by Mari Radtke
Darwin Dau of Paullina, a Viet Nam veteran, participated in an Honor Flight to Washington D.C. on May 22, 2024. Honor Flight Network is a national nonprofit organization made up of independent state and local hubs working toward a common goal. That goal is to give Honor Flight trips to veterans and to share the occasion with others who served, remember the fallen and share their stories and experiences with other veterans. An honored veteran always travels free.
Darwin arrived at the hotel in Fort Dodge on May 21. Honored veterans were each given a hat and shirt in red, and Honor Flight identification. They would not be allowed on the honor flight without their shirt and cap. They also were issued a backpack for their only change of clothes.
Darwin explains, “there were 160 veterans on the flight; 2 doctors, 3 nurses, EMTs and helpers – fellow travelers who helped with wheelchairs.” The doctors work dark blue. The nurses wore light blude. Staff was wearing white. Helpers wore gray. There were 180 people overall. “It was all very organized,” said Darwin.

The group left the hotel lobby at 4:00am on May 22. The got through security with their IDs which also included their name bus number and seat number. They were instructed to always carry the ID. They were also issued a set of dogtags that had a medlist on it. “I never thought I’d ever have to wear dog tags again,” said Darwin! The ID was provided to them in a pouch attached to a cord to carry around their necks. Color coding was also used in D.C. The group has 3 busses; one red, one white and one blue. “Everyone know which bus and always the same seat.” Once they arrived in the nation’s capital the able-bodied veterans toured in teams of 3. the plane left Fort Dodge at 6:20am. A special airplane carriage was used at Dulles to collect the veterans and others from the plane. It motored to the airport and everyone disembarked. The coach accommodated the wheelchairs perfectly.
Upon going through Dulles Darwin remembers the hundreds and hundreds of people lined up to applaud the heroes, even offering handshakes of thanks. “It was so different 50 years ago,” said Darwin and noting the demonstrators at the airports and their disrespectful behavior. “This is so different.”
Darwin was teamed with Gary and Richard, both of Emmetsburg. Gary, like Darwin, was a veteran of the Viet Nam conflict. Richard served during the Korean conflict. Richard was just four months from 90. Gary and Darwin are still in their 70s.
Their first stop in D.C. was the Korean Memorial. Darwin recalled, “Richard did goot [getting] to the Korean Memorial. He walked. The wandered and remembered and talked. After a while Richard needed to sit so they went over toward the nearest bench where a mom and three kids were sitting. They asked of Richard could sit. Darwin said those three kids all jumped up an made room, in a tone that could have been either gratitude or pride. Getting back to the bus was a little harder. Richard’s legs began to give out. It took no time at all to get him a wheelchair. Darwin and Gary took on pushing duties. The followed up the visit to the Korean Memorial with a trip to the Viet Nam Memorial, the Navy Memorial and the WWII Memorial. A trip to Arlington Cemetery was also part of the day, where the saw the “Tomb of the Unknown Soldier” and changing of the guard. The Air Force Memorial and a fast drive by the Pentagon were also part of the day.
The joyous trip was tempered a bit for the group. There were three veterans signed up to go. Each of them passed away before the day came. What brightened the moment was sharing how family members of the three were at the airport at the return and each was presented with a flag and a picture of their loved one. The photo and flags went to all of the memorials. The flight returned home at 7:40pm the same day. “We were tired,” said Darwin! He shaired how once the place got into the air leaving Dulles the lights soon dimmed. He explained it was maybe 10 or 15 minutes before the place was filled with the buzz of snoring veterans. Again the lines of supporters were at the airport to express gratitude to the veterans as they boarded the coach to their plane.
Of his visit to Washington D. C. Darwin says, “It was touching. A lot of things were brought back. It brought back memories. Both good and not so good.” One really good memory he shared was upon arriving after being issued certain equipment including a helmet liner.” He went to his hotel and later wandered downstairs. Martha Rae was entertaining there that night. His sargeant confiscated Darwin’s helmt liner and gifted it to the popular performer. “I’ve often wondered what happed to all the stuff – the gifts she must have been given,” he said.
Darwin was drafted in January 1967. He served in Viet Nam for 9 – 1 / 2 months. He left Iowa for basic training on Feurary 2. He remembers the date because that was his mother’s birthday and his parents’ anniversary. After basic he did short stints at other stateside bases including MP school, eventually landing in Colorado. There they got orders at 11am. Some went to Germany. A few were sent to Korea. He was one of the lucky ones going to Viet Nam. He was a member of the 716 MP Battalion.
Darwin arrived in Saigon, Viet Nam in 1968. He served there at the end of the Tet Offensive and the lesser-known “mini-Tet.” There were no familiar people when he arrived, but did begin to meet a few guys, make some friends. But people came and went all the time.
He left Viet Nam on January 15, 1969. He arrived in Oakland, CA also on January 15, 1969. He crossed eight time zones and the international dateline, almost traveling backwards in time. He arrived in Oakland one clock hour before he left Saigon.
The transition from combat to civilian was fast. It was hard on both the mind and the body. “It was hard to keep up.” His folks met him in Sioux Falls. He had changed. Darwin left at 190 pounds. He returned at 150. They didn’t recognize him right away.
Darwin’s, and every combat veteran, has difficult memories. He shared a little bit of his time there. He shared a little of the difficulty returning. Without specifics, Bev is a real trooper.