Decorated military veteran felt ‘unappreciated’ after Vietnam War

‘I did what I had to do for my country,’ Harrison said

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Eddie Harrison was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. He graduated from Stanton High School and joined the army as a teenager.

“I only weighed 140 pounds and I was 5 foot 6,” Harrison said. “They told me to come back in a couple of months and we’ll give you a quick shot at it. I did, I turned 18 in December and I was gone.”

That was the start of 30 years of service in the military. Harrison was awarded four Purple Hearts and four Bronze Stars for his service in Vietnam. Those are just a few of his service medals.

He describes his two tours in Vietnam as, “the most horrible adventure of my life.” He said the human suffering on both sides was almost unbearable. He should know, he was wounded three times in combat. Two of those times happened back-to-back.

“I got wounded on the 5th of May in 1968; shrapnel wounds, and I thought I almost died, but I didn’t,” explained Harrison. “Then I got wounded again on the 6th of May, the next day because they couldn’t extract me from the drop zone. The helicopters were getting shot so I had to stay overnight and that’s when I got wounded a second time. We walked into an ambush the whole platoon.”

He was treated for his wounds but was sent back to Vietnam.

“I hesitated when they sent me back a second time. That’s when I began to get really concerned.”

Harrison became injured again, this time during a firefight that left him with burns on part of his body.

“I began to get dumb after that,” he said. “Nothing too much mattered to me anymore. I just did what I had to do to survive.”

The mental stress was tremendous.

“Out of the 40, I lost 8 men, that hurt, that hurt,” said Harrison.

When he returned from Vietnam he was puzzled by how he was treated in uniform.

“I didn’t feel welcomed at all. In the early 1970s, anti-war sentiment was spreading across the country. Protestors were burning draft cards. Tension boiled over during a demonstration among students protesting the war on the campus of Kent State University in May 1970,” Harrison said. “Four students were killed and nine others wounded during a confrontation with National Guard troops.”

Harrison said he had no idea what he was returning to after Vietnam. He said no one seemed to appreciate what he and his fellow soldiers had endured.

“I was thinking to myself, I didn’t send myself into that situation. My country did, and I did what I had to do for my country because it asked me,” Harrison said.

Harrison is not bitter about how he was treated but is looking forward to an event Sunday, Nov. 14 designed to give Vietnam veterans the “Welcome Home” ceremony they never received. It will be held at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena at noon and is free to military veterans and their families.

After Harrison retired from the Army, he became a teacher.

“My true calling was teaching kids in school. I loved every day of it. I didn’t even miss a day if I could help it,” he said.

He continued his teaching career as an assistant principal for the Duval County public school system.

He wears his Purple Hearts proudly and when someone thanks him now for his military service, “it gives me a smile,” he said.


About the Author:

Jennifer, who anchors The Morning Shows and is part of the I-TEAM, loves working in her hometown of Jacksonville.