‘When I left for Vietnam, that was a hard day’

EMINGTON, Ill. — Dewaine “Dewey” Haag grinned as he recalled barely avoiding being AWOL while stationed at Fort Dix.

It was a chance worth taking to move his wife, Marie, who was expecting their first child, to New Jersey.

“In basic training there was no such thing as a pass, but when you got to Advanced Individual Training at Fort Dix they didn’t want to have to keep drill sergeants on duty during the weekends so they gave a lot of three-day passes. You’d get off on Friday night,” Haag said.

“I would get the pass and about four of us who live in this area would jump in a limousine. Most of us were married. We’d head toward the airport in Philadelphia. You had to wear your uniform. I would call my wife and beat her to Chicago for $18 airfare.”

When Marie, who worked at the Joliet Arsenal, was expecting their first child, Mike, Haag asked his first sergeant if he could bring his wife to New Jersey.

“He said, ‘If the Army wanted you to have a wife, they would have issued you one.’ I went ahead anyway. I called her. She had the car packed when I got there. We jumped in the car, got to New Jersey and barely avoided being AWOL,” Haag chuckled.

“Through the last three weeks or so of the AIT, she was out there. Mike was born there at the hospital at Fort Dix, we came back home for 30 days and then I left for Vietnam in August of 1967.

“When I left for Vietnam, that was a hard day. Back in those days, they’d let you go to the gate at the airport. So, when you had to turn and walk away from your family and get on that plane, that was rough.

“They spent that year with her folks on the farm while I was in Vietnam.”

Draft

Dewey and Marie were married in 1961 at a time when married men were ineligible for the draft, but as the war in Vietnam escalated, Uncle Sam expanded the draft.

“In 1966, they started getting short on people and they started drafting men who were married without children, and we had no children at that time,” Haag said.

“I got drafted in 1966 and started eight weeks of basic training Nov. 1, 1966, at Fort Campbell, I got home for Christmas and then on to Fort Dix for AIT.”

Haag served in Vietnam from August 1967 and part of 1968.

“I met a lot of great guys during my military service. It wasn’t exactly an enjoyable time, but there were a lot of really good guys, and some of them didn’t come back home,” he said.

“When we went into Vietnam it was like going back in time 50 years. Outdoor toilets, just the way people lived and everything. It was hot all of the time. There were mosquitoes and other bugs.

“It was an experience that wasn’t the easiest. We put in a ton of hours and it was seven days a week. I haven’t changed from then. I still work a lot of hours.”

Homefront

Upon returning to the states, the treatment of Vietnam veterans was a dark time in this country’s history in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Haag unfortunately had to experience it.

“When I came home with the way things were, you were shamed. I road home on the airplane with a lady giving me a bad time about being a baby killer. In order to get the cheap rate, you had to wear your uniform,” he said.

Haag wears a hat that features his outfit’s shoulder patch, Vietnam veterans pin and flag.

“I wouldn’t have worn that hat when I first flew and got home because you’d catch crap everywhere you went. Now, you’ll get, ‘Thank you for your service,’” he said.

Honor Flight

Haag heard numerous “Thank you for your service” comments when he went on the Honor Flight Chicago this past summer that recognizes America’s senior war veterans by flying them to Washington, D.C., to tour the memorials built in their honor, including the Vietnam Wall.

The one-day, all-expense-paid trip is filled with appreciation, tributes, memories and gratitude. Veterans arrive at 4 a.m. to Chicago’s Midway International Airport, and for the next 16-plus hours, they are treated as heroes everywhere they go.

They receive a hero’s welcome upon return, something Vietnam veterans didn’t get in the 1960s and 1970s.

“That was a day to remember. It was a great day. The amount of people who show up for that honor flight is just unreal, and many young people, too. I’m talking grade school,” Haag said.

“It’s a great thing that they do. It’s a great group. They work really hard at it. Everything is well organized. They try to do too much in a single day. It’s a long day. For myself, I’m still getting around. Every veteran is supposed to have a guardian. My son, Mike, went with me.”

Family Farm

After his discharge in 1967, Haag’s father-in-law retired from farming.

“I took over for him. He had taken over from his brother and his brother had taken over from his dad and on down the line,” Haag said.

“When I came back, Marie’s folks moved out of the house and I moved in. Marie and Mike were already there. Her dad and mom were so good to us.”

Haag Farms now includes a corn and soybean rotation across about 1,500 acres. They raise about 4,800 head of hogs every year.

“Mike is pretty much in charge of that side since I’ve reached the ripe old age of 81, but I’m still working on the farm every day. I work with my son-in-law, Jeff Stark, some, too. He farms over by Ashkum. My daughter, Christine Stark, is an occupational therapist at the Livingston County Special Services Unit in Pontiac,” Haag said.

“The nice thing about staying with farming is we’re all within about 14 miles of each other and we get together every chance we get. That’s a real big benefit to the agricultural part.”

Haag is a member of the Saunemin American Legion and utilizes all of the Veterans Administration healthcare opportunities.

“I go to Kankakee for VA doctors. I just had my knee done and did therapy there. I’ve been up to Hines in Chicago and had some things done up there. The VA has been very good to me. I have no complaints with the service I’ve had,” he said.