Sterling Vietnam vet’s story to air 
on History Channel

STERLING – Tears flood Ray E. Torres’ cheeks as he recalls a nightmare.

A wounded survivor of the Vietnam War’s longest battle, the 64-year-old Sterling man will appear in “Vietnam in HD” a documentary airing on the History Channel in three 2-hour segments at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Torres served in 1968, the bloodiest year of the Vietnam War, when 16,592 Americans died, according to the documentary produced by Lou Reda Productions.

His story will surprise many in the community, Torres said. He almost never discusses the war, to avoid “uncontrollable outbursts of emotion.”

“They probably never realized what I went through,” he said. “I know when I see people out in the street now, after they see the movie, that they’re going to be coming up to me, and I am going to have a hard time.”

The documentary will focus on Torres’ experience at Khe Sanh. He read that more bombs were dropped there than anywhere else in the history of aerial warfare.

The North Vietnamese Army violated a truce on Jan. 31, 1968, by attacking Khe Sanh and all of South Vietnam on Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, in an action known as the Tet Offensive. At Khe Sanh, the siege lasted 77 days. The 6,000 Marines fought against 20,000 to 40,000 enemy soldiers.

“It was probably the biggest battle of all of Vietnam,” Torres said.

Torres, a 1965 graduate of Sterling High School, was a Navy corpsman with the Marines. Stationed in the dangerous trenches of Hill 861A, he knew the only way down, before the battle ended, would be with a wound or in a body bag.

One day, the North Vietnamese Army hit a platoon hard, and Torres, trained as a medic, rushed to the scene. He found four Marines wounded by grenades. As he checked the men, all wounded or dead, another grenade landed in a foxhole and exploded 2 or 3 feet from him.

“In that couple seconds, your whole life flashes before you,” he said.

The blast lifted Torres off the ground and threw him. He suffered a concussion, multiple injuries to both legs and an arm, and two ruptured eardrums. When he shielded his face, a nail went through his hand. Shrapnel, dirt and rocks also blew into his eyes, impairing his vision.

The corpsman, who always tried to rescue others, screamed for someone to save him.

Through mortar, rifle and machine gun fire, and exploding grenades, another corpsman heard his cry. The soldier tried to drag Torres to the company aid station, but a large boulder stood in their way.

The corpsman told Torres, who did not think he could walk, to hop out of the trench as soon as he yelled and started firing.

“To this day, I don’t know how I got over that rock,” Torres said. “And I don’t know if he got out alive or not. ... He saved my life.”

Soldiers cut off Torres’ clothes to assess his injuries. As the fighting continued, tear gas blew into his wounds. The Americans eventually overpowered the enemy there in hand-to-hand combat.

The next morning, Torres was to be loaded onto a Medevac helicopter. It was crowded, so he was told to wait for the next one. Torres believes someone was watching out for him – the enemy fired at the chopper he almost boarded, and it crashed.

“I always feel guilty about making it out; and the other ones ...” he trailed off.

Torres still has ringing in his ears caused by nerve damage, as well as some hearing loss. An irremovable piece of metal is lodged in his knee. And he struggles to sleep soundly.

His wife, Caroline, 61, and his family are proud of him.

“We feel very fortunate,” she said. “Ray’s been a very strong person, and a very good leader, and just a very good example through all these tough times for himself, physically and mentally.”

Torres, who was awarded the Purple Heart, recognizes that many others also were affected by the war. Even unwounded soldiers should be considered casualties, he said.

Overcome with emotion, Torres did not talk about Vietnam for 28 years. His family never knew the details until his son, Ray Jr., asked him to speak to his history class at Sauk Valley Community College in 1996. Honored, Torres agreed.

His presentation included war stories before Khe Sanh.

With permission, Tom Tegge, the professor, filmed Torres’ presentation. Years later, he included footage in a documentary for the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Lou Reda Productions, a company that makes documentaries for the History Channel, saw the presentation and left Torres a message last November.

“I had to play it over and over to make sure it was not a joke,” Torres said, according to his biography provided by the History Channel.

The company asked him to appear in the documentary. Worried about his emotions, Torres hesitated, but eventually agreed in hopes of leaving a legacy for his children.

His family includes Tanya (John) Craft, 37, and Thomas (Michelle) Torres, 31, both of Sterling, and Ray Jr. (engaged to Magen Steele), 35, of Montgomery; and five grandchildren.

In March, Lou Reda Productions flew Torres and his wife to Pennsylvania for filming. They enjoyed a fancy hotel and limo, all paid for by the company.

“I never in my wildest dreams had ever imagined that something like this could ever happen to me,” Torres said, according to his biography. “It is truly humbling, and an honor, and something I will cherish for the rest of my life.”

Scott L. Reda, an executive producer for Lou Reda Productions, praised the Sterling veteran. Talking to Torres, Reda said, helped him realize all the stress and work involved with producing the documentary was worthwhile.

Reda hopes viewers will respond.

“We want everyone in this country to hug a Vietnam vet,” he said.

The History Channel will fly Torres and his wife to D.C., on Veterans Day to attend the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Award Ceremony at the Capital Hilton Presidential Ballroom.

The all-expenses-paid trips and recognition, however, will not relieve the heavy burden Torres carries. He will never forget the fallen soldiers he served alongside.

“We didn’t need to lose all those lives there,” he said, choking on his words. “...They were all so young. ... To this day, I can’t get over that.”

About "Vietnam in HD"

"Vietnam in HD" a 6-hour documentary covering the war from 1961 to 1975, will air at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday on the History Channel. Torres expects to be featured in Wednesday's installment.

The History Channel calls the Vietnam War "one of the most controversial wars in American History."

The documentary, featuring 13 people affected by the war, follows the Emmy-winning "WWII in HD."

It will be narrated by Hollywood stars such as Jennifer Love Hewitt and Michael C. Hall. Jerry Ferrara, best known for playing the character Turtle on HBO's "Entourage," will narrate Torres' story. There also will be scenes showing Torres speaking.

In Sterling, Rock Falls and Dixon, the History Channel is on cable channel 45.

Go to www.history.com/shows/vietnam-in-hd for more information or to watch a preview. Click on "The Men & Women of Vietnam in HD" to see Torres' photo, a short biography and video.