"I realized that if I don't just respect and remember and honor the boys who were there with me, nobody's going to." (Audio interview, 53:43)

Richard R. DeLeon

Richard DeLeon, Tayninh, Vietnam. War: Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Branch: Army Unit: A Company, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment Service Location: Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas Rank: Specialist Place of Birth: NY

As a medic in Vietnam, Richard DeLeon, who had prided himself as a street-tough New Yorker, saw things he would never see in Manhattan. What impressed him most was the camaraderie the men felt for him and one another, the kind of fierce loyalty that drove his best buddy to rescue the lone survivor of a copter crash at the risk of his own life. DeLeon had a difficult time readjusting to civilian life, especially when he saw how cavalier his co-workers on Wall Street were about the casualties of war.