Marine Corps Lt.Col. Peter Hesser was the featured speaker for the Fifth Annual Veterans Reunion Saturday.
Hesser is a quiet, humble man who does not talk easily of his accomplishments in the military. He served in combat during the Tet offensive. The Tet Offensive was a series of surprise attacks by the Vietcong and North Vietnamese forces, on scores of cities, towns, and hamlets throughout South Vietnam. It was considered to be a turning point in the Vietnam War.
North Vietnamese leaders believed they could not sustain the heavy losses inflicted by the Americans indefinitely and had to win the war with an all-out military effort. In addition, Ho Chi Minh was nearing death, and they needed a victory before that time came.
The combined forces of the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese Regular Army (NVA), about 85,000 strong, launched a major offensive throughout South Vietnam.
Hesser had arrived in country in 1967 as a young 2nd Lt. fresh out of the academy. He vividly remembered  LCpl. William Roldan. The last words Roldan said to his squad leader were "I'm going to take care of the new Lieutenant today." Only minutes later Roldan was shot by a sniper and died at Hesser's feet.
"I'll never know if the bullet he took was intended for me, but I do know that if it were not for LCpl. Roldan and a lot of his buddies taking care of their young Lieutenant in those first few days of combat, I surely wouldn't be here today."
Hesser however quickly became a valuable asset to the war effort and was awarded the Silver Star for actions during the Tet Offensive.
Hesser, however, chose to talk more about the accomplishments and sacrifices of his fellow veterans.
He gave some statistics that gave everyone pause to reflect upon the losses of that era.
There are 58,260 names on the Vietnam Wall. Eight of them are women. Southern Illinois lost 2,933 of its own. The youngest casualty was 15-year-old Dan Bullock and the oldest was Dwaine McGriff at 63-years-old.
Hesser closed his remarks with a challenge to all veterans in the form of words written by an Army Reservist from Springfield. Major Michael Davis O'Donnell wrote these words before he was listed as missing and later killed in action.
"If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go. Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own. And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind."
Hesser is currently the vice president and Chief Financial Officer for the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society. He is married to Vice Admiral Nancy Brown.
Hesser said that it looks like his wife will retire next year and the couple is looking forward to living at least part of the year near Marion.