11/28/2023 0 Comments 196th light infantry brigade hatFor example, the National Center for PTSD cites a National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study that found “Both Hispanic- and African-American male Vietnam theater veterans had higher rates of PTSD than Whites. Research on Vietnam veterans tends to indicate that ethnic minorities suffer a higher incidence of this disorder than Anglos. It has only been recognized since 1980 as a clinical condition. Castañeda suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an anxiety-related condition developed after experiencing psychological trauma, and a common disorder found in soldiers who participate in combat. Unfortunately, the six medals tacked on Castañeda’s dress uniform have not mitigated the aftermath of serving in a politician’s war. He is looking into the distance, toward a hopeful future. Wearing a suit and tie, he comes across as clean cut, clean shaven and driven. He turned to a black and white photo of his college years. “This is what is called the thousand-yard stare.” “You now know what combat is like, and you’ve seen the brutality and experienced the sheer terror,” Castañeda said. He said the picture was taken after his second mission. He also wears a blank expression on his face, almost frowning and looking straight at the camera. Sifting through the photo album pages, Castañeda stopped at self-portraits of a younger version of himself, wearing a faded military green, button-up shirt and boonie hat. Castañeda served in the Americal’s 196th Light Infantry Brigade as a machine-gunner, carrying an m-60 in the mountains, rice paddies and jungles of South Vietnam. These units are used for stealth to screen and delay the enemy advance and have the ability to deploy behind enemy lines at a moment’s notice.īut, due to heavy casualties sustained by the 23rd Infantry, also known as the Americal Division, all airborne personnel were redeployed instead to I Corps in Chu Lai, a large base in South Vietnam, to help the understaffed 23rd. Airborne forces are usually made up of light infantry units dropped into battle by aircraft. “eing a paratrooper and going to parachute training in jump school is strictly voluntary,” wrote Castañeda after his interview.Īfter several months of training, he was shipped to Cam Ranh Bay to serve in the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam. A Mexican citizen with a scholarship to attend college, when the money ran out, his birthday was number 29 on the first lottery list for the draft.Īlthough called up for the Army, he chose to go Airborne. "What we experienced firsthand upon returning home from combat in Vietnam is best described by the History Channel Documentary series “Weapons of War,” in the episode called “The Grunts of Vietnam.” We were the victims 'of a rejection by an ungrateful American public.' I feel that these were psychological scars that became some of the real casualties of war for us – for the combat infantrymen."Ĭastañeda joined the war effort in 1970. To explain what he meant by this, he added in a written response after the interview: "I thought about that and said, 'If this is the way you're going to be treated, I'll go back to Mexico,’" Castañeda said. citizenship was offered to him upon his return from Vietnam. He still traveled on a Mexican passport, even though U.S. Although he was 60 years old at the time of his interview, he had yet to file for American citizenship. The album belongs to Fred Castañeda, a Mexican citizen from Aguascalientes, Mexico, who served in the United States Army for nearly four years, and as a combat infantryman during Vietnam. “For those who fought for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know,” reads a flier carefully placed in a Vietnam War photo album.
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