Manhattan veteran shares stories of his service in Vietnam

MANHATTAN – In his new book, “Run Through the Jungle,” Larry Musson of Manhattan shares a story about an item he highly valued while serving in Vietnam.

It was not the photo of a girl back home – although he had one – or a trinket from his mother or father. It was his Seiko 17-jewel watch. As Musson wrote in his book, he always was certain of its time when his captain and fellow soldiers synced their watches.

Musson said he always knew he wanted to write a book about his experiences in Vietnam – even when he was in Vietnam.

“I had sent letters home to my girlfriend at the time to tell her about incidents, dates and time, and she was supposed to be saving those letters for me to write a book when I got home,” Musson said. “But that didn’t happen; she threw those letters away.”

The release of “Run through the Jungle” coincided with the 50th anniversary that Musson’s unit went to Vietnam. Musson, who grew up in Joliet and whose nickname when he was in the service was Muss, explained how he wound up in Vietnam.

Serving in the U.S. Army

“I actually volunteered for the draft because my mother was working at the courthouse in Joliet at the time,” Musson said.

Musson’s mother knew the head of the draft board, he added. After his mother told the head of the draft board she had a son named Larry, she learned the news. Musson was on the list to soon be drafted. So Musson enlisted. He’s thankful he did.

“That decision put me with the group of guys I was with.” Musson said. “I never regretted anything. I couldn’t imagine being with anybody else except the guys I was with.”

Musson said he served in the U.S. Army from March 3, 1969, to Oct. 4, 1970. According to his website, Musson completed basic training and advanced infantry training at Tiger Land in Fort Polk, Louisiana.

In basic training, Musson chose to go airborne, which meant he served as an infantryman while in the Army. The website said he completed jump school at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Musson was in Georgia when he received orders for the 173rd Airborne Brigade in the Republic of South Vietnam.

Chronicling the experiences

Musson is not the only soldier in that group that wrote a book. His platoon leader, John D. Chapla, wrote “The Men of Alpha Company.”

“My platoon leader passed away in January 2014, so he never got to read anything in the book except the dedication,” Musson said. “I sent the dedication to him to make sure he was OK with it.”

Muss and his company commander, Pat Welsh, were only about five years apart in age. In 2000, when Musson reached out to Welsh about his book, Deb Welsh, Pat’s wife, said all the memories came rushing back.

“It was 30 years after they had left [Vietnam]. Pat was just, he was in shock,” Deb said. “He teared up and said, ‘That’s my RTO.’ ”

Deb said Musson and Pat were close, and that Pat was extremely proud of Musson. Deb said she and Musson will remain in contact as their friendship is important to her.

“Pat had always said that Muss is like the son he never had,” Deb said.

One key experience that Musson writes in his book happened early in his service.

After being called out of training for an issue that had to do with his finances, Musson missed the part that showed new soldiers how to operate the radios. To pass that part of the testing, Musson said he cheated and asked a fellow soldier for help.

But no one knew that and once he was in the field, there were two jobs left that needed to be doled out – radio operator and machine gun operator.

So when Musson was assigned to Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 503 Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade, Chapla wanted him to be the radio operator. A sergeant that Musson only knew as Scotty taught him how to use it. With a month, Musson said, he was proficient.

“He showed me how to clean it, take care of it and wrap up the handset so it would not get wet,” Musson said. “It was in the middle of monsoon season, so that was important.”

Musson’s book is full of stories, such as the time he had to jump out of a Chinook at tree-top level with a rucksack that added about 100 pounds to his body weight to the time a tiger arrived at the fire base.

Although the stories are varied and sometimes unbelievable, Musson said it all happened.

“A lot of it sounds almost far-fetched, like I made it up, but everything in the book is factual,” Musson said. “It’s all true. I didn’t embellish it with anything.”

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Larry Musson is available for speaking. To contact him or to buy "Run Through the Jungle," visit www.larrymusson.com