29 February 2024
AUGUSTA, Kan. (KSNW) — Jim Hall graduated from Leon High School in 1966. Otherwise, he’s a lifelong citizen of Augusta. He’s also a lifelong Marine who was ordered to Vietnam in the middle of the Tet Offensive in 1968.
Three weeks after graduation, Hall decided to go to the recruiter’s office in Wichita.
“I decided to join the Navy and the Seabees, but they were filled up when I went to Wichita to join. I said, ‘Well, I don’t want the Army, and I don’t want the Air Force.’ I went around the corner and joined the Marines for four years,” said Hall.
Hall was sent to San Diego for basic training, which he described as “not much fun.” He said he was slapped and punched about every day. Upon completion of basic training, he was assigned to a Marine Corps Base Camp.
“I went to Camp Pendleton for advanced training and everything. Came home for 30 days and went back for staging,” said Hall. “Then, I went to Okinawa for a week. Then, from there, I went to Vietnam.”
Hall landed in Dang Ha, just south of the Demilitarized Zone, or the DMZ. Then he was assigned to Lima Company and sent to Ca Lu. This was in the middle of the Tet Offensive.
“About every other day, we were out on patrol. At nighttime, we found an LP, a listening post, to see if (the Viet Cong) was sneaking up on us. I was there for about one week, then they sent me down to Cam Lo,” said Hall.
“We got assigned to go up and take Cam Lo Hill. That’s where I got wounded. We took the top of the hill. We set in. Then (the Viet Cong) started walking mortars on us. Started on one side and went down the other side going across,” recalled Hall. “We were taking wounded guys back to the medevac chopper, and that’s when I was going back up. I got hit by a mortar round in the leg the size of a silver dollar. Went through the calf of my leg.”
Hall was hospitalized for about a month and a half and was awarded a Purple Heart.
“Yeah, I came back, and the company was on Hill 689 up there by Khe Sanh,” he said.
Hill 689 was part of the battle of Khe Sanh, as were all the hills surrounding the former U.S. Military Base. American forces were caught in a lengthy siege. One day, Hall’s company was defending Hill 689.
“We went out on patrols and ambushes and stuff, and that’s where I got my second Purple Heart,” he said.
Hall was taken down by another mortar round.
He spent four months in Vietnam in 1968, and then he was sent to Japan to complete his overseas tour. He returned to the States in 1969.
“They sent me to Camp LeJeune for about five months. Then they sent me to Fort Meade, Maryland Marine barracks there to guard NSA, National Security Agency,” he said.
After his four years of active service were up, Hall returned to Augusta, where he met his future bride at the bowling alley in 1971.
He joined the Army Guard for nine years, and then he spent 22 years working full-time as a civilian for the 184th Air National Guard at McConnell Air Force Base.
Once a Marine, always a Marine.
“There’s only one service, the Marine Corps. Being proud. I mean, they’re the best organization agoing,” said Hall.
Hall and his wife, Kathy, have two children, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
He says he will always be proud to have served his country.
If you want to nominate a veteran for our Veteran Salute, email KSN reporter Jason Lamb at [email protected].