Private Jim Brunotte
Hanna and I first were casually talking to Jim before deciding to do a formal interview.
~ “Everyone on that wall has their own story. I went into the army August 7, 1967 and was sent to Vietnam August 8, 1968. I.. I was only in Vietnam for 8 weeks before.. I was bombed.”
-How did you end up in the war? (drafted or volunteered?)
~”I volunteered for the war. Why? Because I didn’t want to be forced to do something I didn’t want to do.”
-Did you have a significant other waiting for you in the states?
~ “I had a girl. A beautiful girl actually. We wrote letters when I was at training camp. I didn’t want to keep her from her life. She got married when I was in Vietnam, heard about it while I was in recovery. I don’t blame her, I came back a different man anyways.”
-Are you married now?
~ “ I got married three times actually, first to an Army nurse, that lasted 6 months, we were just way to different. Second was a reporter for Stars and Stripes, that lasted 9 months, because after the war the Army taught me to ride horses.. she ended up liking my horses more then me. Now I’m happily married to her grandmother [points to granddaughter] for 37 years now. I have one daughter and I gots me a lot of grandchildren.”
-Is there a memorable moment in the war good or bad that you can remember vividly?
~ “It was September 15, 1968 about 9:30pm. We were hit by some artillery rounds. This was my very first time in action.” (paused a moment) “Sarg. told me to stay put and cover our head. We were hit for about 15 minutes straight.. felt like a life time though. We waited for the silence of the night time. When you were in complete silence you knew the enemy was near. I was completely and utterly terrified. Then, I remember it was another 15 minutes of firing only the shots were louder and were wizzing past where I was hunched. Then Sarg. stood up and said “It’s all.. over” apparently the 9th division led the enemy to the wrong coordinate and they were caught in the cross fire. I remember standing up and looking up at the sky and saying ‘Oh Lord, I do not like it here… I want to go home.’ I got my wish a couple weeks later.. just didn’t say how i wanted to get home. I was only in action twice. That screw up and when I drove over a land mine planted on our route that caused me to be like this (points to himself).”
-What were some of the things you did in the ARMY?
~ “There were Villages called AnXaun and LongHung that needed protecting from the Viets. We provided security for the village and helped keep them safe and secure.”
-How did you run over the land mine?
~ On October 1st 1968, my buddy Robert Alicea were driving a jeep and providing security for an ambush quad outside of a village we were keeping security for. We must of drove the route 5 times back and forth until the last time there was a man who looked like he was tying his shoe in the distance. We didn’t think much of it. Then all the sudden…CaBoom!” (pauses) “ My jeep was carrying more then 50 pounds of explosives. I woke up 48 hours later, I was retrained to my bed. I couldn’t move my legs or my arms.. I couldn’t see out of my right eye or even breath right. I couldn’t remember anything about my self or what has happened in the last couple of days. Thats how I found out my best buddy had died in the explosion. Everyone in my unit came to visit me except Robert. It just….. doesn’t make any sense.”
-Knowing what you know now, would you go back and stop from driving over the land mine?
~ “ No. No…. No. My Buddy asked my one night at a PTSD meeting.. Greg said ‘If you knew what you know now, would you do it over again?’ I said ‘I’d change one thing only.. I’d stop the jeep right in front of the mine and turn to Robert and give him a chance to get out. But no, I would still drive over the land mine. I don’t know if I could of made it through the rest of the war otherwise..”
-Do you have any regrets?
~ “I have had a good life, very few regrets, but Vietnam was not one of them.”
-I see you have gone back to Vietnam, Why?
~ “I went back for answers, I had god on my side and I wanted peace. New me new life”
-Do you have problems thinking about Vietnam or PTSD?
~ “ I had problems after Vietnam of corse… but I talked to a councilor everyday. I had major problems after 9-11 because I realized how vulnerable our county was. Fear for our own. Our people got attacked. Thats when I got serious help.”
-On another note, Do you remember the JFK assassination?
~ “ I was in High School. Just sitting there in class being a kid not paying attention. Then Miss. Italia, who I hated, started screaming ‘Some one shot the president! Kennedy, Kennedy!!’ Thats really all I remember”
forgettingsarahmarshallhistory 