have had a problem with cancer, even though its to this day it's is not one of the ones that is attributed to the Agent Orange as of yet. It is in the studies and probably will be in the future. I have also had sugar diabetes and high blood pressure that are attributed to Agent Orange.
What kind of welcome did you receive when you returned home?
Well, I guess two types of welcome. One when we flew back from Vietnam into the States through Californa people weren't really glad to see you as a military soldier coming back from Vietnam. I saw some soldiers get spit on and whatever. When I got home family and friends were happy to see me and we just celebrated and had a barbeque and that was it.
"The taboos after returning home was you don't talk about being in combat and we won't ask you about it. It was a comfortable contract." (John Wheeler, Veteran) Was this true in your hometown?
I would imagine that that would probably be true to a big extent. Nobody really asked to many questions. I don't know if they didn't want to know or if they just didn't want to pry. So if nobody asked I didn't say anything.
After you returned home the war raged on. How did it affect your everyday life? Was it a topic of conversation for you and your wife or friends?
No. When I got back the Vietnam War for me was over and it was in the past. I never gave it much thought anymore, I just went on with my life.
For many Vietnam created doubts about American goverment, credability, and power. Do you share similar views?
I guess I do to a certain extent. I believe that the war should have been fought more agressively by the United States. They could have done more to win the war, but it was not politically accepted, and that's probably the main reason they didn't do as much as they could have. Even though as a soldier we all wanted them to do more.
Can you provide any words of insight for those who have never experienced war firsthand?
Well, war is not a pretty sight. It's ugly, it's hard, and people don't know how they're gonna react when faced with a situation of being in a war. You have problems, I mean you're gonna go against everything that your religion has ever told you. Thou shall not kill is one of the very first things that your gonna have to do that you have always been told was bad. Your gonna see things, hear things, do things that your religion and common sense sometimes tell you is not the correct thing to do, but in war to survive it you have to get good at what you do and what your gonna do is kill. Your gonna be between a rock and a hard place. You know, your gonna do something well that you know you shouldn't do, but that's the only way your going to survive. So hopefully you don't have to be in one.
I always, like most, thought very highly of my father. He is a model person to me, kind, generous, wise, respectful, and honorable. With this interview none of that changed. I can't say I learned any major things that I did not already know about my father. He never really talked about Vietnam when I was younger. I don't think I found out that he even fought in Vietnam until I was about 10. That must be the modest characteristic that most veterans attain. Once I took an interest in Vietnam he opened up completely. I don't think there was anything I could have asked him that he would not have answered. When somebody mentioned the Vietnam War not a whole lot came to mind. I knew it was a war and my dad fought in it. If someone were to bring it up in a topic of conversation now I would have a lot more thoughts. I feel a greater respect for my dad and the war he fought in. I also feel empathetic to the other soldiers who fought and those that died in Vietnam. They did not recieve the honor and respect that most veterans enojoy and deserve. They fought loyaly and honorably to serve their country just as any veteran of any other war. They just happened to live and be chosen to serve in a widely opposed war.
The benefits of oral history will always depend on what kind of history one is looking for. Naturally listening to a person who experienced the past first hand will always be more interesting than reading about statistics, locations, and facts that one will encounter in a text book. I suppose if it is facts you are looking for the interview process would not be the route to take. The accountability of the interviewee may, in some cases, be a drawback. How are you to know that the interviewee's words are truth? How are you to know if they even remember correctly, they may change or exaggerate a story with out even realizing it. Overall, my opinion of the interview process remains optimistic. As someone fairly knew to this process I feel I have learned a great deal.
Tubbs, Janie S. Charlotte, Tx "Charlotte,TX" The Handbook of Texas Online. The General Libraries at the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas State Historical Association. August 8,2003."http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/CC/hjc8.html" (Sun.Nov. 30,2003). Charlotte,Texas is one of the smallest towns I know, consisting of only one stop light, and one blinking light you get the idea. But even small towns have their history. I included this link to give you an idea of the town he was born into. This website gives a brief history of the town Charlotte,TX.
Peterson, Linda Atascosa county "ATASCOSA COUNTY" The Handbook of Texas Online. The General Libraries at the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas State Historical Association. July 23,2001. "http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/aritcles/view/AA/hca7.html"(Tues.Dec.2,2003). Atascosa County is fairly small its towns relatively unknown. The Handbook of Texas Online gives a nice back ground for those unfamilar with the area.
Purple Heart"Short History of the Purple Heart". "http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~sebring/phstory.htm" (Sun. Nov. 30,2003). Vietnam Veterans were neglected when they came home, but the medals they earned cannot be taken from them. They serve as a sign of grattitude for serving our country. This website is a short history on the Purple Heart medal dating as far back as its origin.
BBC NEWS Cambodia "Timeline: Cambodia" "http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1244006.stm" (Tues.Dec. 2,2003). This website provides a detailed Timeline of the events that happened in Cambodia from 1863 to Sept. 2003.
Lewis Publishing Company Agent Orange "Agent Orange Website" "http://www.lewispublishinh.com/orange.htm" (Sun.Nov. 30,2003). This website provides a brief description of the defoliant Agent Orange,as well as a good back ground including what it was used for. It also provides interesting links concerning Agent Orange.
Marcus,Adam Agent Orange "Health Scout New Estimate Increases Agent Orange Use in Vietnam" April 17,2003. "http://www.healthscout.com/news/608/512750/main.html"(Sun. Nov. 30,2003). This link provides new information found an the defoliant Agent Orange.