We have been following Minneota’s Royal Hettling, who enlisted in the Air Force and deployed to Vietnam in August 1970 as a dog handler. The Air Force assigned him to the 483rd Security Police Squadron at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base to secure high value targets on base.

Royal and his dog, Thunder, were posted near the airfield control tower in October 1970 during a rocket attack.

“Several rockets hit open space one hundred yards in front of me. Trying for cover behind a sand dune, I took a giant swan dive and landed behind the dune. My rifle was sticking straight up out of the sand, the muzzle packed with sand. (Royal cleared his rifle) I loaded a magazine; jacked a round into the chamber; and flopped into firing position. I saw nothing. That rocket attack was all the excitement we had that night. All this time Thunder stayed by my side.”

Enemy action was not the only war danger. Royal recalled a night he and Thunder settled behind a small rise on the perimeter.

“Thunder alerted. Following that alert, I stepped from behind that rise. I had guard towers behind, one on each side. I heard two machine gun bolts go forward, chambering rounds. I froze. My goal was to get Thunder off his alert; slowly walk back below that rise; and not let them see me anymore. I did that.”

At sunrise Royal went to the guard shack behind them. The guard asked Royal, “Do you know how close you came to being wasted? They had clearance to fire. I radioed and told them they better be sure it’s not that guy walking his dog out there.”

The base was on the South China Sea with a secure beach. Royal explained they used that beach to care for their dogs.

“During the warm months we’d take them to the beach once a week, mainly because of “hot spots” in their fur. We’d take them in the salt water. It helped cure insect infestations. When we’d come back we’d shampoo them. I had to drag or carry Thunder into the ocean, but he loved that shampooing afterwards!”

Royal described the challenges brought by the wet monsoon months.

“Fifteen inches of rain a month, day and night. Our roofs were dripping all the time. Your bedding got damp. Your clothes were always wet. There’d be puddles on the floor. Nothing would dry. We all developed athlete’s foot and fungus infections. The infections got so bad that your feet started to tingle, so you’d walk gingerly all the time.”

Night security was miserable.

“If we took a poncho, we’d erect a shelter to block some of the rain. Thunder didn’t like getting wet, so he’d crowd underneath and shake himself. (Royal laughed) So you were always getting wet.”

A typhoon brought additional challenges.

“We put sandbags on the kennel roofs to make sure they wouldn’t blow off. Then we sandbagged the hootches’ roofs. But the typhoon blew off doors and sections of roofs. K-9 Row looked like a total mess.”

The dog handlers took their security posts that night nevertheless.

“I was in the bomb dump that night. They said, ‘Tie yourself to anything solid so you don’t get blown away.’ The only solid thing in that area was a humongous rock. Thunder and I hunkered down behind it all night. The wind howled and rain came in sheets like a waterfall. The VC could have been on the other side and I never would have known.”

Royal and Thunder were posted at the bomb dump another night when sappers penetrated the base perimeter.

“I was apprehensive. If they (VC) tried to blow this bomb dump, they were coming through my area, part of which was heavily wooded with a narrow lane. If they were there when I went in, I may not be coming out. I checked my weapon and put it on full automatic. We started down that lane. My heart was pounding and my mouth dry. I walked to the far end. The only way back was to walk that lane again. When I reached the other end, I went to a fortified position and reported, ‘Area all secure.’ A sergeant said, ‘You’d better patrol that area again.’ I went back and patrolled for the next couple hours. The next morning I didn’t eat, figuring my stomach wasn’t going to handle anything.”

Royal left weeks early on amended return orders. He shared a difficult farewell with Thunder, his canine partner of a year. Royal described the flight home.

“Our plane was subdued. When the pilot announced we were leaving Vietnamese airspace, a round of applause went up. I slept half-way across the Pacific because I hadn’t slept much in three days. We landed at McChord Air Base.”

Royal took home leave before reporting to McDill Air Force Base, Florida to complete his enlistment.

He returned to Minneota and found a mixed reception.

“Many in my folks’ generation knew I’d been in Vietnam. A lot in my circle didn’t know and didn’t care. At first it didn’t bother me because I stayed to myself a few years. I didn’t feel like socializing. If I did and they wanted to talk with you, the only thing they wanted to know was, ‘How many gooks did you kill?’ Otherwise, if you mentioned you were in ‘Nam, often they’d turn and walk away.”

Royal expanded his social life to include Karen Lipinski of Ivanhoe and the two married in 1978. They welcomed a son and Royal worked as a heavy equipment mechanic. He and his brother, Charlie, founded the Vietnam Memorial and History Center in Minneota to help others better understand the Vietnam War; those who served in it; and remember those who did not return.

Thank you for your service, Royal. Welcome home!

©2024 William D. Palmer