SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — This year marks 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War.
For many who fought in Vietnam, their years since the fall of Saigon have been spent coping with physical and emotional scars.
This week, Nexstar Stations all across the country, including KELOLAND TV, are highlighting Vietnam veterans.
KELOLAND News sat down with a Vietnam Veteran who was involved in almost 200 firefights, which earned him the Bronze Star.
“I don’t know what most people would say about their experiences in a war zone, mine were horrible and I was scared to death the entire time I was there,” former Augustana professor Adrien Hannus said.
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Adrien Hannus, who is a former professor at Augustana University, was deployed to Vietnam in 1967 as an army intelligence officer.
Hannus recalls his assignment working for the CIA to infiltrate camps and compile information on Viet Congs, also known as the National Liberation Front.
“We went out on about 225-30 operations, I can’t even remember but 197 of them I do remember, because we had fire fights,” Hannus said.
Hannus says his job, although terrifying, was simple; create a dossier of names of Viet Congs and kill them.
“So that was my role was to try to assassinate these people who were in these areas with Viet Cong,” Hannus said.
It earned him the Bronze Star.
In 2020, Hannus decided to write a book about his service titled ‘AVC Water Buffalo: Vignettes from Vietnam.’
He says writing about his experiences and talking about them has helped him heal.
He says he feels extremely fortunate to have made it back alive.
“I was counting the minutes down to the seconds before it all ended, it was really dicey,” Hannus said.
Hannus served two years in the military and retired as a captain.
As part of honoring Vietnam veterans, KELOLAND’s Don Jorgensen will be hosting a panel discussion with veterans this Wednesday at 3 pm at the Military Heritage Alliance.
Then this Saturday night at 7 pm, KELO TV is going to be airing a special titled Vietnam War: A Lost Generation.
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