Jan Scruggs: Remembering Jesus De Leon: gentle soul, draftee, Vietnam vet

Editor’s note:Jan Scruggs, who conceived the building of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., as a tribute to all who served in Vietnam, and the founder and president emeritus of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, submitted this commentary.

You probably never heard of Jesus De Leon. I met him in In February 1970, a draftee from Texas. I was in Vietnam as an E-4 with the 199th Infantry Brigade. He was in my mortar platoon for a week or so before being transferred to a rifle platoon. We were taking ongoing casualties fighting near Xuan Loc.

Jesus was very frightened. He was not pleased to be carrying a rifle. We had the same birthday, March 11th. He was training to be a welder. This gentle soul told friends in Texas that he did not expect to return alive. Some troops in his platoon noted his fear and remember it to this day. He was afraid, but faced danger like a soldier.

Before leaving Vietnam in late March, I looked at the bureaucratic letter from the Army to his parents; “We regret to inform you that your son, Jesus, gave his life for his country. While attempting to silence an enemy position, he received mortal wounds. He was well-liked and respected by the men of Company D, 4th Battalion 12th of the 199th Infantry Brigade.” He had been in Vietnam for five weeks.
More than 1.7 million people were drafted during the war. Not all ended up in Vietnam. Many faced the Soviet troops in Europe. Yet 17,725 draftees died in Vietnam. More than 3,000 Hispanic-Americans gave their lives in that war. One, Jose Jimenez from Mexico City, won the Medal of Honor. Hispanics serve today. Corporal Lauro DeLeon of San Antonio died in Iraq.

Six other "De Leons" are on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. There are about 50 people named “Jesus.” They are "forever young”— their lives ended in combat far away.
I gladly left the Army after my two years and attended American University. My fellow students were offspring of affluent parents. They did not serve in the military. None would have to, nor would their children.
The draft ended in 1973. Since then the military and the public have drifted apart. As one former chairman of the Joint Chiefs noted— the U.S. Military is almost like "the American Foreign Legion.” Since 2001, the Army has been at war while the nation has been at the shopping mall. It is sad. Many assume the military is like the fire department, a place for people who like excitement to have a career.

History made life very different in 1969. The U.S. drafted Jesus and many others— to replenish the killed and wounded during the lengthy fighting in Vietnam. Recently there was interest in the issue of drafting women if the need ever arises again. The military and the public prefer a volunteer force. This was also the case in 1861, 1917 and 1941. History is not always predictable or pleasant. The amount of military activity in the world today is astounding. From Korea to Africa to the Middle East, even Europe, there is violence. Some adversaries have nuclear weapons. Let’s hope for the best.

Rest in peace, Jesus De Leon. It was a pleasure to know you. Thank you for your service.