Ronald “Ronnie” Caldwell graduated from Pampa High School in 1962 and went straight to West Point. Caldwell attended West Point on the referral of our local congressman.
“I went to West Point because it was the only school I could find that would pay me to go,” Caldwell joked.
After completing his four years, and graduating as a Second Lieutenant, Caldwell attended ranger and airborne school.
“My first assignment was at the DMZ (demilitarized zone) on the Korean border,” Caldwell said. “I had a platoon, and our job was to walk that demarcation line every day. I got there in 1967 and it was at the beginning of the problems. All we had there at the time was brand new second lieutenants.”
After spending 13 months in the DMZ, in a constant battle to survive, Caldwell moved on to his next assignment.
“After I finished my time there I attended jump school, they encouraged you to do that, although it wasn’t required,” Caldwell said. “If you didn’t want to go, you had to write a letter to the commanding general at West Point and go explain why you didn’t want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. I thought I’d do my 5 jumps and be done, then my second assignment was the 82nd Airborne Division so I wasn’t done.”
After finishing his time in Korea, Caldwell spend 12 months at Fort Bragg in the States with the 82nd Airborne before moving on to his next assignment with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. Caldwell spent a year in the 82nd Airborne in 1968, marking the year the notable Martin Luther King Jr. was killed and the time of the Tet Offensive. In late January 1968, during the lunar new year or “Tet” holiday, North Vietnamese and communist Viet Cong forces launched a coordinated attack against several targets in South Vietnam. The U.S. and South Vietnamese militaries sustained heavy losses before finally repelling the communist assault. Marking the tide of the country turning against Vietnam.
“By that point, we’d become riot control police,” Caldwell said. “It was a constant lockdown, the 82nd is the reaction arm of the rapid deployment troops. We were constantly on lockdown, living off post because this was long before cell phones. Anytime I went somewhere, I had to leave a message of where I was going to be. We spent many nights locked in on the base, it wasn’t much of a change from Korea. During my time in Korea, there weren’t very many civilians, it was all military, and there wasn’t a lot of freedom to move about.”
After 12 months in Vietnam, Caldwell returned home, spending two years in the reserves.
“I won’t say I enjoyed my time in the service, but it was fulfilling for what we were doing,” Caldwell said. “I wanted to get out and see the other side, I wanted to live a life. After retiring from the military, I worked in North Carolina as a bill collector and I don’t figure I was good at it, I didn’t collect anything.”
After his brief stint in North Carolina, Caldwell returned to Texas where his father owned and operated a dime store. After returning, his father purchased another one in Dallas, so Caldwell began working for his father. After that, Caldwell ran a rural letter carrier route for 41 years in Sulphur Springs.
This year, during Hopkins County’s ‘Freedom Ball’ Caldwell was named Veteran of the Year. The Freedom Ball is a fundraiser for the Veterans’ Wall in Hopkins County, an annual event to allow the organization to continue doing all the things they do for veterans.
“It was a shock to be named Veteran of the Year, I had awards from Vietnam but I was fine with not having to get up and talk about that in public, they read out my awards publicly and I didn’t want all the attention on me,” Caldwell said. “At first I didn’t want to go, but I thought about it and what made me decide to go was Vietnam. During my time there, I had a tank and lost eight men, so I decided to go and talk about the guys I lost. There’s a Vietnam memorial wall, a traveling wall that came here to my town and my family took me to it. My grandkids came with me and asked where my name was, and why it wasn’t on the wall and I had to tell them, if my name was on there, they wouldn’t be here. Looking at the wall, there are about 58,000 names on the wall, 40,000 of those are guys that were 22 years old and younger. All I could think about is how I came back, and I have this great big family, and most of these guys weren’t even married. Thinking about the war and the tremendous loss. I wasn’t against the war, I agreed to stop communism. Any war, I think, if it’s worth going to war, it’s worth winning. The Korean War wasn’t called a war it was called a police action, and we lost 36,000 guys there. There won’t ever be a solution for war on this Earth, but after I left the service I became a soldier for the Lord. That’s the most important fight, a battle still going on for people’s souls.”
Caldwell was awarded two Silver Stars, a Bronze Star, and a Distinguished Flying Cross award. The first Silver Star was awarded to Captain (Armor) Ronald G. Caldwell, United States Army, for gallantry in action while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force on 29 May 1969 while serving as Commanding Officer of Troop D, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, in the Republic of Vietnam. On this date, Captain Caldwell was leading an armored team when it was directed to reinforce another team that was heavily engaged with a well-concealed and heavily-entrenched battalion-sized North Vietnamese Army force. Arriving at the scene of conflict, Captain Caldwell led his team in the assault, but moments later his tank was hit by an anti-tank grenade wounding him in the head and seriously injuring the other crew members. Refusing medical aid, Captain Caldwell pressed on with the attack into the heavy enemy fire. When his vehicle became disabled, he dismounted it and despite the heavy fire, moved to another vehicle from which he continued the assault. This tank received an intense volley of anti-tank grenades, severely damaging the communications system. Again Captain Caldwell ran through the hostile fire to take command of a different tank. His inspirational actions helped to rally the friendly elements as he continued to direct heavy suppressive fire against the enemy positions. Repeatedly he dismounted his tank to supervise medical attention to wounded personnel. Captain Caldwell’s unfailing leadership proved invaluable in neutralizing the enemy force which resulted in twenty North Vietnamese Army soldiers killed and one officer captured. Captain Caldwell’s gallant actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
The second Silver Star was awarded to Caldwell for gallantry in action while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force on 13 August 1969 while serving as Commanding Officer of Troop D, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, in the Republic of Vietnam. On this date, Troop D was on a reconnaissance mission with a company of Vietnamese Rangers when they were suddenly engaged by an enemy force using small arms, automatic weapons, and rocket-propelled grenades. Four armored vehicles were disabled by anti-tank grenades, but Captain Caldwell directed his vehicles online for an assault against the well-concealed enemy-fortified positions. Using hand and arm signals, he positioned the rangers and dashed through the hail of fire to direct the soldiers. Several times he dismounted and dashed through the withering hail of hostile fire to give instructions to other vehicles and groups of soldiers to maintain the momentum of the assault. Captain Caldwell’s actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
The Distinguished Flying Cross was given for heroism while participating in aerial flight evidenced by voluntary action above and beyond the call of duty on 21 January 1970, while serving as S-3 Air Operations Officer with Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, in the Republic of Vietnam. On this date, Captain Caldwell was flying in the command and control helicopter for Troop C when they suddenly came in contact with a large enemy force. Despite the intense enemy fire, Captain Caldwell ordered his pilot to fly at treetop level so that he could better observe the strength of the enemy forces and guide artillery and airstrikes upon appropriate targets. Throughout the battle, Captain Caldwell directed the placement and advance of the friendly ground units and controlled the fire of artillery blocking the routes of enemy escape. As Troop B came in to reinforce Troop C, Captain Caldwell flew even lower to assist in guiding Troop B to a successful linkup with the friendly elements. So intense was the hostile fire, that the evacuation helicopters could not land safely. Oblivious to all danger, Captain Caldwell set his ship down in a small landing spot, picked up the most seriously wounded, and flew them back to the hospital. Captain Caldwell then returned to the battle and was instrumental in the defeat of the enemy forces. Captain Caldwell’s actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
**Portions of this article, regarding the awards, were provided by valor.militarytimes.com**
